You might not know this, but I've only lived in Tulsa a little over a year. Not knowing much about the area before moving here, I have been overwhelmed by the variety of things to do! One of the most popular Tulsa favorites that I've heard is visiting our museums. From art and culture in North America, to learning the very history of Tulsa itself, there is a spot for everyone.
This month, let's find your next weekend activity and explore Our Town’s rich museums and history centers!
PHILBROOK MUSEUM
Philbrook Museum of Art is one of our town's museum staples! Stated on their website, "Philbrook strives to make a creative and connected community through art and gardens." Philbrook commits to being one of Tulsa’s most welcoming cultural institutions, providing a unique mix of experiences: a historic home, world class art museum, and 25 acres of gardens boosting the museum’s reputation as “the most beautiful place in Oklahoma.”
The Philbrook Collection features more than 16,000 objects with a focus on American, Native American, and European art. This museum is a space created for new ideas, diverse stories, and perspectives, highlighting Tulsa's historic past while building a diverse and creative vision for the future. For exhibition information and upcoming events, you can visit here.
GILCREASE MUSEUM
Thomas Gilcrease, a citizen of the Muscogee Creek Nation, established Gilcrease Museum in 1949, and it holds a collection of the art, culture, and history of North America. The museum is owned by the City of Tulsa, which partners with The University of Tulsa to manage the museum. Gilcrease Museum's mission through its collections, "is dedicated to bringing art, history, and people together to research, discover, enjoy and understand the diverse heritage of the Americas."
The Gilcrease collection contains more than 350,000 items! The museum represents Indigenous cultures with materials and archaeology ranging from 12,000 BCE to the present. The collection includes more than 350 years of American paintings, sculptures, and works on paper, including the largest public holdings of art of the American West.
Gilcrease remains closed as its new, 91,000-square-foot facility is being built, but plan to visit again when Gilcrease reopens in the fall of 2026! You can visit the museum's website for upcoming events and announcements.
WOODY GUTHRIE CENTER/BOB DYLAN CENTER
The Woody Guthrie Center came first.
Opening in 2013, the Woody Guthrie Center honors the life, music, and art of Oklahoma's native troubadour. Here, you can listen to Woody's music...music that influenced generations of musicians and social activists...see Woody's original texts and the instruments he played, and learn about the Dust Bowl, one of the defining events of Woody's life.
The Bob Dylan Center followed.
The Bob Dylan Center houses the Bob Dylan Archive, acquired by the George Kaiser Family Foundation in 2016. The Archive includes over 100,000 items, including Dylan's handwritten manuscripts, personal documents and effects, and unreleased studio and concert recordings.
These two museums -- interactive and bursting with curated exhibits of their namesakes' materials -- are the perfect one-two punch for anyone curious about our rich heritage of folk, singer-songwriter, and protest music. Check out admission times, plus special exhibits and concerts, HERE and HERE!
TULSA AIR & SPACE MUSEUM
The aerospace industry is big in Oklahoma, and HUGE in Tulsa. Enter the Tulsa Air & Space Museum, and you can learn about this storied history AND find inspirational stories of aerospace pioneers and events, unique aircraft, cockpit trainers, demonstrations, and simulated space voyage experiences.
The Tulsa Air & Space Museum (TASM) opened in 1998, but in 2005 moved into the Sherman and Ellie Smith Hanger One on a campus on the north side of the Tulsa International Airport and includes the James E. Bertelsmeyer Planetarium (and its HD SciDome projection system, giving you a one-of-a-kind audio and visual experience!).
You can visit TASM during business hours, or catch one of their upcoming events here.
THE SHERWIN MILLER MUSEUM OF JEWISH ART
In 1965, a Tulsa synagogue brought a traveling exhibit from the Jewish Museum in New York to our community. This enticed a lot of interest in Jewish culture and art, and the following year, the Gershon and Rebecca Fenster Gallery of Jewish Art opened to the public. In 2000, the museum was renamed The Sherwin Miller Museum of Jewish Art, after its first curator, Sherwin Miller.
The SMMJA displays the permanent collection of artifacts showing the 5,000-year history of the Jewish people, from the pre-Canaanite era through the settling of the Jewish community in Tulsa and the American Southwest. The lower-level features the Herman and Kate Kaiser Holocaust Exhibition, containing hundreds of objects donated by Oklahoma veterans who took part in the liberation of German concentration camps. Through exhibitions and educational programs focusing on Jewish culture, history, religion, and art, the museum strives to bring awareness to the Jewish experience.
Visit the SMMJA website for hours, upcoming exhibitions, or to schedule your own tour today!
GREENWOOD RISING BLACK WALL STREET HISTORY CENTER
Greenwood Rising Black Wall Street History Center is a museum that tells the Tulsa's Historical Greenwood District story in a narrative-centered, experiential way. Located on the southeast corner of Greenwood Avenue and Archer Street, Greenwood Rising is the flagship project of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre Centennial Commission.
Visiting Greenwood Rising is an immersive experience. In one area, listen in on a holographic conversation between several early Greenwood barbers; in another, the Race Massacre itself is brought to life visually and through the recorded memories of survivors.
Greenwood Rising offers both self-guided and docent-led tours of its four galleries. This education for all is "aimed at repairing lingering historical racial trauma, working toward restoration, and charting a new future." For visiting information, you can check out their website here.
VINTAGE SEWING CENTER AND MUSEUM
Maybe you're a Philbrook member, and you've taken the kids to TASM. But have you been to Tulsa's sewing machine museum?
The Vintage Sewing Center and Museum is a "hands on" museum where you can use antique and vintage sewing machines, learn about the history of sewing machines, and participate in classes.
The center at 55th and South Peoria offers guided tours by employees, educating you on each machine, small and large. If you're lucky, you can even get a tour from the curator, WK Binger! The Museum also offers sewing classes, workshops, repairs for your personal machine, and even parties!
For upcoming events, hours, and other information, you can visit their Facebook page.
This story was originally shared in PRT's arts-and-culture newsletter Our Town. Subscribe here to get these stories first.
