13 Incredible Space Museums in the U.S. Every Traveler Should Visit

Rose Center for Earth and Space, New York City

Inside the American Museum of Natural History’s glass cube, the Frederick Phineas and Sandra Priest Rose Center for Earth and Space has some of the city’s best astronomy programming. The hall ticket is included with general admission ($30 per person), and if you’re a New York resident, you can pay what you wish to get in.

Walk the Scales of the Universe to grasp the size and distance of the cosmos using the 87-foot Hayden Sphere as your guide. The Cosmic Pathway compresses 13 billion years of history into a single 360-foot-long ramp. You can touch a 4.5-billion-year-old chunk of the Willamette Meteorite, while the Big Bang Theater recreates the universe’s first explosive moments in a multisensory experience narrated by actor Liam Neeson. If you have extra time, check the daily schedule for talks and telescope activities that supplement what you’ve seen inside the galleries.

Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, Merritt Island, Florida

Located on Florida’s Space Coast, where NASA launches actually happen, Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex puts you right in the heart of America’s space program. General admission runs around $77 for adults and $67 for children (ages three to 11), with various add-on experiences available, like the Chat With an Astronaut add-on that lets you sit down, eat, and chat with a real astronaut. The complex sits on the grounds of a working spaceport, so if you time your visit during a launch, you can watch rockets lift off from dedicated viewing areas.

The retired space shuttle Atlantis steals the show here and is displayed at a 43.21-degree angle with payload bay doors open, so you can walk around. The Behind the Gates bus tour takes you to the Apollo/Saturn V Center, where a 363-foot Saturn V rocket hangs horizontally overhead. For an upgraded experience, the Fly With an Astronaut program pairs small groups with a veteran NASA astronaut for behind-the-gates touring and a catered lunch.

Space Center Houston

As NASA Johnson Space Center’s official visitor complex, Space Center Houston offers behind-the-scenes access to where astronauts actually train and to Mission Control as it operates today. General admission starts at $29.95 for adults and $24.95 for children (ages four to 11), and includes a tram tour that takes you into working NASA facilities. You’ll also get to visit the Astronaut Training Facility, where astronauts prepare for missions in the same buildings they’ve used since the Gemini program, as well as Rocket Park, where a massive Saturn V rocket is on display. For an additional fee, you can book the Historic Mission Control tour to visit the actual Apollo-era control room where flight controllers guided every moon landing.

California Science Center, Los Angeles

The California Science Center is one of the largest science centers in the U.S., and general admission is always free, though there’s an extra fee for special exhibitions. The big draw here, though, is the space shuttle Endeavour, which is off display until the new Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center opens—construction has been completed and exhibits are being installed, so sign up for the Science Center’s newsletter for updates. In the meantime, visitors can watch an interactive interior tour of Endeavour and a time-lapse film of the shuttle being assembled or “stacked” over a period of six months.

At the Science Center, you’ll also be able to see the Mercury-Redstone 2 capsule that carried Ham the chimpanzee into space in 1961, the Gemini 11 capsule, and the Apollo-Soyuz Command Module from 1975. When the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center opens, it will be the only place in the world to see a complete space shuttle system with a flown orbiter mounted vertically in an authentic “ready-to-launch configuration.”

U.S. Space & Rocket Center, Huntsville, Alabama

Although places like Houston and Cape Canaveral, Florida, often steal the limelight when it comes to U.S. aerospace history, Huntsville, Alabama, has also played a big role in the nation’s rocketry and spaceflight development and is now known as “Rocket City.”

While you’re here, plan at least a half-day to explore the U.S. Space & Rocket Center—general admission starts at $30 per person. Take some time to walk beneath the National Historic Landmark Saturn V Moon Rocket in the Davidson Center for Space Exploration. Outside in Shuttle Park, Pathfinder is one of only two full-stack space shuttle displays in the world, and it stands vertically in launch configuration. Daily programming includes shows at the Intuitive Planetarium, with its stunning 67-foot dome theater, and STEM on Stage presentations, which help bring the magic of science to life.

But science can be fun, too. On-site, you’ll also find Moon Shoot, a ride that simulates what a rocket launch feels like by lifting riders 140 feet up in the air in 2.5 seconds, as well as the G-Force Accelerator, which lets you experience 3 Gs of force pushing on your body.  

The center is also home to Space Camp, which inspired the 1986 movie of the same name—it was actually filmed on-site. Since 1982, over 1 million campers have trained here, including alumni who became NASA and ESA astronauts. Space Camp runs year-round.

