The Best Museums in Dallas-Fort Worth to Visit Right Now
From Dallas to Fort Worth, visit the 14 best museums to learn about art, music, history, and even video games.
Dallas-Fort Worth has more than 200 museums across our multi-city landscape—enough to make Mona Lisa light up with a high-wattage Julia Roberts smile (showing teeth and everything!). Because of this abundance of cultural venues large and small, North Texas is home to countless works of art that can provide a small glimpse or total immersion into various points in world history. We also have non-art museums that give visitors a laser-focused look at certain niche subjects, including The Dallas Firefighter’s Museum, the Mary Kay Museum, the Samurai Collection, the Haas Moto Museum & Sculpture Gallery, and the Granbury Doll House Museum. We’re also lucky enough to have several museums with free admission, so even when your wallet’s getting empty you can have an enjoyable experience in the city. It could take months or years to visit every one of these venues across DFW, but we’ve created a list of 14 can’t-miss museums to get things started.
Dallas Arts District
As the symbolic centerpiece of the Dallas Arts District (the largest contiguous planned urban arts area in the nation), the Dallas Museum of Art (DMA) is the city’s biggest museum with a massive permanent collection of masterworks that are always free to access. Certain limited-time exhibitions have a price, but they’re always worth the investment. The DMA’s Late Nights every third Friday feature programming built around a specific theme with performances and other experiences taking place on-site, both indoors and out.
Cost: Entrance to permanent collections is free. Purchase tickets to special exhibitions at the Guest Services Desk or online.
Fair Park
Among Fair Park’s many museums and attractions on its Art Deco-era campus, the African American Museum is the only museum of its type in the Southwest region dedicated to the preservation and display of African American artistic, cultural, and historical materials. Artifacts of exhumed graves from a Freedman’s cemetery, the permanent and noteworthy Kinsey Collection, and Black Cowboys: An American Story are among a few of the many enriching must-see exhibits.
Cost: Admission to the museum is free year-round, except during the State Fair of Texas when a ticket to the fair must be purchased to access all buildings on the property.
Fort Worth Cultural District
Since 2002, the 53,000-square-foot Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth (known simply as “The Modern”) has led the region in showcasing art from the 1940s through today. Housed in a glass, steel, and concrete building designed by legendary Japanese architect Tadao Ando, the museum’s structure is as much a work of art as everything inside. Several works from Andy Warhol, Jackson Pollock, and Misty Keasler are among some of the many highlights within its galleries. As much name-dropping we could do, it’s also a wonderful supporter for local, up-and-coming Texas artists, too.
Cost: Adult entry is $16 per person, except Fridays when admission is free and Sundays when tickets are half-price. Purchase tickets at the admission desk or online.
West End
Nearly 60 years after the JFK assassination, the 1963 event continues to fascinate. Whether it’s morbid curiosity, the investigation of conspiracy theories, or a look at the life of a United States President that motivates a visit, the Sixth Floor Museum presents a well-curated approach to making sense of that one tragic day in history.
Cost: Tickets are $18 per adult and can be purchased on-site or online with timed entry.
Victory Park
Even though many exhibits within the museum cater to children, the Perot has plenty to appeal to adults, too. Permanent exhibits range from ancient dinosaur bones to the secrets and mysteries of life in the here and now. One of the most popular adult programs happens each week at Thursdays on Tap, a 21-and-over event with food trucks, live music, games, multiple bars serving beer, wine, and cocktails, as well as full access to the museum where you can be a kid—without having to see any real ones.
Cost: General admission tickets start at $25 for non-members and can be booked online with timed entry.
SMU
Regardless of your political affiliation, having a presidential center in our town is a unique experience, and the George W. Bush Presidential Center on the campus of Southern Methodist University offers a fascinating glimpse at the two-term President’s time in the White House. Get a picture in the painstakingly recreated Oval Office, take an emotional journey through the days leading up to and following 9/11, and put yourself in Bush’s shoes by making critical policy choices in the interactive Decision Points Theater.
