9 Hidden-Gem Museums in the Midwest

Visiting a new museum is a great way to grow understanding of a destination, expand your mindset and challenge your perspectives. Many know the big, showy Midwestern institutions—Chicago's Field, Kansas City's Nelson-Atkins and Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin—however, their smaller counterparts can be just as rewarding. Here's a roundup of nine smaller museums you should consider adding to your next itinerary.

Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago

While Chicago is home to many world-class museums, shutterbugs should make it a point to spend some time at the Museum of Contemporary Photography. MoCP got its start in 1976 at Columbia College Chicago, offering provocative exhibitions and programming from both new artists as well as established photographers looking to test ideas and push boundaries. It's continued that tradition for more than 45 years, solidifying a reputation as one of the best college art museums dedicated to photography.

Gilmore Car Museum, Hickory Corners, Michigan

Classic-car aficionados won't want to miss the Gilmore Car Museum's collection, less than 20 miles from Kalamazoo. Donald and Genevieve Gilmore started acquiring vintage cars in the early 1960s, including a 1927 Ford Model T, a 1913 Rolls Royce and a 1920 Pierce Arrow. What started as the couple's hobby expanded to become North America's largest auto museum, with more than 400 vehicles in 190,000 square feet of exhibit space. The site also includes vintage structures like a restored and fully functioning diner, a rebuilt 1930s Shell station and several re-created auto dealerships. It all adds up to a one-of-a-kind American history lesson, taught through the machines that shaped our country.

Campbell House Museum, St. Louis

To get a glimpse of what life was like during the Gilded Age in St. Louis, plan a visit to the Campbell House Museum. Entrepreneur Robert Campbell and his descendants lived in the three-story estate from 1854 until 1938. It is the only surviving building of exclusive Lucas Place, the city's first private neighborhood. When the last Campbell son passed away, citizen groups raised the money to purchase the home and most of its beautiful furnishings; it opened as a museum in 1943. Inside, you'll find a grand, meticulously restored space, with knowledgeable guides eager to explain its history and importance. It's truly a time capsule, transporting visitors back more than 170 years.

Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum, Pepin, Wisconsin

Many of us grew up reading the Little House on the Prairie books or watching the beloved television series. We delighted in Laura Ingalls Wilder's scrappiness and spunk as her pioneering family made its way across the Midwest via covered wagon. While Wilder eventually settled in Missouri, fans know she was born in the Big Woods near Pepin, Wisconsin. That's where a museum dedicated to her life and work is located, demonstrating what times were like for a young Laura. Wayside Cabin just outside of Pepin is also worth a visit; a reproduction of the Little House in the Big Woods cabin sits on a three-acre site where the author was born.

International Quilt Museum, Lincoln, Nebraska

Ask any quilter: creating those intricate and cherished bed coverings is an art form. That's the guiding principle behind the International Quilt Museum on the University of Nebraska's main campus in Lincoln. Home to the world's largest publicly held quilt collection, it includes objects and artifacts from more than 65 countries, dating from the 1600s to present day, representing techniques from around the world and throughout history. Housing traditional designs, including album quilts which were passed down through generations, as well as modern works that blend pattern, color and shape, the museum takes great care to conserve its collection, which attracts quilt enthusiasts from around the world.

National Music Museum, Vermillion, South Dakota

Another university-affiliated facility that makes the list is the National Music Museum. Founded in 1973 at the University of South Dakota in Vermillion, its impressive collection consists of more than 15,000 instruments representing a variety of time periods, cultures, places and genres. Both casual listeners and expert musicians can appreciate galleries with instruments like fine Stradivari strings and celebrity guitars, harps and didgeridoos. The first phase of an extensive museum renovation opened in August 2023.

Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, Kansas City, Missouri

The Midwest's rich baseball tradition comes alive from a unique perspective at the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City. This privately funded cultural complex uses archival footage, photos and other historic objects to explain the role African Americans played in the early days of baseball and their impact on the game as we know it today. From participation in military and college teams in the late 1800s, through the formation of the Negro Leagues during the Jim Crow era, and on to Jackie Robinson's eventual integration of Major League Baseball, this museum honors the rich heritage and legacy forged by these memorable athletes.

Putnam Museum and Science Center, Davenport, Iowa

Established in 1867, the Putnam Museum and Science Center in Davenport was one of the first museums west of the Mississippi. First envisioned as a small natural science academy, the Putnam has expanded to include artifacts of all sorts, including fossils, rare minerals, taxidermy mammals and archeologic and historic objects from all over the world. Science galleries feature hands-on activities for all ages, and the Black Earth/Big River exhibit gives visitors an interactive look at the Mississippi River ecosystem, including its underwater inhabitants.

The Amelia Earhart Hangar Museum, Atchison, Kansas

The first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic was from Atchison, Kansas, and the new Amelia Earhart Hangar Museum brings her courageous, trailblazing legacy to life through interactive STEM and history exhibits. The world's last remaining Lockheed Electra 10-E, Muriel, is the museum's crowning jewel — an aircraft identical to the plane Earhart flew on her final flight. Test your navigation skills during a virtual reality recreation of Earhart's historic transatlantic flight, learn how twinkling constellations and radio waves guided her journeys, challenge your riveting skills and learn about influential female figures in the field of aviation. The museum, which opened in April 2023, is also pursuing becoming a Smithsonian Affiliate.