List of museums in Rhode Island facts for kids

Welcome to a list of awesome museums in Rhode Island! Museums are special places where cool stuff from the past, amazing art, science discoveries, and important history are kept safe. They let you explore and learn about all sorts of interesting things. This list includes museums you can visit in person. We'll also look at some museums that aren't open anymore in a different section.

Cool Museums to Explore

Rhode Island has many fantastic museums. They cover everything from old houses and military history to art, science, and even cars! Here's a look at some of them.

Art and Culture Museums

• Annmary Brown Memorial: This museum is part of Brown University. It has beautiful European and American paintings from the 1600s to the 1900s. You can also see a collection of swords!
• David Winton Bell Gallery: Also part of Brown University, this gallery shows different art exhibits.
• Hera Gallery: Located in Wakefield, this gallery features modern art.
• Jamestown Arts Center: This center in Jamestown is an art museum and a place where you can learn about art. It also hosts film festivals.
• National Museum of American Illustration: Found in Newport, this museum displays amazing American artwork. It's located in a grand old mansion called Vernon Court.
• Newport Art Museum: This museum in Newport showcases art from Rhode Island and New England artists. It also has rooms decorated like they were in the mid-1800s.
• Redwood Library and Athenaeum: This historic library in Newport often has art and history exhibits from its own collections. You can also see sculptures and beautiful gardens.
• Rhode Island School of Design Museum: Located in Providence, this museum has a huge collection of art. You can see art from ancient Egypt, Asia, Africa, Greece, Rome, Europe, and the Americas. They also have decorative arts, costumes, and textiles.
• Warwick Museum of Art: This museum in Warwick has changing exhibits of fine art and decorative art.

History and Heritage Museums

Many museums in Rhode Island help us learn about the past.

Historic Homes and Estates

• Belcourt Castle: This was a fancy summer home built in the 1890s in Newport. It's filled with furniture, art, and items from many different countries.
• Blithewold Mansion, Gardens and Arboretum: In Bristol, this is a large, English-style mansion with 45 rooms. It also has beautiful gardens and a tree collection.
• The Breakers: This famous mansion in Newport was built in the 1890s for the wealthy Vanderbilt family.
• Chateau-sur-Mer: Another grand mansion in Newport from the "Gilded Age," a time of great wealth.
• Chepstow: A 19th-century mansion in Newport that shows how people lived long ago.
• Clemence-Irons House: This very old house in Johnston dates back to the late 1600s. Historic New England takes care of it.
• Clouds Hill Victorian House Museum: A late 19th-century Victorian house in Warwick.
• Eleazer Arnold House: Another 17th-century house in Lincoln, also cared for by Historic New England.
• The Elms: An early 20th-century mansion in Newport.
• General Nathanael Greene Homestead: This 18th-century home in Coventry belonged to Nathanael Greene, a general in the Revolutionary War.
• Gilbert Stuart Birthplace: The 18th-century home in Saunderstown where famous portrait painter Gilbert Stuart was born.
• Governor Henry Lippitt House: A beautiful 19th-century Victorian home with 20 rooms in Providence.
• Governor Sprague Mansion: In Cranston, this mid-19th-century mansion is run by the Cranston Historical Society.
• Governor Stephen Hopkins House: The 18th-century home in Providence of Stephen Hopkins, a signer of the Declaration of Independence.
• Green Animals Topiary Garden: In Portsmouth, this place has over 80 animal-shaped bushes! It also has an 1859 Victorian house with old toys and furniture.
• Hearthside: An early 19th-century stone mansion in Lincoln.
• Hunter House: An 18th-century house in Newport.
• Isaac Bell House: This unique 1880s house in Newport is built in the "Shingle-Style."
• John Brown House: An 18th-century mansion in Providence, run by the Rhode Island Historical Society.
• John Hunt House: An 18th-century house in East Providence, run by the East Providence Historical Society.
• John Waterman Arnold House: A late 18th-century house in Warwick, home to the Warwick Historical Society.
• Joy Homestead: An 18th-century Colonial house in Cranston, run by the Cranston Historical Society.
• Kingscote: A 19th-century Gothic Revival house in Newport.
• Linden Place: A 19th-century estate with gardens in Bristol.
• Marble House: Another grand "Gilded Age" mansion in Newport, built for the Vanderbilt family.
• Mount Hope Farm: An 18th-century mansion and farm in Bristol.
• Paine House Museum: A Colonial period house in Coventry.
• Rosecliff: A "Gilded Age" mansion in Newport, inspired by a palace in France.
• Rough Point: The estate of Doris Duke in Newport, which includes a large art collection.
• Samuel Whitehorne House: A 19th-century brick townhouse in Newport with furniture from the late 1700s.
• Smith-Appleby House: An 18th-century house in Smithfield.
• Smith's Castle: A very old house in Wickford from the late 1600s.
• Varnum House Museum: This 1773 house in East Greenwich was built by James Mitchell Varnum. It's filled with old furniture and artifacts.
• Wanton-Lyman-Hazard House: A Colonial-era house in Newport, run by the Newport Historical Society.
• Watson Farm: While the 1796 house in Jamestown isn't open, you can explore the farmland.
• Whitehall Museum House: An 18th-century house in Middletown.
• Wilbor House, Barn and Quaker Meeting House: In Little Compton, this includes a late 17th-century house and an early 19th-century meeting house.

