Reviews of West Virginia State Museum (Museum)

Jeanie Waugh

Wonderful place to visit with history from all 55 counties.

Samantha Farley

I enjoy visiting any and all museums. My reviews regarding museums will always be a bit bias. I enjoyed all the war uniforms.

Kayla Skidmore

Love going through this museum, even though I've gone through it probably more than a dozen times by this point. It's super immersive and fascinating even to those who might not be so interested in history. I could visit here time and time again.

d R

Very nice. Never been there before the history the pleasant atmosphere the staff all top notch. Prices at gift shop to high

John Nitis

Huge amount of material for view. Best count on several hours at least. Capital complex well worth viewing. Gem of WV.

terry songer

It was extremely interesting and entertaining. We very much enjoyed our tour

Kipp Ferrebee

Great opportunity to learn local history of WV. I love history and the staff were very helpful and attentive.

Chris Bloomfield

Great museum that was bigger than we thought it would be. You have to pay for metered parking at 30 minutes per quarter. Worth it to visit the state house and this museum.

Lorna Jean Steele

Had a great visit, my 3 girls 1st time there, saw the capital & the museum. Went to an escape room, it was great!

Brian Brumfield

AWESOME...very great place to enjoy, especially with the family and kids. It's really enjoyable with a group of school kids, we went with our 8th grade class from Beth Haven Christian School. The kids had a great time and learned so much about our West Virginia History, Heritage, and Culture. There's also a really nice gift shop at the end of the tour.

Mark Sowards

Awesome place and it's free

J Fred

Tons of great exhibits on West Virgina history.

Gary Sporer

Incredibly large, wide-ranging displays. Two hours were not enough.

Maggie Linsky

The Museum at the Culture Center is always changing, always free, always hosted by friendly, knowledgeable people. Celebrating 100 year history of the WV State Police with special exhibits now.

David Pieper

This was an awesome museum and the best part is it is free. They have great informational areas that form a path starting at the beginning of time and moving on from there.

Jackie Ison

Great place to visit! I loved it!

Jessica Benson

Amazing hidden gem in the capitol complex.

Terry White

We visited the annual quilt display and gift shop. The best of WV!

Abby Bankson

Very nice complex and people.

Jacob Tanner

I was surprised by how much there was to see at this museum. There's plenty for anybody who is even remotely interested in history. We will definitely be back, and we'll plan to spend more than 2 hours there

corey jones

Very nice and informative. We spent almost 2 hours looking around but it didn't feel like that long. Learned lots of interesting facts about WV

Marsha Stearns

Very informative. Always a casual, personal experience.

Adam Weber

Very well designed exhibits. Comprehensive information. Well organized. Free!

Sidney Jackson

Shows the history of the area from prehistoric to modern times. See the front desk and get the treasure hunt book, it makes the tour more fun.

Linda Kasal

This place is really nice.

Tom Koenig

An evening or night stroll around the WV Capitol grounds is magical.

Rob Kuenzel

Great time at Mountain Stage. Enjoyed The Matchsellers, Bluegrass Astronauts. #mountainstage #almostheaven l

David Ellis

Very fun and educational

Dave Pogue

I'm a big fan of this place. There are lots of interesting artifacts and immersive exhibits, and you will leave feeling a sense of pride in our State. If you haven't been to this museum before, or it's been a long time (they've made substantial improvements within the last 10 years or so), you should definitely check it out sometime soon.

Dennis Sweet

Wonderful experience. Plan to be there for hours; there is a lot of information to soak up.

_Egg_

As a kid I really loved this! Would highly recommend to anyone 1-90 who live in West Virginia.

Brenda C Argyle

Beautiful and Gorgeous

Fefi Fofum

50 states and which is the poorest, least healthy, least educated, most violent, with the most abusive industry? 50 choices.

Amy Loring

The display is fantastic! My brother came back cause our other sister got really sick, so he came to see her. We had some time before we could go see her and we ended up at the museum. I was awe struck! The time and work that went into the display was worth it!! It was beautiful!

Rae Pawling

A very nice and free museum. Instantly, you get a sense of what makes West Virginia different than the other 50 states. Lovingly curated, it seems to me. If your kids have not come here as part of their school, then bring them here yourselves. Worthwhile.

