RV Road Trip: 10 Best Museums in the United States [PLUS 9 More!]

We’re always trying to bring you great places to consider stopping while on your RV travels, and this post is no exception – it’s all about the 10 best museums in the United States.

(But we also have nine more you must see, too. Keep reading!)

I thought this was a great topic to explore as cooler temperatures begin to move in and our RV Lifestyle Fellow Travelers make plans to do more stuff inside during the long winter months on the horizon.

With the help of TripAdvisor, here is the list of the 10 best museums in the United States.

(As always, we’re sure you have your favorite so please add them in the comments below.)

Here is the official list of the 10 Best Museums in the U.S.

1) RV Road Trip: Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Titusville, Florida

The center’s impressive displays range from astronaut artifacts to the Saturn V rocket, but there’s even more to enjoy. That’s because this museum also offers meet-and-greets with astronauts as well as a tour with a former NASA launch director that provides a first-hand look at everything from the control room used during launches to the massive crawler that would carry rockets to their take-off points.

We recently featured the Kennedy Space Center in a video we did for our RV Lifestyle YouTube Channel:

 

2) RV Road Trip: The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City

Set aside some time to explore this one because MoMA’s collection is made up of close to 200,000 modern and contemporary artworks that range from outdoor sculptures and hand drawings to playful interactive exhibits. Further, the museum also regularly hosts film screenings.

2) RV Road Trip: American Museum of Natural History in New York City, New York

Animal lovers will want to head to the American Museum of Natural History, where they’ll be treated to an array of halls and exhibitions digging into the history of ocean life and dinosaurs. At the same time, large-scale displays of animals like bison and elk will leave visitors in awe.

4) RV Road Trip: The Getty Center in Los Angeles, California

Visitors will feel like they’ve stepped into a modern new world at the Getty Center, where the façade is made of glass-and-stone buildings. Located on a hilltop in the Santa Monica Mountains, the space is home to breathtaking gardens that can be admired after perusing through its art collections from the likes of Leonardo da Vinci, Claude Monet, and more.

5) RV Road Trip: Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.

Those interested in space and flight will find themselves in paradise here, where displays include the 1903 Wright Flyer, the Apollo 11 Command Module Columbia, and more. There’s even a lunar rock that visitors can touch. The museum — free to enter — is also home to popular attractions like the Albert Einstein Planetarium and a public observatory where visitors can gaze at the sky through telescopes.

6) RV Road Trip: U.S.S. Midway Museum in San Diego, California

Located aboard one of the country’s longest serving aircraft carriers, the U.S.S. Midway Museum invites you to get lost at sea with more than 60 exhibits that take visitors through 29 restored aircraft, as narrations from Midway sailors help to transport tourists back in time.

7) RV Road Trip: The National 9/11 Memorial & Museum in New York City

Designed to honor the thousands of lives that were lost during the September 11 attacks, this museum takes guests through the events before, during, and after that tragic day with archival photographs, videos, and artifacts from Ground Zero. Outside, reflecting pools stand in the fallen towers’ footprints as a solemn memorial.

8) RV Road Trip: Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago, Illinois

This one is home to roughly 300,000 works of art, from ancient to contemporary. It consists of eight buildings and covers nearly 1 million square feet. The museum is a work of art in and of itself, displaying elements of historic Beaux Arts architecture while simultaneously showcasing Greek and Roman influences with its Corinthian columns and friezes.

9) RV Road Trip: The National WWII Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana

TripAdvisor reports this is now the top rated-tourist attraction in New Orleans. The museum takes visitors on a historic journey through its collection of artifacts and first-person oral histories that delve into the story of the war. In addition to its display of boats, tanks, and planes of the past, the space also has a wartime-themed canteen to help visitors unwind.

10) RV Road Trip: The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City

At the Met, visitors are greeted with more than 2 million pieces they can admire in the museum’s permanent collection. Spanning four city blocks, the Met also regularly brings in fascinating collections that range from the works of famed traditional painters to eclectic clothing displays and historic photographs.

BONUS! Looking for more? Here are 9 More of the Best Museums we've found on our RV Road Trips!

Though they aren't all exactly the Kennedy Space Center or the Met, here is a list of links to other museums that have been featured by the RV Lifestyle, and that also make for great RV stops:

• Kofa National Wildlife Reserve and Castle Dome Mining Museum
• Asheville's Pinball Museum
• The Biscuit Museum of Terre Haute
• National Infantry Museum
• Piper Aviation Museum
• National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, Florida
• New Mexico Mining Museum
• Jack Sisemore's RV Museum
• RV/MH Museum

We REALLY love the RV/Motorhome Hall of Fame! Every RVer needs to visit this place. Here's our video of our tour with the Hall of Fame President:

 

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