If you like Native American art, the Ancient Ozarks Natural History Museum is a must see. It contains an amazing collection of ancient, historic and modern tribal art, beautifully arranged like the gems they are. You’ll see arrowheads thousands of years old, pottery from about 1450 to 1650, intricate beadwork decorating dresses, moccasins bags and other pieces of clothing, headdresses,...

If I told you that Rose O’Neill (1874-1944) gained fame as the creator of the Kewpie, you might be inclined to dismiss her as a frivolous artist (I know I did). But O’Neill created much more than the merchandising boom that made her wealthy, first as Puck magazine’s first female staff artist and later with her own shows of what...

The Branson Auto & Farm Museum showcases more than 150 classic and collectible vehicles and 180 farm tractors and implements, presenting a visual history of our love affair with cars. Ranging from a 1927 Form Model T Coupe to a 1963 VW Beetle in mint condition, the cars are mostly American but include imports. Good descriptions are included with all...

More than 100 stars and celebrities come to life here, from Tom Hanks sitting on a bench as Forest Gump to Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Caribbean. Ben Cartwright and his sons from the TV show Bonanza, Dorothy and her friends from Wizard of Oz, and Spiderman, the Iron Man, Indiana Jones and Rambo are all...

Sure, Branson’s other museums make for fun or educational diversions, but if you want to learn about the Ozarks from one of the most eclectic collections I’ve ever seen, the Ralph Foster Museum is at the top of my list. Even better, it’s much cheaper than the other private collections It’s named after Ralph Foster (1893-1984), a radio pioneer who...

This Ripley’s Believe It or Not! museum is housed in a “cracked” building–a visual statement about the 1812 earthquake in New Madrid, Missouri, which reached 8.0 on the Richter scale and reportedly made the Mississippi River flow backwards for three days. It houses oddities from around the world, optical illusions, and world records, with artifacts ranging from the bizarre (like...

The Titanic Museum Attraction’s exterior looks like the doomed ship, built at half the scale of the original, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg to a visit here. Upon entering, you’ll be given a boarding pass with a Titanic passenger’s name on it. You’ll then see a replica of the ship’s grand staircase, rare photos taken on board the...

The Veterans Memorial Museum covers wars of the 20th century, including both world wars plus wars and conflicts in Korea, Vietnam and the Persian Gulf. Its 10 rooms display more than 2,000 items, including uniforms, weapons, model ships, photographs, personal histories and countless memorabilia. There are exhibits on the firebombing of Japanese cities, the Navajo code talkers, and a bicycle...

If you played with it, you can probably find it at the World’s Largest Toy Museum. Its two buildings are a jumble of almost 2 million toys from the 1800s to more recent pop culture, including model cars, pedal cars, model airplanes, train sets, tin toys, pull toys, dolls, action figures, board games, Pez dispensers, kaleidoscopes, Lincoln Logs, Star Wars...

It’s not worth going out of your way for the Branson Centennial Museum for unless you have a special interest in local history, but it’s a good place to rest your feet while watching some or all of the the very long (1 hour and 17 minutes) documentary. It’s a bit dated, but covers everything from the native Osage that...

You never know where passion might lead you. This remarkable museum houses the personal collection of Karl White, who bought his first fishing lure, the James Heddon’s Crazy Crawler, in 1948 when he was eight years old. That lure, on display at the History of Fishing Museum, was the start of White’s collecting passion, with more than 40,000 items in...