Missouri History Museum

So excited to have another place to take my daughter during the winter. The new Kids Clubhouse is so much fun for kids! It’s a big open space so they can run around and it is very educational. The murals are beautiful and loved how they integrated real historical pieces about St. Louis throughout the clubhouse. Thank you, History Museum, from all moms and dads in St. Louis!

STL has a rich history and on a cold January day, I wanted something to do and decided to go to the history museum for the first time.
The museum, like majority of them, are located in Forest Park, which is a gem within itself. Due to some renovations, the parking is somewhat scattered so pay attention to the signs. There is a shuttle bus to take you from the parking lot to the museum but if you are able, do some walking — you’ll pass the FP Visitor Center as well as a fun playground that you can be a kid again on.
The museum is divided into many different wings, 4 on the first floor, 2 on the 2^nd then a restaurant/​express café on the 2^nd as well. The museum workers pretty much leave you be but if you want help or to be directed to a certain location, you have to seek them out. Having never been before, I had to ask and the lady was super nice, gave me a map and told me what was ending that day, etc.
It took us a few hours to get through it but it was great to learn and expand my knowledge of STL’s background of stuff you know but you’ll for sure learn something new!

If you’re entertaining tourists, take them here. Entry is free and they offer live performances occasionally. I learned a lot about the history of St. Louis last time I went. I think I learn something new every time I go actually. There’s a lot of information to gather in those entertaining exhibits.

We sure are lucky in St. Louis to have so many wonderful museums and attractions that are free and almost all of them are located in Forest Park. The Park itself is truly a St. Louis gem!
This review is for the Missouri History Museum. The building itself is a lovely older building with beautiful architecture, soaring ceilings, marble floors and gothic columns. There’s an addition that includes classrooms and educational resources that is a very modern glass and metal structure. It’s a very cool yin/​yang.
The museum is divided into many different wings with different exhibits, some of which are permanent some change from season to season. There are three floors which also include artistic photographs and historical artifacts.
The staff is friendly, helpful and knowledgable about each exhibit. The space is inviting with plenty of places to sit. They are very accommodating to families with children.
The one major drawback I see is that it may not appeal to older children and teenagers. As a teacher, I’m always looking for educational aspects. But, I highly recommend this place as part of your tour of Forest Park. Again, did I mention, it’s free!

I have been attending programs at the History museum for several years. The quality of the programs are excellent. If you haven’t had a chance to see the St. Louis1875 exhibit, be sure to drop by. Or better yet, attend a program on the subject. It’s a good way to learn about what is on view. The museum is always a pleasant venue, the only problem is parking. The lots on the east and west sides are often full and I have to park on Lindell, or over by the tennis courts. It’s not a bad walk unless it’s raining. I have found that I have learned a lot from the programs — archaeology, history, culture, St. Louis issues, the movies presented and book signings. All are free! They have a calendar on-​line or pick one up.

I loved this museum. It seems like it would truly interest anyone because of the way the exhibits are laid out so well, they aren’t difficult to follow or tedious to navigate. It is a large & well appointed building but does not take a huge amount of time to traverse. I think you could see it ALL in two hours and still get an excellent education on all of the topics in the exhibits. As a lifelong Missourian I loved the subject matter and learned so much about St. Louis. While I dwell on the other side of the state, it made me wish there was a better museum dedicated to my own city. I was riveted by the Nazi propaganda exhibit and loved seeing the artifacts from the 70s and 80s Busch Stadium too. The World’s Fair exhibit was great as well.

A tad smaller than what I was expecting considering the sheer size of the building itself. The airplane is cool. they have great maps showing everything to see and do at Forest Park so this is a great place to start. Then you will wanna continue out back to down to the left to the Visitor Center and catch the Metro Trolley to the Saint Louis Art Museum. It’s also free is is more than like or –has to be– the best free Art Museum in the United States.

