With one of America's largest collections of Civil War artifacts and a strong emphasis on Southern history, the Tennessee State Museum is a vast and absorbing place. Spanning over 5,500 square metres of permanent exhibition space as well almost 1,000 square metres dedicated to a changing programme of temporary showcases, you could lose half a day or more in this fascinating place.
You can easily explore the permanent exhibits which are arranged chronologically. See the First Tennesseans exhibit, where you'll find relics from prehistoric and ancient Indian times, including a shaman's medicine tube.
Head on to the Frontier section, where you'll learn about Spanish conquistadors, English and French explorers, and the Europeans who first settled in the region. You can even explore a log cabin and see a covered Conestoga wagon, just two of the many different full-sized replicas that you'll find at the museum.
The Age of Jackson exhibit will give you a interesting insight into the story of the Southern general and plantation owner who went on to be the country’s seventh President. In the Antebellum section, you can marvel at arts and crafts produced in the prosperous State of Tennessee in the days before the Civil War. In the large Civil War and Reconstruction section, you can see the revolver of Nathan Bedford Forrest, the Confederate soldier who went on to become a Ku Klux Klan grand wizard.
Then, in the last of the permanent displays dedicated to The New South, you can learn more about women's suffrage and prohibition as well as see crafts from the late-19th and early-20th centuries. The collection of Tennessee pottery on display at the museum is a particular highlight.
Housed on the lower three floors of the James K. Polk Centre, the museum is close to the State Capitol in downtown Nashville. It is open from Tuesday to Saturday, but closes for major holidays. If you're driving, you can pay to park in a garage or on the street. The free Music City Circulator bus also stops outside the museum.
