This article is presented in partnership with Visit Columbia.
Boost your cultural IQ and have a great time while doing it at Columbia’s museums.
Make one trip to the Mizzou North Campus and take in two first-rate museums. A new chapter of world history unfolds around every corner of the University of Missouri’s Museum of Art and Archaeology. Start your tour in the Cast Gallery, an awe-inspiring collection of plaster cast copies of some of antiquity’s most revered sculptures. Then head upstairs to explore the permanent and short-term exhibits of art that span the world and 6,000 years.
Your next stop is literally next door at Mizzou’s Museum of Anthropology. History is revealed through the tools, clothing, toys and weapons of ancient cultures. Don’t miss the Grayson Archery Gallery, one of the largest archery collections in the world. It features an astounding display of more than 5,500 pieces from six continents.
Immerse yourself in the rich history of the area with a visit to the Boone County History and Culture Center. Under the eye-catching red roof of the center’s headquarters lie the Walters History Exhibit Galleries, where artifacts from Boone County’s past are on display, and the Montminy Art Gallery, featuring art and artists that celebrate the region. Venture outside to explore the stately Historic Maplewood House and the charming Village of Boone Junction.
Fashion is the focus of the Stephens College Historic Costume Gallery. The college has amassed a collection of more than 13,000 pieces that represent eras dating from 1730 to today and that range from everyday casual wear to one-of-a-kind designer pieces. Check out the gallery’s calendar for special events and exhibits.
The Western Historical Manuscripts Collection is a vast repository of letters, journals, photographs and other documents related to Missouri and the Midwest, and it’s on the move from its current home in Mizzou’s Ellis Library to the soon-to-be-completed Center for Missouri Studies. The State Historical Society of Missouri and all its galleries and collections will be closed from spring to mid-summer to make the move to the spacious, state-of-the-art facility.
The Freemasons played an important role in the construction of Missouri, and their story is on display at The Masonic Home of Missouri’s Masonic Museum. A central rotunda is flanked by galleries that trace the history of Freemasonry in the Show-Me State and pay tribute to notable Missouri Masons, including President Harry S. Truman, and Order of the Eastern Star auxiliary member Laura Ingalls Wilder.