I paid for a flight to come participate in a solidarity movement between the people of Ferguson and the people of Palestine. Just two days before the event the museum cancelled the event, citing that they received no pressure from pro-​Israel groups and cancelled the event for other reasons. Then under the Freedom of Information Act, emails were obtained from the Museum that showed direct correspondence between the museum officials and the members of a right wing Israeli advocacy group:
. I ended up flying out anyhow, despite the problem and I still visited the museum. History is an interesting thing, it’s often told from the eye of the dominant party and has to be seen through that lens. However, after my visit, I must give this museum 1 star for their active role in suppressing historical events that have been proven as recently as last week, as well as the fact that their representatives were caught body lying to the public only to be caught by the freedom of Information Act. This is no museum of History, it’s a museum of manipulation and historical distortion.

I think this institution has great exhibitions about St. Louis and eastern Missouri, and the current Louisiana Purchase is amazing!

You know how you can live some place your whole life, yet never visit the more touristy places like museums? Yep, I’m one of them too.
I think in the whole 20+ years I spent growing up in St. Louis, I went to the Missouri History Museum a grand total of two times, and I don’t remember a minute of it.
This gave me a perfect opportunity to bring my boyfriend here when we were in town visiting over the Christmas holidays. He quite enjoys history or tours of cities where they narrate its history during the tour, so the day before we were to depart, I took him here to educate him (and myself) on my fair city.
The museum is normally free to get into, but they normally charge extra for all the special exhibits. For what ever reason, this day all the exhibits were free — score!, so we got to see it all: 250 years of St. Louis history, the traveling exhibit of how Germans came to Missouri, the 1904 World’s Fair, the history of the Louisiana Purchase and the part St. Louis played and a few other exhibits that escape me now.
It was all really cool. I learned so much about my city that I never knew: famous people who lived here, how the city started out and how Germans came to overrun the state of Missouri. All very cool, very interesting stuff — plus studying the things from times recent and long past is always fascinating.
We both ended up thoroughly enjoying the museum for a couple of hours and I’m really glad I had a new reason to go back.

This is a great place to visit for all ages. The only bad part is the parking is ridiculous, but once you get parked and inside its great.
We go many times a year, but just went ⁵⁄₂₇ for the prohibition and 250 years of St. Louis exhibits.
It’s $ 10/​person for non stl residents, kids are free. I feel like it was a good value, they put a lot of time and effort into this exhibit. There was a ton of interesting facts I learned, and it was presented in a way that should be easy for all to digest. They have all kinds of cool artifacts from the era, and made a speakeasy with a dance stage as part of it too. There is interactive touch screens with extra info and role play. My son had a fun time, really loved the AB car.
The 250 St. Louis exhibit was just as cool, but it was free! Very well laid out, tons of cool kiosks with great info, and mostly interactive to keep you learning.
We also stopped by the kids area, but it closes at 5pm so go early. It’s like a mixture of the magic house and science center. A wide variety of fun activities for the kids.
There is a ton of other stuff to look at and learn about in the whole place, I would put this on your top 10 list of places to visit in St. Louis.

Tonight I got to be a part of a select group that got to witness history The St Louis 250 was opened It features 50 people 50 images 50 stories 50 places and 50 objects that had some contribution to the history of St Louis I was amazed at the people that once called St Louis home I was astonished at the stories that were told about St Louis Max Stein is in the picture that I posted He was on duty and foiled a bank robbery It was fun to meet him He’s quite the character
I don’t want to give too much away with my review but please put this on your list of things to do this year

Forrest Park really as a bit of everything. The MHM has done a great job taking care of the exhibits and making them accessible to the public. Just a note — the permanent collection is free. You still have to pay for some of the special exhibits. Not originally from the Midwest and having very little knowledge about St. Louis, I learned a lot about the area. But, I didn’t learn much history :(I did learn a lot about Charles Lindbergh though.
I enjoyed the World Fair Exhibit. Did anybody know that’s where they «invented» waffle cones? Yeah… That’s the stuff I learned. Missouri as a lot of culture and history and I just wish there was more of it on the permanent collection. I would have loved to learn more about the Civil War or Missouri under French or Spanish Rule. A for effort, but I do see a few areas for improvement. Although, if you haven’t been here before, it’s definitely worth a trip :)

I decided to randomly stop into this museum after going to the Art Museum because it is close by & free, and I had never been before. Obviously the bonus here is that it is free, except for the special exhibits.
Some of it is pretty dry & boring, not gonna lie, but I think it’s a worthwhile stop if you are interested in Missouri history. I especially liked the exhibit on the World’s Fair & some of the artifacts from that, and they have some nice stuff about Charles Lindbergh. Another nice thing is the little room about the Cardinal’s and Busch Stadium, but I literally walked into that exhibit as the credits of the movie were rolling, and saw the sign that a new movie wouldn’t start for 20 minutes, so I didn’t even get to see that. I don’t really understand why they are spaced so far apart, so I’m bummed about that.
Overall I definitely think it’s worth checking out if you are in town and have time to spend in Forest Park, but it’s not on my list of yearly must-​see museums.