Jordan Lovejoy

This is one of the coolest museums I've ever been to! It's completely free, parking is simple, and the museum is under ground which really makes a unique experience because alot of West Virginia's history has to do with mining

David Walker

I almost didn't go to the West Virginia State Museum, but hey, it was free. Turned out to be an amazing labyrinth of history spanning time: from the formation of the Appalachian Mountains thru to today. It was truly a wonderful museum, the entrance lobby displaying dozens of large, hand-made quilts. Do yourself a favor and take your time, browse through the many wonderful displays, room-sized recreations, and the countless intricate details documenting the history of West Virginia. Do not miss this. Highly recommended.

Jozlantice Tucker

Very informative and is climate control. Very interesting concepts.

Alex Voskoboinik

This is a beautiful museum that reveals many interesting facts and illustrations about the history of West Verginia. I highly recommend it!

Chris Kagy

Neat, comprehensive exhibit covering the history of the state. They did a nice job of incorporating information about the vast diversity of life experiences of those who people the state

michael strollo

Awesome museum. Way bigger and extensive than I expected. Good mix of artifacts and information. Everything from prehistoric to modern history of the state. Definitely worth a stop if you are stopping by.

Lisa Hale

Expansive and complete. It is also interesting!

Ken .DeWalt

One of the best weve been in

Timothy Smith

very interesting and well curated. the first floor of the museum documents and displays West Virginia's rich and diverse history - from prehistoric times to native culture thru the civil war and statehood on up till present day. the second floor appears to be used for other more seasonal displays such as state first lady gowns and old toys. it was a great way to spend an afternoon while we are visiting my local father - educational, informative and well done... worth the time!

Jeff Rupersburg

Best museum ever!!!!

Daniel Foster

I was blown away by how nice the museum was. I loved learning about West Virgninas heritage and more. I would love to go again. Didn't get to fit the whole place in before they closed.

Cindy Keely

A phenomenal representation of West Virginia history to current day!

Tyler Davis

Free and very informative!

Marcellin Kopandru

Good museum. I wish many state would follow this example. Unfortunately, the history of slavery seemed like a footnote :(

John Harrington

The museum is free! It moves through history sequentially, which gives context. One of the best state history museums I have been to. Give yourself 1-2 hours to properly enjoy it.

C Huge

I used a device that videoed an ASL interpreter for each exhibit and the staff wete extemely courteous.

Tad Boyle

I really enjoy the museum there's a lot of Hands-On exhibits and they're continually updating things I love her they close at 4:30 not 5

Yeo Jott

People were extremely friendly and my family had an educational time. They have added some areas since I last went and I'm glad they still had the 2 ton coal cube.

Roger Smith

You have to see the dresses fleas. They are amazing.

Adam Hodges

One of the best state history museums in the country! Worth a trip and designed in a way that is even engaging to young children!

crystal schoonover

Very informative and the displays are wonderful

Loudonna Watkins

Really wonderful to see so much history of our great state so beautifully displayed. Would be for any age.

Steve Ritter

This place was awesome. It could entertain kids or adults with it's stories and sets/scenery.

Stephanie Lupson

This place is and has always been one of my favorite places to go when I have the free time to let my kids look around and learn things about the state and to top it off it's absolutely FREE

Zachary O

Love this place. I go every year. A great mix of state and national history. West Virginia has an amazing history during the civil war. It's free and a great place to learn history from fossils to modern day. They add things every year so it never gets old. Definitely a must do if your in the area.

T D

The West Virginia State Museum was one of the best State history museums I've been to. The museum had a theme in every section. You start off in prehistoric times, to the foundation of the State and it's history of the civil war, to coal mining and the present. This is a place I would visit again.

Warren Peace

Currently, they have a WV state police exhibit, which is pretty awesome if you like historical fire arms.

