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The teacher in me is always looking for ways to sneak a little learning into the things I do with my son. George loves to learn and is naturally curious about all kinds of things, but when I tell him something is “educational,” a part of him immediately shuts down. Put him in front of a cool science experiment, an old airplane or something he can see and explore for himself, and it’s a completely different story.
Some lessons simply make more sense once you can see, touch or experience what you’ve been learning about. A chapter about flight takes on a different meaning when you’re standing beneath an airplane. Arkansas history becomes easier to understand when you walk through an old homestead or examine something the people you’re studying used. And looking at art in a book isn’t quite the same as standing in front of the real thing.
Fortunately, Arkansas is filled with museums, historic sites, nature centers and firsthand learning spaces that make it easy to take learning beyond the classroom. These stops can work for homeschool families building a unit of study, teachers looking for field trip ideas, or parents like me who simply want to make a Saturday outing a little more meaningful.
You don’t have to turn every family trip into a school lesson, either. Pick a place that connects with something your child is already curious about and let the experience do much of the teaching.
Science, STEM & the Natural World
Mid-America Science Museum | Hot Springs
This is the kind of science museum where kids can get their hands on things and see how they work. Between the Tesla Theater, Science Skywalk, Arkansas Underfoot and Digital Dome Theater, there are plenty of ways to explore everything from electricity and engineering to earth science and astronomy.
OnlyInArk: Interactive Science Museums in Arkansas
Connect it to: Physics • Engineering • Earth Science • Astronomy • Biology • Technology
Museum of Discovery | Little Rock
Kids are encouraged to touch, experiment and figure things out for themselves at the Museum of Discovery. The interactive exhibits connect classroom science with the real world.
Connect it to: Physics • Engineering • Biology • Math • Technology • Health & the Human Body
Scott Family Amazeum | Bentonville
The Amazeum is especially fun for kids who like to build, create and figure out how things work. The hands-on exhibits feel a lot more like play than school.
Connect it to: Science • Engineering • Math • Art • Design • Creative Problem-Solving
Arkansas Museum of Natural Resources | Smackover
Arkansas’s oil history opens the door to lessons in a variety of earth sciences. Kids can explore a recreated 1920s boomtown and then head outside to see real derricks and equipment once used in the oil fields.
OnlyInArk: Arkansas Museum of Natural Resources
Connect it to: Geology • Earth Science • Chemistry • Arkansas History • Natural Resources • Industry
J.B. and Johnelle Hunt Family Ozark Highlands Nature Center | Springdale
If your kids would rather learn outside, this is a wonderful place to explore Arkansas wildlife and the natural world. Exhibits, trails and programs teach about conservation and the ecosystems of the Ozarks.
OnlyInArk: Arkansas Adventures: Cures for the Back-to-School Blues
Connect it to: Biology • Ecology • Arkansas Wildlife • Conservation • Habitats • Environmental Science
More places to explore:
- Witt Stephens Jr. Central Arkansas Nature Center | Little Rock
- Forrest L. Wood Crowley’s Ridge Nature Center | Jonesboro
- Arkansas State University Museum | Jonesboro
- Ozark Natural Science Center | Huntsville
Flight, Engineering & Technology
Arkansas Air & Military Museum | Fayetteville
Old airplanes make lessons about flight much more interesting. Kids can get close to vintage aircraft, helicopters and military vehicles while learning about Arkansas’s connections to military history.
OnlyInArk: NWA Summer Memory Makers
Connect it to: Physics • Engineering • Aviation • Technology • Military History • Arkansas History
Wings of Honor Museum | Walnut Ridge
Thousands of World War II pilots came to Walnut Ridge to learn to fly, and this museum tells their story. Photographs, artifacts and aviation displays make it easy to connect a lesson about World War II with something that happened right here in Arkansas.
OnlyInArk: High Honors for Wings of Honor Museum
Connect it to: Aviation • World War II • Military History • Arkansas History • Technology • Geography
Jacksonville Museum of Military History | Jacksonville
Jacksonville has a long connection to the military, from the Arkansas Ordnance Plant during World War II to today’s Little Rock Air Force Base. The museum uses photographs, artifacts and military equipment to show kids how events happening across the country and world also shaped an Arkansas community.
OnlyInArk: Jacksonville Museum of Military History
Connect it to: Military History • Aviation • World War II • Arkansas History • Technology • Local History
Daisy Airgun Museum | Rogers
The Daisy story goes beyond BB guns. The company’s history gives kids an interesting look at invention, manufacturing, product design and business, along with how Daisy eventually made its home in Rogers.
OnlyInArk: Daisy Airgun Museum
Connect it to: Invention • Engineering • Manufacturing • Arkansas Industry • Business History • Local History
More places to explore:
- Arkansas Railroad Museum | Pine Bluff
- Museum of Automobiles | Morrilton
Arkansas & American History
Mosaic Templars Cultural Center | Little Rock
Mosaic Templars Cultural Center is a great place to introduce kids to the stories and accomplishments of Black Arkansans. Exhibits cover everything from Black-owned businesses and Arkansas legislators to Little Rock’s historic West Ninth Street district, with a children’s gallery for younger visitors.
OnlyInArk: Celebrating Black History in Arkansas
Connect it to: Arkansas History • African American History • Civil Rights • Entrepreneurship • Community • American History
Historic Arkansas Museum | Little Rock
It’s much easier to understand how people once lived when you can step inside the kinds of places they called home. Historic buildings, artifacts, art and living-history experiences give kids a closer look at everyday life in early Arkansas.