As much as I would love to give the History Museum four stars, I can’t. The exhibits rarely change and unless you’re going to one that costs money, they can be pretty boring. We went to a Thomas Jefferson exhibit that revolved around his slaves on Monticello — his big plantation located in Virginia. Aside from random odds and ends (kitchen utensils) and slave ownership documentation, it was quite dull.
They offered free admission to the paid 1968 exhibit for Veterans Day, so Matthew & I decided to venture into St. Louis for a looksee. I have to say, it was one of the most intriguing ones I’ve been to. The advertisements and living room setups were fascinating to me. It was like walking around in my parents’ shoes. I loved the music they played and the various places where they showed small segments of documentaries. I feel as though my generation has little to no understanding of the goings on in the 60s and history museums are presented the challenge of filling in the gaps.
The gift store is pretty nifty. I found a cool St. Louis t-​shirt there several months ago that I paid way too much for. They have lots of random novelty items and fun books related to the exhibits. I couldn’t dock them for their overpriced gift store — museum gift stores are always outrageous.
Overall, it’s not a terrible museum, but I’ve definitely been to more engaging.

It’s called the Missouri History Museum, but it might be better to think of the place as a focused cultural center for the area.
Why?
Though there are certainly exhibitions of historical artifacts and programs that discuss Missouri’s past, the building and the Missouri Historical Society aren’t shy about bringing new perspectives to the area too. MHM is a place to learn and debate. It’s a place to gather. It presents history to denizens of St. Louis using history’s broader context: as stories of and for the people. Even the space itself, originally a memorial but expanded to include airy classroom spaces, an accessible auditorium, additional exhibit space and dining facility, lends itself to this idea.
Additional proof of this «broad context» idea is in the museum’s calendar. Locals and visitors alike enjoy a very active slate of community programming: talks by guest lecturers, story-​telling sessions, children’s activities, film presentations… well over 100 scheduled events each year. In St. Louis’ fashion, most of these are completely free and open to the public, as is basic access to the museum.
The MHM also serves as a venue for traveling exhibits, such as the current Gridiron Glory (selections from the NFL’s Hall of Fame) or 2010’s Treasures of Napoleon, to take up temporary residence. (Note that special exhibits do have a cost).

This is a nice little history museum. It’s not necessarily a «must see» for folks that are travelling through Saint Louis, but it’s a good place to poke around for a while.
As to it’s «memorability» factor, I went to the Missouri History Museum a little over a year ago, and I will regurgitate this review from memory. The exhibits are fun, but you won’t see anything too earth shattering in the permanent collection.
Though not in their permanent collection, the closest thing to «earth shattering» that I saw was the stuff from Charles Lindbergh and the Spirit of Saint Louis. One such cool artifact that stands out in my mind is the oil that was taken out of the Spirit of Saint Louis after it’s famous transatlantic flight. (And, no – the plane hanging in the museum is NOT the spirit of Saint Louis, but rather a reproduction of the plane. The original can be found in the Air and Space Museum’s «Milestones of Flight» Gallery.) While the exhibit had a lot of cool stuff that is related to the Spirit of Saint Louis’ famous flight, the focus of the exhibit was Lindbergh’s life.
A little less cool than the Lindbergh exhibit, though still pretty cool, is an exhibit (which should be in their permanent collection, if my memory doesn’t fail me) is the exhibit that covers the 1904 «Louisiana Purchase» World’s Fair which took place on the very grounds of the museum and park. If you are historically driven, it’s very interesting to peer into the World’s Fairs of yesterday and see how we displayed the pinnacle of human achievement and culture by building a temporary amusement park in different cities. (I kind of wish they would still do that instead of the stupid Olympics.)
As for the rest of the museum, you’ll find items that display the history of Saint Louis. Again, nothing so earth shattering and amazing that you’ll want to plan a trip out of your way to see, but nonetheless pretty cool.
I’d recommend it on Sunday morning. Bixby’s Sunday brunch is outstanding, and one of the best that I’ve ever had. (However, that’s a separate review altogether.)

