Museums

Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art
125 W. Central Ave., Bentonville. Phone: 479-418-5700.
Opened in November 2011, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art presents exceptional art, educational programs and community gatherings in a unique, welcoming setting.

Crystal Bridges houses a collection of American art masterpieces, including Asher Durand’s Kindred Spirits, Charles Wilson Peale’s George Washington, Thomas Hart Benton’s Ploughing It Under and Norman Rockwell’s Rosie the Riveter. Walmart heiress Alice Walton’s impeccable museum in her hometown of Bentonville is a gift to the nation. It will draw thousands of tourists to Northwest Arkansas and spur economic development across the region.

The museum takes its name from nearby Crystal Spring, and there’s extensive use of glass and wood in the museum design by world-renowned architect Moshe Safdie. A series of pavilions nestled around two creek-fed ponds houses galleries, meeting and classroom spaces, and an auditorium. Sculpture and walking trails link the museum’s 120-acre park and gardens to downtown Bentonville.

Arkansas Air Museum and the Ozark Military Museum
Fayetteville Executive Airport, 4290 S. School St., Fayetteville. Phone: 479-587-1941.
Numerous displays, artifacts, aviation memorabilia and planes show off the colorful history of aviation in Arkansas at the two museums that share space at Fayetteville Executive Airport, Drake Field. The collection includes world-famous racing planes of the 1920s and 1930s and an early airliner. The historic aircraft in the Arkansas Air Museum are unusual among museum exhibits because many of them still fly. Displays at the museum go back to the golden age of flying and come forward to the jet age, including Vietnam-era Army helicopters and a Navy carrier fighter. The all-wood, white hangar, which houses it all, is part of American history because it is a former headquarters for one of the nation’s many aviator training posts during World War II. It is one of the few remaining 1940s-era hangars.

The collection includes a two-seater aircraft that was the first one purchased by Walmart founder Sam Walton. He bought it in 1954 and kept it until 1956, buzzing over a three-state area. He found out it was easier to visit locations, such as prospective store sites, when he could do it in a straight line at 100 mph, instead of driving a car at slower speeds on curvy Ozark highways.

Arkansas Discovery Network Museums

The Arkansas Discovery Network was funded by the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation in 2006 with a grant of more than $7 million.  Its seven museums and educational centers focus on making hands-on, interactive museum experiences more accessible to the state’s schoolchildren and their families.  The network’s seven member organizations are located strategically across Arkansas to extend outreach to all areas.

The museums support one another by sharing operational strategies, collaborating with teachers and expanding educational programs. Network members include the Museum of Discovery in Little Rock, Mid America Science Museum in Hot Springs, Arts and Science Center for Southeast Arkansas in Pine Bluff, Texarkana Museums System in Texarkana, Arkansas Museum of Natural Resources in Smackover and Arkansas State University Museum in Jonesboro. The University of Arkansas Center for Mathematics and Science Education in Fayetteville will host network exhibits until a permanent Northwest Arkansas museum partner is established.

Arkansas Country Doctor Museum
109 N. Starr St., Lincoln. Phone: 479-824-4307.
Dr. Harold Boyer, the son of Dr. Herbert Boyer, to honor his father and other Arkansas country doctors, founded the museum in 1994. The museum honors, preserves and educates the public about the history and heroism of country doctors in Arkansas, the unique history and culture of the Ozark area, and the history of medical theory and practice.

Clinton House Museum
930 California Drive, Fayetteville. Phone: 479-444-0066.
The 1930s English-style bungalow near the University of Arkansas campus in Fayetteville was the first home of Bill and Hillary Clinton.  The museum showcases the life and times of the couple during their years in Fayetteville with photographic displays and memorabilia. The one-bedroom, 1,800-square-foot house is available for tours and weddings.