Ken Faulkner

Visiting and interested to learn more about the history of WV? This is the place for you - and it is free!

stephen roberts

Awesome way to discover the history of the state of West Virginia

Ron Hawketts

This has to be one of the best museums that you will ever visit if you want to understand American History of the people. The museum is free to enter (not as other reviewers imply it is expensive.) You travel downstairs on an escalator and start from before man was on the planet. Slowly you walk through a labyrinth of corridors each one leading to the next and a date stamp on the floor to give you an idea of the period you are in. This must have taken a few years to set up and one of the attendants told us that if you were to read all the plaques, it will take you 30 hours, from start to finish. This is excellent and highly educational and if you visit Charleston an experience you should not miss. you have to give the museum 10 stars out of 5 and I would have gladly paid 20 dollars unfortunately I was unable to pay a cent or leave any money for a local charity, that was a shame. I must add I was a visitor from the UK and will always remember this museum. Thank you

Fawn Washington

Great place for history buffs to visit with thw family.

Wade Johnson

Thought we'd take in a museum as we were spending the night on our way up to Ohio from North Carolina. I am glad we did! This is a very nice museum! Lots of wonderful artifacts and history to see and experience. Only negative was finding it. We parked in the near empty lot on a Saturday, and had a little bit of a hard time locating it until we pulled out Google Maps in walk mode. Took us right there.

patsy adkins

Great place to visit

Mary Locatelli

Wonderful museum with so many interesting exhibits on West Virginia. I very much enjoyed it. So worth the visit!

Stephen Wroblewski

What a wonderful experience. You can just walk through or spend all day reading all of the very interesting things about West Virginia. They have done a wonderful job putting this together. I was proud to bring my family here who were visiting from California. I think they were impressed.

P. Lamberty

Wonderful place to go if you have never been to the state. We could have spent hours there going through all of the exhibits but unfortunately we were only stopping through. They also have a really friendly staff. A great thing to do is park at the Capitol Market and take the trolley to the museum!

Lori Elling

Lovely museum with tons of information about the state and it's history. I loved the narration throughout and the displays. It's hard to believe it is free admission as some paid admission museums don't have this much quality displays. Plan to spend a few hours here so you can read most of the information and, enjoy the many displays.

John Johnson

My kids went here on his school trip and it was a really cool place to see. You can probably see the whole thing in an afternoon. Would recommend to see it if you like history.

Bryan Browning

Loved this place as a kid, it's even better now.

Nancy Shimp

We stopped here while traveling through West Virginia and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Gordon Squires

Fun time went thru twice on same visit.

Joan Parker

Stellar offering of West Virginia's treasures... and it's FREE!

Marlene Price

Beautiful quilts and helpful staff.

Niki Mastny

This seemed like a nice museum, but I cannot give it more than three stars because I didn't get to see all of it. The lower level which is apparently the best is closed for cleaning on Monday. We did get to see exhibits on local quilts, art, and WV police museum, and an exhibit on it's politicians and some of the first lady's dresses which was interesting. This museum he old contrand, which was interesting!

Denise Ferguson

Love this place...We make weekend trips taking our grandkids. Alot of history and the atmosphere is very creative.

b. keiffer

Great place to see many historic items and interest ing items. Free. Great way to spend an afternoon on a hot summer day.

Cherie Dimmick

Excellent museum! 7,8, and 9 year old really enjoyed and so did the adults. Great way to spend a couple of hours in Charleston.

Diane Cooper

Went and watched a taping of Mountain Stage. Always a good time!

Pam Sawyer

Loved this museum!

Urania Harrison

Amazing place to visit, its free to enter! My husband kinda rushed me lol but it was fun! I loved the gift shop too!

Deanna Thomas

It wasn't as clean as it usually is & I really MISSED seeing the quilt display. We left a lot sooner than we normally do.

Tracy Clary

This was a great museum and it told the complete story of West Virginia.

Baba Lewie

Surprisingly well done. The internet doesn't offer much information about this gem, but we had so much fun and learned something too. Even the 4 yr old enjoyed the visit. We allotted 90 mins for the journey and didn't even get to the upstairs exhibits. There is also a pretty amazing War Memorial on the grounds. There are videos, audios, some things you can touch and so many things to see. AND ITS ALL FREE!! (parking meters must be fed . 75 cents for 90 mins)

Lauren Sullivan

Had the place to myself! Great staff! Cool exhibits!! Plus it's free!

Morgan Cox

Love this place! Used to visit here as a kid and it's still wonderful! I recommend going on the weekends, as per their website, metered parking isn't monitored. And there's less people and you can tour by yourself.

