4 Museums You Need to Visit Near Fairfield, OH

January 13th, 2022 by

Fairfield and the surrounding areas offer plenty of opportunities for fun and entertainment. If you’re looking for an excursion that’s as educational as it is exciting, you’ll find just what you’re after in the selection of museums here. This intriguing landscape of attractions includes everything from a playful children’s museum to an outdoor sculpture park to a sobering exploration of slavery in the past and today.

Broaden your horizons and include one or more of these in your next weekend agenda. Begin with a great local brunch to fuel up, then get out and start exploring.

Cincinnati Museum Center

The Cincinnati Museum Center (1301 Western Ave, Cincinnati) includes three fascinating destinations: The Museum of Natural History and Science, the Cincinnati History Museum, and The Children’s Museum. You can access them all for one admission price. Tickets are $16.50 for adults, $12.50 for seniors and children age 3-12, and $7.50 for children ages 1-2. The museums are open Thursday through Monday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The Museum of Natural History and Science features interactive exhibits that explore everything from the evolution of dinosaurs and the events of the ice age to space exploration and an authentic moon rock. The museum offers a STEM lab, live performances on the science stage, and a variety of hands-on experiments in the Science Interactives Gallery, so there are plenty of ways to explore the topics at hand.

In the Cincinnati History Museum, you can walk through local history via exhibits like a recreation of Public Landing from the late 1850s. The Shaping Out City exhibit highlights artifacts that range from a birchbark canoe like that used in the 1700s to an orange streetcar from the 1930s and 40s. One of the most popular exhibits is a model of Cincinnati at 1/64 scale.

The Children’s Museum is a must for kids. It offers eight themed areas, two of which are just for those preschool age and under. This museum allows you to step inside a giant mouth to learn about oral health, explore energy with simple machines, venture through an imaginative wilderness, and more.

Pyramid Hill Art Park and Museum

The Pyramid Hill Art Park and Museum (1763 Hamilton Cleves Road, Hamilton) features both a 300-acre sculpture park and an indoor Ancient Sculpture Museum. You can tour the expanse of the park by walking or driving around the 1.75-mile loop that circles the area. If you prefer an open-air driving experience, you can even rent an Art Cart. These golf carts make it possible to drive up to the sculptures so you can get off the beaten path even when you don’t want to go by foot.

Across the gardens and grounds you’ll find over 80 sculptures. The grounds also house a pioneer home dating back to the 1820s. The home features an intriguing arched ceiling that was quite unusual for its time. In the Ancient Sculpture Museum, you’ll find everything from Etruscan pottery to sandstone mummy masks to Syrian mosaics. The collection of Greek and Roman heads and figures is a particular highlight.

Admission to the park and museum is $8 for adults and $3 for children. Those ages 5 and under are free. Art Cart rentals are $20 for the first hour and $15 for each additional hour, with discounts for museum members. The park is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and the museum is open from noon to 5 p.m. each day.

National Underground Railroad Freedom Center

The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center (50 East Freedom Way, Cincinnati) explores the path to freedom as it took place from the era of the Underground Railroad and beyond. This museum brings the struggles of slavery to life in vivid ways. The ESCAPE! Freedom Seekers and the Underground Railroad exhibit combines role-playing, hands-on activities, and stories. The Struggle Continues combines audio and changing projections on the walls. Brothers of the Borderland is a thrilling 25-minute film.

The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center is also the first destination in the world to feature a permanent museum-quality exhibit on modern-day slavery. The Invisible: Slavery Today exhibit shows how slavery has still not been abolished completely.

Some exhibits in this museum may not be suitable for small children. The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Wednesday through Sunday. Adults are $15, seniors are $13, and children ages 3-12 are $10.50.

Heritage Village Museum

You can travel back in time through the immersive exhibits and experiences available at the Heritage Village Museum (11500 Lebanon Road, Sharonville). The village includes several buildings that you can explore on your own or as part of a guided tour. The park features several carefully relocated historic structures including:

  • Benedict Cottage, constructed between 1825 and 1850.
  • Chester Park Train Station, built in 1875 and expanded in 1879.
  • Elk Lick House, fully furnished, built in 1818 and expanded in 1840.
  • Fetter General Store, built in 1866.
  • Hayner House, built in 1852.
  • Kemper Log House, built in 1804.
  • Myers Schoolhouse, built in 1891.
  • Somerset Church, built in 1829.
  • Vorhes House, built between 1820 and 1830.

This village museum is open for self-guided tours only from October through April. Visitors may explore the area Wednesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Guided tours are available from May through September at scheduled times. The museum is open during this season from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday. For self-guided tours, admission is $5 for adults and $1 for children ages 5-11. For guided tours, admission is $10 for adults and $3 for children.

Did we include your favorite museums in our listings? If we missed a top spot, contact our team at Performance Toyota and let us know! We want to make sure we always have the best recommendations for our customers so we can point them in the right direction as soon as they drive off our lot.

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