Cost: Tickets are $26 per adult and must be purchased online in advance.
Frisco
No gamer in North Texas should pass up the opportunity to visit the National Videogame Museum, a site with a time capsule–worthy collection of gaming systems from the earliest versions to the latest technologies. Explore exhibits dedicated to legendary characters, including Donkey Kong and Pac-Man, as well as advertising and merchandising that made it all the way to the cereal aisle. Best of all, unlike many museums where you’re not allowed to touch, here you can try to reach a high score on one of the many classic arcade games or get your hands on a variety of gaming controls to flashback to childhood with some all-time classic titles.
Cost: Tickets are $12 per adult and can be purchased at the ticket window.
McKinney
It’s one thing to learn about nature in a climate-controlled building, but something altogether better about experiencing it IRL. The Heard Natural Science Museum & Wildlife Sanctuary combines the best of both worlds with interactive indoor exhibits, which can lay the groundwork for understanding the world around you on hikes (with day and night options), ziplining, bird walks, canoeing and kayaking, and getting up close and personal with lifelike dinosaurs on the 289-acre property.
Cost: Tickets are $12 per adult and can be purchased on-site or online.
Love Field
Time spent on airplanes these days can be a less-than-enjoyable experience, but regardless of whether you’re a middle-seat aficionado or a Business Class regular, humans in flight will always be a fascinating subject. Discover the history of aviation, its role in modern wars, the advent of space travel, and the bygone eras of passenger air travel with more than 40 aircraft and scale models throughout the museum.
Cost: Tickets are $12 per adult and may be purchased on-site.
Bryan Place
You can’t miss the vivid colors of the Latino Cultural Center as it rises above Good-Latimer Expressway as a contemporary interpretation of an ancient Aztec pyramid. Inside, a vast array of experiences surrounding Latino art and culture can be found on any given day, from permanent and temporary art exhibits to live music, theatrical performances, and educational workshops.
Cost: General admission is free, but certain special events may have a fee.
Fort Worth Cultural District
Claude Monet, Pablo Picasso, and Joan Miró are among the artists whose works are part of the Kimbell’s permanent collection. In addition to many free exhibits in the museum’s galleries and on the grounds outside, the Kimbell also regularly hosts some of the most high-profile exhibitions in the country. Make sure to check out the museum’s 50th Anniversary exhibit to discover the significance of this cultural institution in the region.
Cost: Admission to the permanent collections is free and special exhibitions are $18 per adult. Tickets may be purchased on-site or online.
Dallas Arts District
Now under the care of The University of Texas at Dallas, The Crow Museum of Asian Art features works from Japan, China, Korea, India, and Southeast Asia across multiple galleries. The sculpture garden is a wonderfully peaceful place to visit—a sanctuary from the hustle and bustle of downtown that surrounds it.
Cost: Admission to the museum is always free.
Fort Worth Cultural District
American Art covers everything from quaint nature scenes to pure abstraction, and Amon Carter showcases some of the most comprehensive collections. Ansel Adams, Federico Castellon, Charles M. Russell, and Frederic Remington are among the artists whose paintings, photographs, and sculptures are part of the permanent collection. Grab a frosty adult beverage and experience the museum with a bev in hand during the Carter’s Second Thursdays events, which include hands-on experiences, live music, and films.
Cost: Admission to the museum is free.
Dallas Arts District
The Nashers, founding family of the NorthPark shopping center, have acquired so much fine art over time that they built this sculpture center to showcase some of their favorite pieces for everyone to enjoy. The iconic downtown Dallas skyline provides the backdrop for the large-scale outdoor sculptures, while indoor exhibits tend to be a bit more intimate and approachable in size. Plan ahead for the museum’s ‘til Midnight at the Nasher events every third Friday for free admission and live outdoor concerts, film screenings, food, and alcoholic beverages in addition to the everyday collection of sculptural masterpieces.
Cost: General admission is $10 per adult and tickets may be purchased on-site or online.