Local History and Culture

• Barrington Preservation Society: This museum in Barrington shows household items, and tells about the brick and fishing industries.
• Block Island Historical Society Museum: On Block Island, this museum has household items, and things related to the sea and farming.
• Bristol Historical and Preservation Society Museum and Library: This museum in Bristol is in a 19th-century jail and keeper's house.
• Cape Verdean Museum Exhibit: In Pawtucket, this exhibit shares the history and culture of Cape Verde and Cape Verdean Americans.
• Coggeshall Farm Museum: A living history museum in Bristol that shows what a late 18th-century farm was like. People dress up and act out life from that time.
• Jamestown Museum: Run by the Jamestown Historical Society, this museum in Jamestown is open during certain seasons.
• Museum of Newport History: Located in Newport, this museum tells the story of Newport's past.
• Museum of Work and Culture: In Woonsocket, this museum focuses on the textile industry and is run by the Rhode Island Historical Society.
• Nelson W. Aldrich House: This is the main home of the Rhode Island Historical Society in Providence. It has changing exhibits about Rhode Island's history.
• Newport Colony House: In Newport, this historic building was a meeting place for the Colonial government.
• Pettaquamscutt Historical Society Museum: Housed in an old jail building in Kingston, this museum shares local history.
• Portsmouth Historical Society: This society in Portsmouth keeps most of its collection in a former church. It includes a room dedicated to Julia Ward Howe.
• Roger Williams National Memorial: In Providence, this memorial tells about the life of Roger Williams. He helped start Rhode Island and believed strongly in religious freedom.
• South County Museum: A living history museum in Narragansett. It has farm exhibits, a Victorian kitchen, a general store, a print shop, and more!
• Sydney L. Wright Museum: In Jamestown, this museum has ancient and Colonial Native American artifacts, European items from the 1600s, photos, and maps.
• Tomaquag Indian Memorial Museum: In Exeter, this museum celebrates the history and culture of the Narragansett people.
• Touro Synagogue: A historic synagogue in Newport from the Colonial era.

Military and Maritime Museums

• Artillery Company of Newport: This museum in Newport has uniforms, weapons, and military items.
• Bristol Train of Artillery Museum: In Bristol, this military museum is open by appointment.
• Fort Adams: Located in Newport, you can take tours of this historic fort.
• Herreshoff Marine Museum: In Bristol, this museum is all about boats and sailing. It also includes the America's Cup Hall of Fame.
• Museum of Yachting: In Newport, this museum has art, photos, and history about yachting, sailing, and building boats.
• Naval War College Museum: In Newport, this museum covers the history of the Naval War College, local naval activities, and naval warfare.
• Seabee Museum and Memorial Park: In Davisville, this park has a former U.S. Navy chapel, old Quonset huts, and a Seabee statue.
• Varnum Memorial Armory Military Museum: In East Greenwich, this museum has weapons, uniforms, and artifacts from Colonial America through the 1900s.
• Westerly Armory Museum: This museum in Westerly has local military items.

Science, Technology, and Nature Museums

• Audrain Automobile Museum: In Newport, this museum keeps and shows the history of cars.
• Beavertail Lighthouse Museum: Located in Jamestown, this museum is in the assistant keeper's house of a lighthouse. It has models of many Rhode Island lighthouses.
• Block Island Southeast Light: This lighthouse on Block Island is open in the summer.
• Boyd's Wind Grist Mill: An early 19th-century windmill in Middletown, open on Sunday afternoons in summer.
• Culinary Arts Museum: Part of Johnson & Wales University in Providence, this museum explores the history of food, cooking, and different cuisines.
• Firemen's Museum: In Warren, this museum about firefighters is open by appointment.
• Jamestown Fire Museum: Run by the Jamestown Fire Department in Jamestown, this museum is next to the main fire station.
• Musée Patamécanique: A private museum in Bristol with unique works related to "Patamechanics."
• Museum of Natural History and Planetarium: Located in Roger Williams Park in Providence, this museum teaches about natural history and has a planetarium.
• Newport Car Museum: In Portsmouth, this museum has over 75 cars from the 1950s to today, displayed in six different galleries.
• New England Wireless and Steam Museum: In East Greenwich, this museum has old radio equipment, steam engines, and other technical artifacts.
• Norman Bird Sanctuary: This wildlife refuge in Middletown has a trailside museum.
• Prescott Farm: In Middletown, this farm has a windmill, a Revolutionary War guard house, and historic gardens.
• Providence Children's Museum: A fun, hands-on museum in Providence designed just for kids!
• Rhode Island Computer Museum: In North Kingstown, this museum has a huge collection of old computers, many of which still work! You can even try some interactive demonstrations. They also offer STEM/STEAM classes.
• Rhode Island Museum of Science and Art (RIMOSA): In Providence, this museum offers hands-on exhibits and creative resources for all ages. It recently joined with the Rhode Island Computer Museum.
• Rhode Island Radio Museum: In North Providence, this private collection features radio and wireless equipment made in Rhode Island during the 1920s.
• Rhode Island Railroad Museum: Located in the southern part of the Kingston Railroad Station, this museum is all about railroads.
• Slater Mill: In Pawtucket, this museum focuses on the history of the textile mill industry.

Other Unique Museums

• Museum of Primitive Art and Culture: In South Kingstown, this museum has changing exhibits of archaeological and ethnological objects from around the world, including Native American items.
• Paradise School: A one-room schoolhouse in Portsmouth.

Museums That Are No Longer Open

Sometimes museums close down. Here are a few that used to be open in Rhode Island:

• Beechwood (mansion), a mansion that closed in 2010.
• The Doll Museum in Newport, which closed in 2005.
• Soviet submarine K-77, a submarine that was in Providence.
• Quonset Air Museum, an air museum in North Kingstown that closed in 2015.

Images for kids

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  Rhode Island county map