Need a culture fix? 6 area museums will open their doors for free visits on Museum Day

Smithsonian magazine hosts 14th annual celebration of curiosity

Credit: DaytonDailyNews

Smithsonian magazine would like you to be their guest at a local museum.

Museum Day is an annual "celebration of boundless curiosity" according to Smithsonian.com. The organization will provide free admission for two people at museums across the country on Saturday, Sept. 22.

Participating cultural institutions can be found on the website and participants can download one ticket per email address.

For more information about Smithsonian magazine Museum Day: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/museumday/museum-day-2018/

These are the six sites in the Miami Valley participating in the event:

Garst Museum and the National Annie Oakley Center 

The Greenville museum is an authority on famous sharpshooter Annie Oakley, the Treaty of Greenville and Lowell Thomas, a broadcast journalism pioneer.

More info: https:www.garstmuseum.org

>> RELATED: The perfect time (and place) to learn about the life of famous sharpshooter Annie Oakley

“I think she’s a role model for lots of people because back then women would just cook and clean while the men did all the shooting,” said 11-year-old Alexis Stump of Union City, Ind. as she compared her own height to a life-sized cutout of Oakley at The Annie Oakley Center in Greenville. LISA POWELL / STAFF

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WACO Air Museum 

This museum, located in Troy, tells the story of the WACO Aircraft Company and its employees. The company was the largest manufacturer of civil aircraft in the country.

More info: http://www.wacoairmuseum.org

>> RELATED: 7 nearby places to lose yourself in amazing history and beautiful art

Visitors walk the museum during the WACO Homecoming Fly-In in Troy on Sunday, Sept. 21. The three days event is to welcome WACO planes to their "home" Troy, Ohio, where they were built until the 1940s.

Credit: Teesha McClam

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Credit: Teesha McClam

National Afro-American Museum and Cultural Center 

Ohio and the nation’s African American history, art and culture are celebrated at this museum in Wilberforce. Among the collection is a pair of tap shoes donated by the dancer, musician and actor Gregory Hines and the typewriter used by author Alex Haley.

More info: https://www.ohiohistory.org/visit/museum-and-site-locator/national-afro-american-museum 

Springfield Museum of Art 

This museum has a permanent collection of 2,000 works of American art with a focus on Ohio artists. Currently landscapes from their collection and The Woods in Color: Works by Jean Koeller are among the artworks on display.

More info: https://www.springfieldart.net/ 

The Springfield Museum of Art. The Westcott House and the Springfield Museum of Art recently got approval for funding from the Clark County CFA, which uses revenue from hotel bed taxes to fund local tourism efforts. Bill Lackey/Staff

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Harmon Museum and Art Gallery 

The history and art museum is located in a historic, three story house in downtown Lebanon. It contains paintings, decorative arts and the Warren County Historical Society Historical Research & Genealogy Library.

More info: https://www.harmonmuseumohio.org

>> RELATED: Here is the unseen history at one of the country’s first African-American museums

Bradford Ohio Railroad Museum 

The museum celebrates the impact the railroad had on the land through photos, interactive displays and railroad memorabilia. A children’s area has interactive play exhibits and a Thomas the Train set and outside visitors can see a switching station in action.

More info: https://www.bradfordrrmuseum.org

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