Cosmosphere, Hutchinson, Kansas

The Cosmosphere, located in Hutchinson, Kansas, houses over 13,000 artifacts, and its collection is so large that it’s only rivaled by the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. It also has the largest collection of Russian space artifacts outside of Moscow.

There are five different venues here, but the main exhibit is the Hall of Space Museum, which focuses on the space race between the U.S.S.R. and the United States, with actual historic artifacts from around the world. The collection spans from World War II’s V-1 flying bomb missile and V-2 rocket, which laid the groundwork for space travel, to Cold War spacecraft such as the Gemini 10, Liberty Bell 7, and a Soviet Vostok capsule.

The Moonshot Gallery showcases one of the three Apollo White Rooms used for actual launches, flown Apollo spacesuits, the Apollo 13 Command Module Odyssey, and a moon rock. In the Grand Lobby, you can stand beneath a full-scale replica of the space shuttle Endeavour alongside a flown SR-71 Blackbird spy plane and a towering 109-foot-tall Titan rocket.

Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, Chantilly, Virginia

This annex of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum is made up of two hangars filled with thousands of space and air objects. One of the main draws of the museum is the space shuttle Discovery, and visitors can watch active spacecraft restorations at the Mary Baker Engen Restoration Hangar. There are also free guided tours available. Sensory bags are available with fidget toys, noise-reduction headphones, and other items to help improve museum accessibility.

Aerospace Museum of California, McClellan, California

Just outside of Sacramento, California, on the grounds of the former McClellan Air Force Base, the Aerospace Museum of California is home to a 40,000-square-foot exhibit hall and a four-acre outdoor Air Park. The private museum also has a replica of Sputnik 1, Project Apollo displays, and an Engine Evolution area that lets visitors get a close-up view of rocket engines and jet turbines. Fostering a love of STEM is a core part of the museum’s mission, and while here, visitors can engage with interactive stations that explore the mechanics of flight and space travel.

New Mexico Museum of Space History, Alamogordo, New Mexico

The New Mexico Museum of Space History tells the story of spaceflight through a distinctly New Mexican lens. Admission is $8 per person and gets you access to the International Space Hall of Fame and the New Horizons Dome Theater & Planetarium, which runs shows and live presentations every day but Tuesday. Exhibits here cover everything from what it’s like living and working in space to deep dives into the history of rocketry. Outside, the John P. Stapp Air & Space Park has Little Joe II, the Apollo-era test rocket used to prove the launch escape system, and the gravesite of Ham the Astrochimp, who flew a 1961 suborbital mission that helped people understand the effects of space travel on primates.

Columbia Memorial Space Center, Downey, California

This space museum was built in the former industrial site where all of the Apollo Command/Service Modules were built; the space shuttle was also designed here. It’s intended to be both a living memorial to the space shuttle Columbia, which was lost in 2003, and a testament to Downey’s little-known aerospace history. While here, visitors can explore hands-on robotics labs and space science exhibits while learning about the city’s impact on American spaceflight.

The Charles Simonyi Space Gallery, Seattle

The Charles Simonyi Space Gallery is located within Seattle’s Museum of Flight, and the showstopper here is the NASA Full Fuselage Trainer—a full-size trainer mock-up once used to prepare every shuttle astronaut for the rigors of space travel. Visitors can walk around the trainer and explore exhibits that cover the history of shuttle-era spaceflight. A separate Space Shuttle Trainer Crew Compartment Experience allows small groups inside the trainer’s flight deck and mid-deck for a deep dive into astronaut life.

Adler Planetarium, Chicago

The Adler Planetarium opened in 1930 as the first planetarium in the U.S. and is still a leading center for public space science education. Its galleries trace the history of astronomy and human space exploration, while its dome theaters host immersive shows about the cosmos. At the Doane Observatory, which houses a research-grade telescope open to the public, visitors can observe celestial objects just steps from the lakefront. The planetarium also partners with NASA and operates high-altitude balloon launches and citizen science programs through Adler’s Zooniverse, the world’s largest and most popular platform for people-powered research.

Moonshot Museum, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Moonshot Museum opened in 2022 and was Pennsylvania’s first space museum as well as the first in the world to focus on inspiring young people to pursue a career in the modern space industry. The museum is located within the headquarters of Astrobotic, a company that builds lunar landers for NASA and commercial clients. Through a floor-to-ceiling glass wall, visitors get an unobstructed view into a real spacecraft clean room, where lander models like Peregrine and Griffin (which will one day land on the moon) took shape. Interactive exhibits simulate the arc of a modern moon mission—from design to surface landing—while highlighting real-world career paths in aerospace.