Highest-rated specialty museums in Arkansas by visitors

Written by:
September 3, 2025
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Highest-rated specialty museums in Arkansas by visitors

In 1683, Elias Ashmole, an Oxford graduate and true polymath, founded the Ashmolean, the modern world's first public museum. Stocked with his private collection of artifacts, curios, and special scientific equipment, the goal of the museum was to create a center for practical research and the advancement of knowledge. This, Ashmole felt, was a goal "very necessary to humaine life, health [and] the conveniences thereof."

According to figures from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, there are more than 35,000 museums in the United States today. Their collections encompass everything from modern art, like at the MoMA in New York City, to mustard, like at the National Mustard Museum in Middleton, Wisconsin, and everything in between.

Museums are anchors of our communities. The American Alliance of Museums reports that museums support more than 725,000 jobs and contribute upwards of $50 billion to the U.S. economy each year. Three-quarters of Americans agree that museums are an important part of our civil society and have an important role in promoting knowledge and civic engagement.

Beyond their educational and economic significance, museums are just plain fun. Whether you have a developed interest in natural history or just want to learn a little bit more about funerary history (the National Museum of Funeral History in Houston), there's sure to be a museum that strikes your interest. There's simply nothing else quite like spending an afternoon learning about famous figures, arts and crafts, military history, or what else you fancy.

Here, Stacker compiled a list of the highest-rated specialty museums in Arkansas on Tripadvisor as of Aug. 13, 2025. Keep reading to see what unique museums are in your home state. Then, make sure to plan a visit. With many museums facing funding cuts due to the current administration's efforts to dismantle the Institute of Museum and Library Services, who's to say how much longer these treasure troves will be available to us?

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#29. Bud Walton Arena Hall of Champions Museum

- Rating: 4.7/5 (34 reviews)
- City: Fayetteville
- Read more on Tripadvisor

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#28. Four States Auto Museum

- Rating: 4.0/5 (42 reviews)
- City: Texarkana
- Read more on Tripadvisor

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#27. Ponca Elk Education Center

- Rating: 4.4/5 (54 reviews)
- City: Ponca
- Read more on Tripadvisor

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#26. Chaffee Barbershop and Military Museum

- Rating: 3.9/5 (38 reviews)
- City: Fort Smith
- Read more on Tripadvisor

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#25. Drennan-Scott Historic Site

- Rating: 4.7/5 (29 reviews)
- City: Van Buren
- Read more on Tripadvisor

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#24. Mena Kansas City Southern Depot

- Rating: 4.3/5 (54 reviews)
- City: Mena
- Read more on Tripadvisor

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#23. Josephine Tussauds Wax Museum

- Rating: 2.9/5 (314 reviews)
- City: Hot Springs
- Read more on Tripadvisor

8 / 29
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#22. Hemingway-Pfeiffer Museum and Educational Center

- Rating: 4.9/5 (68 reviews)
- City: Piggott
- Read more on Tripadvisor

9 / 29
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#21. Historic Dyess Colony: Boyhood Home of Johnny Cash

- Rating: 4.7/5 (87 reviews)
- City: Dyess
- Read more on Tripadvisor

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#20. Mark Martin Museum

- Rating: 4.6/5 (32 reviews)
- City: Batesville
- Read more on Tripadvisor

11 / 29
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#19. Fort Smith Trolley Museum

- Rating: 3.8/5 (120 reviews)
- City: Fort Smith
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#18. Eureka Springs Historical Museum

- Rating: 4.0/5 (156 reviews)
- City: Eureka Springs
- Read more on Tripadvisor

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#17. Pioneer Village

- Rating: 4.3/5 (36 reviews)
- City: Searcy
- Read more on Tripadvisor

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#16. Arkansas Railroad Museum

- Rating: 4.7/5 (49 reviews)
- City: Pine Bluff
- Read more on Tripadvisor

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#15. Witt Stephens Jr. Central Arkansas Nature Center

- Rating: 4.4/5 (53 reviews)
- City: Little Rock
- Read more on Tripadvisor

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#14. Museum of Automobiles

- Rating: 4.4/5 (98 reviews)
- City: Morrilton
- Read more on Tripadvisor

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#13. Sultana Disaster Museum

- Rating: 4.7/5 (64 reviews)
- City: Marion
- Read more on Tripadvisor

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#12. Arkansas Air Museum

- Rating: 4.3/5 (59 reviews)
- City: Fayetteville
- Read more on Tripadvisor

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#11. Daisy Airgun Museum

- Rating: 4.5/5 (180 reviews)
- City: Rogers
- Read more on Tripadvisor

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#10. Mountain Valley Spring Water Visitor Center & Museum

- Rating: 4.2/5 (194 reviews)
- City: Hot Springs
- Read more on Tripadvisor

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#9. Historic Arkansas Museum

- Rating: 4.4/5 (188 reviews)
- City: Little Rock
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#8. Ka Do Ha Indian Village

- Rating: 4.0/5 (199 reviews)
- City: Murfreesboro
- Read more on Tripadvisor

23 / 29
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#7. Buckyball At Crystal Bridges

- Rating: 4.5/5 (109 reviews)
- City: Bentonville
- Read more on Tripadvisor

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#6. Esse Purse Museum & Store

- Rating: 4.7/5 (223 reviews)
- City: Little Rock
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#5. Tiny Town

- Rating: 4.4/5 (85 reviews)
- City: Hot Springs
- Read more on Tripadvisor

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#4. Retroverse Museum (Formerly The Galaxy Connection)

- Rating: 4.4/5 (213 reviews)
- City: Hot Springs
- Read more on Tripadvisor

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#3. Peel Museum & Botanical Garden

- Rating: 4.2/5 (179 reviews)
- City: Bentonville
- Read more on Tripadvisor

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#2. Ozark Folk Center State Park

- Rating: 4.6/5 (454 reviews)
- City: Mountain View
- Read more on Tripadvisor

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#1. Gangster Museum of America

- Rating: 3.9/5 (669 reviews)
- City: Hot Springs
- Read more on Tripadvisor

This story features data reporting by Wade Zhou, writing by Madison Troyer, and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 51 states.

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