Birmingham is rich with history and we’ve comprised a list of the top museums in town to visit.
Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum
You’re in for an unparalleled museum experience.
Where else in the world can you see 600-700 mint-condition motorcycles on exhibit at one time? Nowhere. The Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum is recognized by Guinness World Records as the world’s largest motorcycle collection. With over 1,400 motorcycles spanning over 100 years of production, the Barber collection represents 200 different manufacturers from 20 countries. Showcasing the unique design of each individual piece, this epic display reveals the fine art of the motorcycle. But that’s not all. The museum also features the world’s most extensive collection of Lotus cars, plus an assortment of rare, celebrated cars.
*The museum will be closed September 5, 2016.
Admission:
Adults: $15
Children ages 4–12: $10
Children 3 and under: FREE
Pets are not allowed.
Birmingham Civil Rights Institute
Birmingham Civil Rights Institute is a cultural and educational research center that promotes a comprehensive understanding and appreciation for the significance of civil rights developments in Birmingham with an increasing emphasis on the international struggle for universal human rights. BCRI is a “living institution” that views the lessons of the past as crucial to understanding our heritage and defining our future. Since opening its doors in 1992, BCRI has been visited by more than 2 million people from all 50 states and around the world. Visitors include adults, school children and students, families, researchers, and scholars.
Each year, BCRI reaches more than 140,000 individuals through teacher education (including curriculum development and teacher training), group tours, outreach programs (school and community), award-winning after-school and public programs, exhibitions and extensive archival collections. BCRI encourages visitors to examine basic issues of morality, law, justice and responsible citizenship. It also teaches that silence and indifference to the suffering of others can only perpetuate social problems and divisions.
Their mission is to enlighten each generation about civil and human rights by exploring our common past and working together in the present to build a better future.
Admission and Hours:
Tuesday-Saturday: 10am – 5pm
Sunday: 1pm – 5 pm
Ticket booth closes at 4:30 pm
McWane Science Center
Designed to inspire a life-long love of learning, McWane Science Center has welcomed millions of visitors since opening its doors in 1998. Explorers – from ages 1 to 100 – flock year-round to see, to hear, to touch, and to experience the wonder of science in one of the South’s most unique venues. McWane Science Center has a number of permanent exhibits that are a regular part of the science education experience. These include Just Mice Size, Explore! Collections Center, Alabama Dinosaurs and Sea Monsters, NatureScope, Fox 6 Weather Lab, Science on a Sphere, High Cycle, World of Water Aquarium, Shark and Ray Touch Tank, the John W. Woods IMAX Dome Theater and our upcoming Birmingham Children’s Museum Itty Bitty Magic City.
Hours and Special Closings:
| Monday: | 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM | Closed New Year’s Day |
| Tuesday: | 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM | Closed Easter Sunday |
| Wednesday: | 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM | Closed Thanksgiving Day |
| Thursday: | 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM | Closed Christmas Eve & Christmas Day |
| Friday: | 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM | |
| Saturday: | 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM | |
| Sunday: | 12:00 PM to 6:00 PM | |
Birmingham Museum of Art
The Birmingham Museum of Art, one of the finest regional museums in the United States, houses a diverse collection of more than 26,000 paintings, sculpture, prints, drawings, and decorative arts dating from ancient to modern times. The collection presents a rich panorama of cultures, featuring the Museum’s extensive holdings of Asian, European, American, African, Pre-Columbian, and Native American art. The mission of the Birmingham Museum of Art is to provide an unparalleled cultural and educational experience to a diverse community by collecting, presenting, interpreting, and preserving works of art of the highest quality.
Hours
Tuesday-Saturday: 10am-5pm
Sunday: Noon-5pm
First Thursdays: open until 9pm
Closed Mondays and Major Holidays
General Admission is FREE
Southern Museum of Flight
The Southern Museum of Flight, one of the largest aviation museums in the Southeast, is dedicated to presenting civilian, military, and experimental aircraft and memorabilia from the earliest history of powered flight. The 75,000 square foot facility houses over 90 aircraft, as well as engines, models, artifacts, photographs, and paintings. In addition, the Southern Museum of Flight is home to the Alabama Aviation Hall of Fame with over 65 biographical plaques presenting Alabama aviation history through collective biography.
The Southern Museum of Flight has something for everyone! Adult admission is $7 and student/senior is $6. Active military & families are free. Annual museum family memberships are $65. Family memberships include reciprocal memberships with hundreds of other museums. Discounted group rates are available.
No matter which museum you decide to visit, Limbaugh Toyota can provide the means to get you there.
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