FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 18, 2026
MEDIA CONTACT: Cody Hefner (513) 608-5777, chefner@cincymuseum.org
Cincinnati Museum Center lands two museums among top three nationwide
Cincinnati boasts #2 history museum, #3 children's museum in national USA TODAY vote
CINCINNATI – Two of Cincinnati Museum Center’s (CMC) museums have been recognized among the best in the country. Following a four-week nationwide vote, the Cincinnati History Museum was named the second Best History Museum, while The Children’s Museum finished third in its bid for Best Children’s Museum. Each museum was among 20 finalists from across the country in USA TODAY’s 10Best Reader’s Choice Awards.
“In the spirit of the season, it’s an honor to be on the podium not once, but twice, and to be recognized as the home of some of the country’s best museums,” said Elizabeth Pierce, president & CEO of Cincinnati Museum Center. “This is a moment for us to celebrate our staff and volunteers who develop and deliver extraordinary experiences for our community, and for us to recognize and thank our community who voted, making it clear Cincinnati has some of the very best museums in the country."
The Cincinnati History Museum traces its roots to the Cincinnati Historical Society in 1831. It’s among the nation’s premier regional history museums, showcasing incredible historic artifacts with local stories and national impact. The Cincinnati History Museum features five exhibits that invite guests to tower over a scale model reproduction of historic Cincinnati, walk the cobblestone streets of the mid-19th century riverfront, meet the innovators and entrepreneurs who powered Porkopolis and the Queen of the West, discover what has come to define the city as Cincinnati as we know it today and explore the ways the city has shaped and been shaped by the land around it. Together, the exhibits take guests through more than 250 years of interactive Cincinnati history.
“We’ve designed a history museum that lets us travel to the past while finding its place in the present, being both immersive and introspective in a way that is wildly enjoyable and powerfully informative,” said Pierce.
Children’s Museum secures a top-three finish
The Children’s Museum opened in Cincinnati Museum Center in 1998 and is now helping its second generation learn through play. The museum turns unbound energy into unbridled curiosity as kids, and adults, splash, climb and play through more than a dozen themed areas. Among the most popular areas is The Woods, where kids can explore two levels of a forest, climbing into the treetops, crawling through logs and peering inside an aquarium filled with local aquatic wildlife. In Water Works, the power and properties of water spring to life with flowing streams, locks, geysers and jets. Cause-and-effect and simple machines help develop gross motor skills as a blizzard of plastic balls cascade and float in the Energy Zone. Kids also learn about healthy food choices, sorting and job responsibilities in a mini Kroger grocery and practice proper oral health in a positive, inviting way by stepping Inside the Grin, a massive anatomically-accurate recreation of a mouth. And in Kids’ Town Park, The Children’s Museum’s newest space, letters and words come to life through a pond floor projection that animates action words, a talking tree that repeats your words to improve listening comprehension, a reading nook and more, all while the museum’s youngest learners form the building blocks for literacy and language development.
“It’s so important to instill a love of learning from an early age, which is why we’ve designed our Children’s Museum to not only be accessible to kids of every age and ability, but of every interest,” added Pierce. “As they play, they are learning about physics, biology, hygiene and engineering and, importantly, the value of being curious and trying new things.”
CMC is a multi-award winning, nationally accredited museum recognized by the American Alliance of Museums for its excellence in the museum field. It opened in its current home at Union Terminal in 1990 with the Cincinnati History Museum, Museum of Natural History & Science and the Robert D. Lindner Family OMNIMAX® Theater. The Children’s Museum opened as part of CMC in 1998.