OnlyInArk: Exploring Little Rock with Kids
Connect it to: Arkansas History • Early Statehood • Art • Architecture • Daily Life • Material Culture
Shiloh Museum of Ozark History | Springdale
The Shiloh Museum provides a terrific way to learn more about northwest Arkansas. Historic buildings, photographs, artifacts and firsthand activities tell the stories of the people who lived and worked throughout the Arkansas Ozarks.
OnlyInArk: Museum Experiences in Northwest Arkansas
Connect it to: Arkansas History • Ozark Culture • Agriculture • Community History • Geography • Daily Life
Delta Cultural Center | Helena-West Helena
A visit here can lead in several directions, which is part of what makes it so useful for learning. Kids can explore how the Mississippi River, agriculture, African American history, the Civil War and music all helped shape the Arkansas Delta.
OnlyInArk: Get Lost on the Great River Road
Connect it to: Arkansas History • Mississippi River • Geography • Agriculture • African American History • Music
Old State House Museum | Little Rock
Arkansas’s first state Capitol has been part of the state’s story since before the Civil War. Kids can explore Arkansas government and political history while also getting a close look at a historic building that has witnessed much of it firsthand.
OnlyInArk: The Old State House Museum
Connect it to: Arkansas History • Government • Civics • Politics • Architecture • American History
Prairie Grove Battlefield State Park | Prairie Grove
Sometimes the best way to make history feel real is to stand where it happened. At Prairie Grove, kids can explore the battlefield, museum and historic buildings while learning about the Civil War in Arkansas. The site also connects to the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail.
OnlyInArk: Arkansas Civil War Trails
Connect it to: Civil War • Arkansas History • American History • Geography • Military History • Trail of Tears
Pea Ridge National Military Park | Garfield
Pea Ridge lets families explore Civil War history without spending the whole visit inside a museum. A seven-mile driving tour takes you through the battlefield, with stops along the way, while the visitor center, trails and Elkhorn Tavern help fill in the story.
OnlyInArk: If the Trees Could Talk at Pea Ridge National Military Park
Connect it to: Civil War • American History • Arkansas History • Geography • Military Strategy • Trail of Tears
More places to explore:
- MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History | Little Rock
- Fort Smith National Historic Site | Fort Smith
- Museum of the Arkansas Grand Prairie | Stuttgart
- Plantation Agriculture Museum | Scott
- Historic Washington State Park | Washington
Archaeology & Early Arkansas History
Plum Bayou Mounds Archeological State Park | Scott
The huge mounds here are an easy starting point for all kinds of questions about the people who built them. Kids can walk the grounds, learn about the Plum Bayou culture and see how archaeologists use clues left behind to piece together the past. There’s even an interesting connection to astronomy.
OnlyInArk: Visit 52: Eastern Arkansas State Parks
Connect it to: Archeology • Indigenous History • Anthropology • Astronomy • Geography • Ancient Cultures
Hampson Archeological Museum State Park | Wilson
Pottery, tools and other artifacts from the nearby Nodena site offer a glimpse of life along the Mississippi River centuries ago. It’s a good place for kids to see how archaeologists use everyday objects to learn how people lived, farmed and built communities.
OnlyInArk: Visit 52: Northeast Arkansas State Parks
Connect it to: Archeology • Indigenous History • Anthropology • Agriculture • Mississippi River Valley • Ancient Cultures
Parkin Archeological State Park | Parkin
At Parkin, kids can explore the site of a Native American village and learn what archeological discoveries have revealed about the people who lived there. The property also offers a bonus history lesson. The Northern Ohio Schoolhouse tells a much more recent story about education in Arkansas.
OnlyInArk: Visit 52: Eastern Arkansas State Parks
Connect it to: Archeology • Indigenous History • Anthropology • Agriculture • Geography • Education History
More places to explore:
- Arkansas Archeological Survey | Fayetteville and research stations around Arkansas
- Museum of Native American History | Bentonville
- Arkansas Post National Memorial | Gillett
Photo by Keisha Pittman McKinney
Art, Design & Creativity
Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art | Bentonville
Seeing a famous work of art in person is vastly different from seeing it in a book or on a screen. Crystal Bridges gives kids plenty to look at, but it also offers places to draw, make pottery and experiment with color. Head outside, and you can add architecture, sculpture and nature to the day’s lessons, too.
OnlyInArk: Crystal Bridges Opens a New Chapter
Connect it to: Visual Art • American History • Architecture • Nature • Design • Art History
Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts | Little Rock
You don’t need kids who already love art to make a visit here worthwhile. Looking closely at a painting or sculpture and talking about what they notice is a lesson in itself. The museum also offers artmaking and performing arts experiences, and general admission is free.
OnlyInArk: How to Make Fine Art Accessible to Kids
Connect it to: Visual Art • Art History • Theater • Creativity • Design • Performing Arts
Fort Smith Regional Art Museum | Fort Smith
This is a nice place to introduce kids to an art museum without making the experience overwhelming. Changing exhibitions feature local, regional and national artists, and educational programs and art-making opportunities give kids a chance to create something themselves.
OnlyInArk: Fort Smith: Snapping the Western Frontier
Connect it to: Visual Art • Art History • Arkansas Artists • Creativity • Design • Contemporary Art
More places to explore:
- The Momentary | Bentonville
- Bradbury Art Museum | Jonesboro
- South Arkansas Arts Center | El Dorado
- University and college art galleries throughout Arkansas
Document Your Learning
The teacher in me also knows there is value in taking a few minutes to record what you’ve learned. Writing down a favorite discovery, drawing something you saw or sharing a new fact can help kids remember the experience long after the trip is over.
Use this free Arkansas Learning Adventure Tracker to keep track of the places you visit and what you discover along the way. This 8-page guide includes a checklist and journal pages to record your adventures. And when you find a favorite, tell a friend. You might just inspire their next Arkansas adventure, too.
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