Tennessee State Museum

After Memorial Day weekend and a few beautiful, sunny days at the beginning of the week I realized I'd spent most of my week at the pool with a book in hand. On Thursday afternoon it was rainy and overcast, and I realized I hadn't been out at all to get any content for a post this week. I hopped online to research what I could do by myself late that afternoon.

I decided to head to the new Tennessee State Museum because it's free and close to my apartment. I remembered having seen the building under construction last summer, so I decided to go over and check it out. They were open until 8 on Thursday, so I had plenty of time.

First of all, the building is absolutely beautiful. The architecture is incredible and modern, and the inside is breathtaking. I loved all of the natural light and modern finishes. The first floor has the welcome desk, education rooms, offices, and the children's gallery. The children's gallery is a fun room with a large map of Tennessee on ground and the walls are covered in artwork of Tennessee symbols. There were coloring pages, books, and to entertain kids.

Main entrance located at the side of the building

I headed up the stairs, which led to the Tennessee Time Tunnel and main exhibits. I was already impressed just by the staircase- look at all that beautiful natural light.

The exhibits were all so well done with interactive touch screens, projections of informational movies, large pictures; and of course plenty of artifacts and information. I was so impressed with how well the exhibits flowed through Tennessee's history and were very engaging. Honestly, the subject of the exhibits wasn't particularly interesting to me but I still enjoyed walking through and taking it all in.

My favorite part of the museum was the balcony on the side of the building. It had such a beautiful view of the Nashville skyline and the park nearby. It is a great photo spot or place to stand and take in the city for a bit. The whole museum had such a relaxed but organized feeling that I really enjoyed. It is a great break from many of the busy places in Nashville.

View from the balcony

From my experience, a lot of things in Nashville can be quite overpriced. So, you really can't go wrong with this free museum. Parking is also free, and the museum is located right next to the Nashville Farmer's Market, the Bicentennial Mall, and the state capital building. I walked over to the farmer's market for a treat after, and couldn't resist a Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream cone (stay tuned for a post about the Farmer's Market) and took a nice walk around the Bicentennial Mall park.

It is such a great family friendly location, and the museum is also a great escape from the heat and humidity. I would also especially recommend this museum if you are interested in Tennessee's Civil War history or Andrew Jackson. With the museum being free, I didn't feel obligated to "get my money's worth", so I just checked out what interested me and had a nice afternoon.