48 Museums to Explore in Arizona

The National Historical Fire Foundation is a museum dedicated to the historical preservation of firefighting equipment used throughout the years around the world. Its artifacts were originally the private collection of George F. Getz Jr which has five large exhibit galleries.

McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park is a 40-acre railroad park located in Scottsdale, Arizona. It features a 15 in gauge railroad, a Magma Arizona Railroad locomotive, a railroad museum, three model railroad clubs and a 7 1⁄2 in gauge live steam railroad.

A majestic and small historic park located in downtown Florence, Arizona on the corner of Main and Ruggles Streets. The park consists of a preserved courthouse and other buildings dating to the Arizona Territory period. The original structure was built in 1878 with the addition of a jail in 1882 and the courthouse in 1891. The courthouse is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Mesa Arts Center is a performing and visual arts complex in downtown Mesa, Arizona. At more than 210,000 square feet square feet, the $95 million facility, completed in 2005, is the largest comprehensive arts campus in the state which encompasses four performance venues

A majestic museum dedicated to the purposes of preserving the heritage of Northwestern Arizona and of presenting that history to the public. The Museum and Library house a collection of artifacts, photographs, oral histories, manuscripts, maps, newspapers, and publications that document the history of Mohave County, Arizona. It was founded in 1961 by the Mohave Historical Society.

This lovely heritage home museum was built by Joseph and Carmelita Muheim. A National Historic site with Queen Anne architectural influences, the home was enlarged from 1898 through 1915 as the family grew. Docents provide guided tours through the restored interior with its period furnishings. From the gardens you can enjoy an impressive panoramic view of the surrounding mountains and hillside homes on Brewery Gulch.

The Musical Instrument Museum is located in Phoenix, Arizona. It is the largest museum of its type in the world. The collection of over 15,000 musical instruments and associated objects includes examples from nearly 200 countries and territories, representing every inhabited continent. Some larger countries such as the United States, Mexico, India, China, and Brazil have multiple displays with subsections for different types of ethnic, folk, and tribal music.

Mystery Castle is located in the city of Phoenix, Arizona, in the foothills of South Mountain Park. It was built in the 1930s by Boyce Luther Gulley for his daughter Mary Lou Gulley. The sprawling 18-room, three story castle is built from a wide range of materials — stone, adobe, automobile parts, salvaged rail tracks from a mine, telephone poles, etc. It features a chapel, cantina, and a dungeon.

The Navajo Nation Museum is a modern museum and library on Navajo ground in Window Rock, Arizona. Its collections, exhibits, and other activities focus on the cultural history of the Navajo people. Its activities include traditional museum exhibits, a research library, and programs that help to revive and preserve the Navajo language.

The Phoenix Art Museum is the largest museum for visual art in the southwest United States. Located in Phoenix, Arizona, the museum is 285,000 square feet. It displays international exhibitions alongside its comprehensive collection of more than 18,000 works of American, Asian, European, Latin American, Western American, modern and contemporary art, and fashion design.

The Pima Air & Space Museum, located in Tucson, Arizona, is one of the world's largest non-government funded aerospace museums. The museum features a display of nearly 300 aircraft spread out over 80 acres on a campus occupying 127 acres. It has also been the home to the Arizona Aviation Hall of Fame since 1991.

This is a local museum and historical landmark in Nogales, Arizona. The museum showcases various artifacts and memorabilia from the ancient times of Pimeria Alta to help preserve and promote the historic territory. You shall find documents, artifacts and other objects of historic importance that portray the communities that lived in this ancient town.

This is the oldest historical organization in Pinal County. The museum shares Florence and Pinal County’s rich stories through exhibits and educational programs. The museum covers Florence’s rich history and cultural diversity from precontact Native Americans to 21st-century local families who have lived, worked and attended school—continuously enriching our collective stories.

The Pine-Strawberry Museum in Pine, Arizona, was opened in 1979 for the purpose of displaying artifacts related to the prehistory and history of Pine and its twin among the pines, Strawberry. Much of what is displayed in the Pine-Strawberry Museum today is in tribute to the dedication and hard work of their founding families.The museum relocated to its current location in 1990 from a single room in the Isabelle Hunt Memorial Public Library in Pine.

Presidio San Agustín del Tucsón was a presidio located within Tucson, Arizona. The original fortress was built by Spanish soldiers during the 18th century and was the founding structure of what became the city of Tucson. After the American arrival in 1856, the original walls were dismantled, with the last section torn down in 1918.

Pueblo Grande Ruin and Irrigation Sites are pre-Columbian archaeological sites and ruins, located in Phoenix, Arizona. They include a prehistoric platform mound and irrigation canals. The City of Phoenix manages these resources as the Pueblo Grande Museum Archaeological Park. It features a large platform mound with retaining walls. This massive structure contains over 20,000 cubic meters of fill. There were also many dwellings, and at least three ball courts and more.

The Rex Allen Museum is located in one of Willcox's oldest commercial buildings. Constructed in the early 1890's of adobe. Allen was an authentic cowboy. Allen was an American film and television actor, singer and songwriter. The museum includes photographs, movie posters, cowboy outfits, records, musical instruments and other memorabilia. The Willcox Cowboy Hall of Fame features portraits of area old-time cowboys who worked in the ranch industry.

The Rim Country Museum and Zane Grey Cabin are located in Green Valley Park in Payson Arizona, beneath the beautiful Mogollon Rim.The Zane Grey Cabin is a replica of the cabin that Zane Grey built in 1921 near the top of the Rim. The original cabin was destroyed in the 1990 Dude Fire.The Rim Country Museum is a 2-story museum that covers the history of the area from the Ancient Peoples, Apaches, rodeo, ranching, mining, and much more.

The Rose tree museum in the famous wild west town of Tombstone, Arizona displays a fine collection of historic artifacts and materials, but the real attraction is the backyard rose bush which is the largest in the world. Experience the beauty of the World's Largest Rose Tree by either staying in one of the suites or visiting the museum dedicated to one of Tombstone's oldest families. Planted in 1885 with cuttings from a”Lady Banksia Rose” that had been sent from Scotland.