Labs, observatories, dams, factories and technology museums you can visit.
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Hutchinson, KS · Open Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat, Sun
Space museum in Hutchinson, Kansas, with space-race artifacts, a dome theater, planetarium and a live rocket-science show; free docent tours on some Saturdays.
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Hutchinson, KS · Open Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat, Sun
Museum 650 feet down an active salt mine in Hutchinson, Kansas. A self-paced 2.5-hour tour with a dark ride, plus a combo with a guided shuttle and a lantern hike.
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Wichita, KS · Open Daily
Science center on the Arkansas River in Wichita, with hands-on exhibits on aviation design, Kansas geography and health, a dome theater and an outdoor playscape.
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Wichita, KS · Open Mon, Tue, Wed, Fri, Sat, Sun
Aviation museum in Wichita, with indoor exhibits, aircraft on an outdoor ramp and a volunteer restoration shop. Closed Thursdays.
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Ashland, NE · Open Mon, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat, Sun
Aviation and space museum between Lincoln and Omaha with Cold War aircraft such as the SR-71, daily docent tours and no reservation needed. Closed Tuesdays in winter hours.
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Omaha, NE · Open Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat, Sun
History museum in Omaha's 1931 Union Station, with a trackside gallery of passenger cars, a caboose and a locomotive, a model railroad and a restored streetcar.
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Kansas City, MO · Open Daily
Museum of the cargo of a steamboat that sank in the Missouri River in 1856 and was dug out of a Kansas field in 1988, with videos and a lab where staff restore artifacts.
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Kansas City, MO · Open Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat, Sun
Hands-on science center on three floors of Kansas City's Union Station, with more than 300 indoor and outdoor exhibits. Tickets are required; prices are not stated on the pages checked.
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Weatherford, OK · Open Daily
Museum in western Oklahoma named for astronaut Thomas Stafford, with 75,000 square feet of aircraft, rocket engines and space exhibits, and an aerospace playground outside.
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Oklahoma City, OK · Open Daily
Large science museum in Oklahoma City with hands-on exhibits, an aviation wing and a planetarium included in admission. Open daily except Thanksgiving and Christmas Day.
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Des Moines, IA · Open Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat, Sun
Science center in downtown Des Moines with permanent exhibits, a Makers Studio and a planetarium. Open Wednesday to Sunday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.; closed Mondays and Tuesdays.
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Sioux Falls, SD · Open Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat, Sun
Hands-on science center inside the Washington Pavilion in downtown Sioux Falls, with more than 100 interactive exhibits, a quarry exhibit and a CineDome and planetarium add-on.
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Fayetteville, AR · Open Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat
Aviation and military history museum in Fayetteville, open Tuesday to Saturday, with no advance tickets needed and ramps to every building.
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Colorado Springs, CO · Open See the calendar
Mining museum on a 27-acre campus in Colorado Springs with working steam engines, a walk-through mine drift and gold panning.
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Denver, CO · Open Daily
Aviation and space museum in a former Lowry Air Force Base hangar in east Denver, with more than 60 aircraft, space artifacts and flight simulators. Open daily.
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Denver, CO · Open Daily
Large natural history and science museum in Denver, open 363 days a year, with a planetarium, a theater and rotating exhibitions.
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Denver, CO · Open Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat · book ahead
Free 30-minute tour of the Hammond's candy factory in Denver, Monday to Saturday, with reservations required at least 24 hours ahead. Wheelchair accessible.
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Cheyenne, WY · Open Daily
Railroad museum in Cheyenne's 1886 Union Pacific depot, a National Historic Landmark, with local and transcontinental railroad history and a narrow gauge model railroad.
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Golden, CO · Open By arrangement · book ahead
A U.S. national laboratory for renewable energy in Golden, Colorado. In-person staff-led campus tours are for U.S. citizens 18 and older, by arrangement; virtual tours are open to the public.
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Golden, CO · Open Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat, Sun
Railyard museum in Golden with more than 100 historic locomotives and cars, a working restoration roundhouse and a depot with a model railroad.