The Rogers Daisy Airgun Museum
202 W. Walnut St., Rogers. Phone: 479-986-6873.
Since 1960, Daisy’s corporate offices in Rogers have housed an impressive airgun collection. In 1999, the company decided to utilize that collection to create a first-class, entertaining museum to serve as a tourism attraction. In 2000, the refurbished, expanded museum opened its doors. The museum sits in the brick-paved, historic sector of downtown Rogers in a building dating to 1896. Gun and history enthusiasts come to see the collection of antique airguns, dating to the 1600s. There also are examples of most every Daisy BB gun.

Museum of Native American Artifacts
202 SW “O” St., Bentonville.  Phone: 479-273-2456.
The Museum of Native American Artifacts serves as a walk through America’s past where artifacts offer a glimpse into what life was like for America’s first inhabitants. Going back over 14,000 years, the artifacts were uncovered from across North America and many are on display.

Peel Mansion & Heritage Gardens
400 S. Walton Blvd., Bentonville.  Phone: 479-273-9664.
Built by Col. Samuel West Peel, the Italianate mansion is preserved as a museum of authentic interior design. Its’ outdoor museum of historic roses, perennials and native plants was once surrounded by 180 acres of apple trees.

Rogers Historical Museum
322 S. Second St., Rogers.  Phone: 479-621-1154.  
The history of Rogers is found at the Rogers Historical Museum through exhibits and storytelling. There’s a downtown of yesteryear exhibit on “First Street,” hands-on fun in “The Attic” and visitors can step into the past with a tour of the 1895 Hawkins House.

Shiloh Museum of Ozark History
118 W. Johnson Ave., Springdale. Phone: 479-750-8165.
Exhibits, collections, research library and special events focus on the Arkansas Ozarks from prehistoric times to the present. Most of the museum highlights the real shapers of Ozark history – the everyday men, women and children who lived in towns and rural communities. The museum tells their stories through exhibits on native people, pioneers, the Civil War, the fruit and timber industries and traditional folk life. The museum also houses a research library with a collection of more than 700,000 photographs.  Along with exhibits, there are six historic buildings on the museum grounds, including a log cabin, a barn, and a town home from the 1940s. Shaded walking paths and picnic tables offer a chance to relax and consider a time when life moved at a slower pace.

Siloam Springs Museum
112 N. Maxwell St., Siloam Springs.  Phone: 479-524-4011.
At the Siloam Springs Museum, visitors can explore the past through permanent and rotating exhibits highlighting Indian culture, pioneer life, medicine and many other aspects of history.  Among these are period rooms that recreate the homes of Siloam Springs’ citizens prior to the Civil War and at the turn of the century. The museum also offers several educational programs for children and adults, and conducts local history research. One of the museum’s finest resources is its collection of historical documents and photographs. Once an Osage Indian hunting ground, white pioneers settled the region in the 1830s. The city of Siloam Springs was platted in 1880 and it became a prosperous summer health resort because of the reputed healing powers of its mineral springs.

Tontitown Historical Museum
251 E. Henri de Tonti Blvd., Tontitown.  Phone:
 479-361-2700.
Housed in the former home of two of Tontitown’s original settlers, sisters Mary and Zelinda Bastianelli, the Tontitown Historical Museum opened in 1986. The museum’s collection includes photographs of and artifacts belonging to the original Italian settlers of Tontitown. Since wine making was and still is an important part of Tontitown culture and commerce, there’s a display of an early grape press and wine-bottling machine.

Walmart Visitors Center
105 N. Main St., Bentonville.  Phone: 479-273-1279.
Walmart founder Sam Walton, along with his brother, Bud, began their retail conglomerate in 1945 with a variety store located in downtown Bentonville. Today the original “five and dime” is the Walmart Visitor Center and traces the origin and growth of Walmart Stores, Inc. Photographs and memorabilia, dating to the company’s beginnings, are preserved. Renovated in 2011, the center now includes a working “five and dime” store with vintage toys, games and candies, and the center includes interactive, digital displays about the company’s history. There’s a special section dedicated to the Walton family with Mr. Sam’s old red pickup truck and his office just as he left it.