Dave Gordon

Very highly recommended, and free. Aka Bldg No.9 Science & Cultural Center, aka West Virginia Capital Complex Building 9 Culture & History Commission is a thorough look at WV history and industry. A must-see stop, even if just passing through the state. The kids enjoyed the scavenger hunt, completing the self-guided tour within 2 hours.

Christopher Mitchell

Going back for sure. There was a lot to learn and see. Friendly staff and was very spotless.

Jeffrey Allen

Very nice

Rebekah

We went on an educational trip as a family. The staff is vary friendly and had provided a map of the downstairs for easy manuverability. Definitely a place to go for learning about the states history. There are plenty of well preserved artifacts and my family and I all had a marvelous time.

Lynn Heinze

Great interactive, visual, audial, and informative displays. A "must" see experience.

Ryan W

This is an absolutely fantastic State Historical Museum! And it was free. The staff does a great job welcoming you. My kids loved it and we loved it!

Jasmine Coleman

The museum is one of the best that I have been to.

Carpe Diem

So many things and displays here! Very interesting history! So much to look at! Much bigger than I thought it would be. Clean bathrooms. The staff were so friendly !

justin altizer

Really nice gift shop

Jessica Hall

This is a wonderful museum. It is great to take a self guided tour in. Go when you have plenty of time to take everything in and get the full experience

Cindy K

We had a great time

D S

Pretty nice natural history display related to WV

Greg Mullins

Extremely nice people extremely a lot of things in the library that you wouldn't know about West Virginia free faxing free computers usage I hate to say this they always have a pin for me cuz it always slips my mind I once told them cuz of the faxing is free I said I hope you never go out of business gentleman working there said me too LOL

Gloria Martin

Amazing place to visit and learn about US HISTORY

Meresa Mann

Beautiful place. Enjoy the history and culture of our state and nation.

Cindy Bragg

Friendly, courteous folks; it was my friends first time.

William de Castrique

Phenomenal museum, one of the best I've been to

jodee h

Excwptionally well done & its F R E E

Steve Marsh

Very informative.

Terri Breeden

We were here for the Vandailia Gathering. I was disappointed in the number of craftsmen who were demonstrating their crafts. They definitely needed more access to restrooms.

Jason Harman

A wonderful place to catch mountain stage live music or do some research in the WV archives. Beautiful quilts welcome you as you enter the building and obtain directions from the friendly staff.

Jjlafa

Wow!!! A lot of work went into this...really great!

Joe Smith

Educational, fun, just needs food to make it easy to spend the day

Daniel Clay

A great place to take your pup and walk around with or without your pets. Squirrels everywhere. Great place to see monuments as well.

Maria Vasquez

Awesome knowing the History. So Beautiful ♡

Toni Sterling

Great museum. Free admission. Metered parking. Multiple exhibits overviewing West Virginia's history. They currently have state police memorabilia for the 100th anniversary. Worth a stop.

Allen Solberg

Very nice gift shop. Liked looking at the exhibits and memorials around the building.

Clark Wheeler

Excellent museum. You could zip through in an hour, or really enjoy it for 4 hours or more!

Jeff Hackney

Great free place to go with kids for learning and fun

Larry Wall

Major update was done since my last visit many years ago. It's a top quality show case of what it represents.

Nate Houston

Really nice and informative

Holly Kimble

The museum is amazing, free, and interactive enough to occupy kid's attention for a little bit

Jason Lilly

An impressive and immersive celebration of the best aspects of West Virginia and its history.

Tarah Cantrell

This is probably the most underrated museum I've ever been to. It's tucked in the basement of one of the capitol buildings, so unless you already know to look for it you may miss it. There are artifacts and oddities from the past, various stories about the state told, and a great deal of West Virginian spirit on display throughout. It'll probably take you a couple of hours to walk through the entirety, but it really is worth it if you're already in Charleston.

Cathy Martyn

Very well designed museum, easy to follow by listening to the audio and/or reading the descriptions. Great presentation of coal mining and the labor issues.

Josh Lott

Loved this place!! We had a great time exploring the complex. Many neat things pertaining to our great state can be found here.

Luther Chase

This free museum is very nice. Instantly, you get a sense of what makes West Virginia different than the other 50 states. Curated with love, it seems to me. Worthwhile.