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Boulder, CO · Open Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat · book ahead
Reserved 45-minute walking tour through the Celestial Seasonings tea factory in Boulder, with a free tea bar in the Tour Center.
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Boulder, CO · Open Daily · book ahead
The public visitor center of a US atmospheric-science research lab in the Boulder foothills: free atmospheric-science exhibits, an outdoor Weather Trail and a free guided noon tour twice a week.
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Forest City, IA · Seasonal Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu · book ahead
Free two-hour bus-and-walking tour of Winnebago's motorhome plant in Forest City, Iowa, run on weekday mornings and midday; phone reservation, minimum age nine.
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Waterloo, IA · Open See the official page
Planetarium inside the Grout Museum of History and Science in Waterloo, the only public planetarium in northeast Iowa; a hands-on Imaginarium science gallery is due to open there December 15, 2026.
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Hill City, SD · Open See the official page
Narrated steam train ride between Hill City and Keystone in the Black Hills, on the original line built to serve the area's mines and mills; runs mid-May to December.
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Austin, MN · Open Daily
Free museum in downtown Austin, Minnesota about the SPAM brand, with a timeline, interactive games and staff-led tours on request.
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Faribault, MN · Open Fri, Sat · book ahead
Working woolen mill in Faribault, Minnesota with a 75-minute tour on Fridays and Saturdays, from raw wool through carding, spinning and weaving. Reservations required; ages 8 and up.
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Lead, SD · Seasonal See the official page
Museum in Lead, South Dakota, with a guided walk through a recreated Homestake gold-mine drift and displays of mining equipment. Closed for the season until May 2027.
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Lead, SD · Open Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat
Free visitor center in Lead, South Dakota, telling the story of the Homestake mine and the underground physics lab; seasonal hoistroom and trolley tours run from it.
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Davenport, IA · Open Daily
Museum and hands-on science center in Davenport, Iowa, with science and natural world galleries and a giant screen theater. Open daily except a few holidays.
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St. Louis, MO · Open Mon, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat, Sun
Free science center in Forest Park, St. Louis, with hands-on exhibits, a planetarium, an OMNIMAX theater and flight simulators; films, shows and special exhibitions are ticketed.
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St. Louis, MO · Open Daily
630-foot stainless-steel arch on the St. Louis riverfront with a free museum underneath and a paid five-seat tram ride to the top.
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Minneapolis, MN · Open Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat, Sun
Hands-on museum of electricity and science in a lakeside mansion in Minneapolis, with exhibits on Benjamin Franklin and Mary Shelley. Open Tuesday to Sunday; tickets sold online.
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Fort Worth, TX · Open Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri
Free self-guided tour of the Western Currency Facility in Fort Worth: a walkway above the printing floor, a film and two floors of exhibits. Open Tuesday to Friday with airport-style screening.
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Minneapolis, MN · Open See the official page
Museum built into the ruins of a flour mill on the Mississippi in Minneapolis, with a Flour Tower elevator show, baking and water labs, a rooftop deck and occasional guided Millers' Tours.
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Dallas, TX · Open Daily · book ahead
Nature and science museum in downtown Dallas with several levels of exhibits; timed-entry tickets, open daily. Ticket prices are not stated.
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North Little Rock, AR · Open Fri, Sat, Sun
City-run museum on the Arkansas River where you tour the World War II submarine USS Razorback and the tugboat USS Hoga, a Pearl Harbor veteran.
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Little Rock, AR · Open Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat, Sun
Hands-on science center in the River Market district of Little Rock, with galleries, daily science and Tesla coil shows, and animal programs.
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Gillette, WY · Seasonal Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri · book ahead
Two-hour guided bus tours of the Eagle Butte and Belle Ayr surface coal mines near Gillette, Wyoming, Monday to Friday from Memorial Day through September, $15 a person.