You gotta’ love Forest Park! Today, I ventured down with my son to pay a visit to the Missouri History Museum, towards the end of fulfilling a school assignment. [He did the assignment … I did the chauffering, and then, it became so much more … ]
This was my first visit to this museum. He needed to see the Civil War exhibit, and I tagged along. The exhibit is nicely done. Comprehensive collection of artifacts. The displays are well labeled and include ample narrative on most items to afford a great learning experience. Additionally, there are several interactive computer screens with supplemental videos /​interactive maps /​timeline things, and included at least one ‘game’ activity … yes, my first effort to build an iron-​clad warship proved to be ‘acceptable’, per the computer judging my work. The exhibit had effective development of the Civil War and analysis of its outcomes — again, with a focus on the events and circumstances in Missouri.
I did peak into some other areas, and realized that my two hour allotment for the day was meager. Another trip is necessary.
As for the general Forest Park comment. This place is teeming with community-​oriented activities. I’m loving it. Today, we dodged and weaved amongst runners at some kind of race — following the direction of race officials on the course. [I appreciated his desire to expedite our trip by encouraging us to drive on the race course; but, he could have just as equitably sent us on an alternative route.] Everyone just got along, though. It was cool. What a great thing to have this nexus for the community.

This review is strictly about a work event in the lower-​level meeting rooms. The half-​day event was today for about 100 folks. Continental breakfast was at 8 a.m.
At 8:15 a.m., we had nothing. The room was set up, but no tablecloths — ever. We had our meeting on pukey, dirty round tables.
Maybe around 8:30 a.m., we had soda (Coke, Diet Coke and Sprite) and a scant amount of bagels and sweetrolls, which were gone in 5 minutes. One bowl of cream cheese with nuts in it, one spoon, no spreading knives. So if you put a blob of cream cheese on your plate, you had to dip your bagel in it.
Not only were the bagels cut in half (I presume to make them last longer), they were hard — I mean hard, like you had to bite, twist and pull. Quite a glamorous move while trying to be cool with the work people.
About 9:15 a.m., well after the meeting started, coffee came in. No decaf. The urns weren’t labeled.
Diet Coke ran out in about 20 minutes. It was not replenished.
Mid-​morning we got Billy Goat chips, pretzels and other potato chips in single-​serving packages.
A little later, we got pitchers of water on the tables. About noon, they took the water pitchers away — during the meeting. I thought they were replenishing them. No. They were gone.
Rumor had it they forgot we were coming. This meeting has been on OUR books since March.
Who knows what happened, but it was a disaster.

Well it’s free… so the price is right.
Also, I believe that the C. Lindbergh exhibit confirmed that I am the long lost bastard great-​grandchild of Charles Lindbergh. No Biggie+Whatevs… it’s just probably a fact is all I’m saying. Evidence: There’s a portion of the exhibit that mentions a woman in the mid-​west region with my not-​so-​common last name + My Great-​Grandmother 100% dated Charles Lindbergh back in the early part of the decade and he gave her a handbag that was handmade entirely of black pearls… Soooo yeah, he was probably tapping that.
Other than that excitement, there were only 4 ish small and mish moshed exhibits when we were visiting and, well, I dunno. I’m all for museums but when in from out of town and on a time budget, I wish we would have skipped this one and just spent more time at the zoo or gone to the art museum, or just played around in Forest Park– all of which are also free activities.
The world’s fair exhibit was pretty cool, the exhibit on disabilities was strange, the Charles Lindbergh exhibit was obvi a good one since I could find a way to relate it back to myself + there’s a single public bathroom in that wing with a fireplace and rocking chair in it. Perf for a nice relaxed deuce. The second floor was decent but I was kind of disappointed + discouraged by all the stuff that looked like they would want you to touch it, yet, had a ‘do not touch’ sign attached. So much for hands on, eh? Ahhh well, I guess it was for the best bc I got to get all my groping out at City Museum.