Pam Wallace

Love this place. Very well done. Suggest everyone visits

JUDITH PANTIGOSO

Loved the museum especially from beginning to end.

Toni Risk

West Virginia History at its finest

Vadim Vulfov

Free entrance and great exhibition

Karen Grosz

Wonderful State Museum with a free-will offering definitely worth seeing

fred kocsis

Very educational and free. A must see.

Shayla Layne

Neat and free place to take the kids. We had a blast doing the scavenger hunt and looking for items on the list.

Rami Batarseh

The place gives you the history of the state from Stone age The staff was very nice We arrived late 30 minutes before closure yet they let us in, we had a quick tour There is lots of stuff to see, it seemed very interesting for sure we will come back to visit for longer time to see everything

Martyn Pollard

Very Interesting and well set out.

Chessa Johnson

We were in Charleston West Virginia just for the weekend.. needed to get the kids outta the hotel for a bit and this was the best!!! We had 4 kids with us 4,4,8 &13, also had 4 adults and 2 senior citizens... this place was free and not dirty and there was something for everyone here!!! It was a great place to visit, and learn something without knowing u were getting an education. Haha.

James Smith

I and gf often go here the museum is fantastic!

Kyle Berry

Very nice museum with great historical artifacts.

Steve Beckelhimer

Great place to spend a day learning more about the history and culture of West Virginia and the Appalachian area.

Steven Thulin

My kids love to visit museums and learn about history, and this is one of their all time favorites! It is full of information and extremely well presented. To begin with, the displays flow very well through the state's history. Each one is a bit different, so even the youngest stay interested about them. My kids especially loved the animatronic statues (except for the youngest who was a bit scared when it first turned on). There are also collections on display in a historical setting. The variety, technology, and overall presentation of items at this museum mean there is truly something for everyone who visits. Add to all that the free entrance, and you can't go wrong with a visit. If you only have time for one stop in Charleston and you want to make the most of it, this is it!

Albert Stegner

Museum is very nice. would liked liked to see some history of the steel industry.

Hippie Buddah

One of my favorite places to visit! The downstairs part of the museum, on the history of West Virginia, is as nice of a display as anything I've ever seen in any museum, anywhere. So proud and happy this is in my state!

Chris C

I don't go as often as I did, but this is a great place to visit with a lot on unique items from West Virginia's history.

Kristin Fielding

My boyfriend and I took my granddaughter to.the museum. Entering the bldg on crutches the young man at the desk immediately approached me to see if I wanted to use the wheelchair while in the museum. It was greatly appreciated and made the experience even more wonderful

Alan Kuhlman

Changing exhibits on main floor and balcony are generally pretty interesting . The WV museum in the lower level is very well done.

Tim O'Sullivan

This is a fabulous free museum! The breath of the collection is stunning and is really a hidden gem. Among the pieces they have are Billy the Kid's chaps! As well as State historical items, they have US historical items too. Well worth a visit if you are in town.

Jim Ayers

Does a nice job of exploring the states history. Learned a lot!

Vicki Broce

I took my 8 year old granddaughter and she loved it!

Julie Morris

Great historic museum, very interesting, beautiful staff at the gift shop with wonderful hand made items from Wv.

Mona Wilson Floyd

The West Virginia State museum is a very special place. I was fortunate enough to attend the Black history month celebration for student writers in West Virginia. We had a delicious lunch and a wonderful reception in the main entryway. It was truly an experience to cherish.

Rodney Richardson

I go to do ancestry searches,it's a great place to do research and the people that work there are very helpful.

Dominic Ottaviano

The museum is absolutely awesome and deserve 5-stars but parking was such a nightmare it completely ruined it. Don't go if House is in session. Evidently parking for those who are supposed to serve the public is more important than the public. Follow the signs for parking only to find all of the meters reserved. Absolutely miserable trying to find a parking spot.

Bob Fink

This was a delightful free museum. Very well done, a lot of work put into it. Great for people of all ages, fun and informative. Plus it is free too! I highly recommend!

Zach Richmond

Attended the Mountain Stage taping. Great theatre with beautiful acoustics. The museum is very cool too.

Tandi Smith

They have a wide selection to choose from. The prices are a bit high. The people the work there are friendly and helpful also.

D K

Nice to see alot of things and is free

Rita

Very worth the visit