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Los Alamos, NM · Open Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat, Sun
Free museum in downtown Los Alamos run by the national laboratory, with exhibits on the Manhattan Project and current lab research, two short films and a hands-on space for children.
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Los Alamos, NM · Open Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat
History museum campus in Los Alamos with Manhattan Project and Cold War exhibits, historic buildings and a guided walking tour of the historic district.
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Plain, WI · Open By arrangement · book ahead
Organic and specialty cheese factory near Plain that gives factory tours on days and times you arrange by phone; accessible; the store is open Monday to Saturday.
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Fargo, ND · Open Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat
Aviation museum in two hangars at Fargo, with aircraft from a Wright brothers flyer to a Predator drone, many still able to fly. Open Tuesday to Saturday.
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Smackover, AR · Open Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat, Sun
Free state-park museum in Smackover on the 1920s south Arkansas oil boom, with working oil field equipment outdoors and a boomtown street indoors.
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Albuquerque, NM · Open Daily · book ahead
Albuquerque museum on the Atomic Age, from the Manhattan Project to peaceful nuclear technology, with indoor galleries, a nine-acre outdoor aircraft and missile park, and an artifact center.
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Albuquerque, NM · Open Daily
Hands-on science, technology, engineering, art and math center in Old Town Albuquerque with over 250 interactive exhibits and activities. Open every day.
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Shreveport, LA · Open Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat, Sun
Downtown Shreveport science center with exhibit galleries, a children's museum and a planetarium on one admission. Open Wednesday to Sunday; closed Monday and Tuesday.
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Cooperstown, ND · Seasonal Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat
Former Minuteman missile control site near Cooperstown with guided tours down to the launch control center; a second launch site can be viewed from above.
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Union, IL · Seasonal See the calendar
Large railway museum in Union, Illinois where one ticket covers unlimited rides on electric, steam and diesel trains and streetcars on operating days; open on scheduled days April to October.
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Waterloo, WI · Open Wed
Weekly guided tour of Trek's Waterloo, Wisconsin headquarters and factory floor, including the custom paint studio. Wednesdays at 10 a.m., about an hour, ages 4 and up.
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Midland, TX · Open Daily
Museum in Midland on the history, geology and technology of oil in the Permian Basin, with petroleum, mineral and art galleries and an outdoor Oil Patch.
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Williams Bay, WI · Open See the calendar · book ahead
Historic observatory in Williams Bay, Wisconsin, with ticketed guided tours inside the building and the Great Refractor dome, plus free arboretum grounds and trails open daily from sunrise to sunset.
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South Pass City, WY · Seasonal Daily
Restored 1860s gold-mining town in Fremont County with historic buildings, a gift shop, gold panning and trails, open summer to mid-October.
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Dutch John, UT · Seasonal Daily
Visitor center at Flaming Gorge Dam in Utah with dam and hydropower exhibits, open daily in the 2026 season. Guided dam tours have ended; part of the walkway can be viewed.
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Theresa, WI · Open Daily
Brick and cheddar maker in Theresa with no tours, but a retail-store viewing area over the make room, open daily; cheese is usually made on weekday mornings.
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Chicago, IL · Open See the calendar
National park in the former Pullman railcar factory and company town on Chicago's far south side, with a visitor center in the clock-tower building and a daily ranger tour.
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Fremont, WI · Open Mon, Thu, Fri, Sat
Small cheese plant in Fremont with free morning factory tours four days a week, ending with fresh curds. Walk in; groups of 10 or more should schedule.
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Chicago, IL · Open Daily
Downtown Chicago exhibition center on the city's buildings and design, and the starting point for its architecture walking, bus and river-cruise tours.
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Chicago, IL · Open See the calendar
Large Chicago science museum (formerly Museum of Science and Industry) with exhibits including a captured German submarine and a coal mine, open daily.
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Menomonee Falls, WI · Open Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri
Ticketed 90-minute walking tour of Harley-Davidson's engine plant in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, on weekdays. The York, Pennsylvania plant tour is temporarily closed.