Packed with interesting exhibits about West Virginia. We had a very good time. My only complaint is the artists exhibited in the Capital gallery were not WV artists. Shouldnt we be exhibiting art created in our state?

This seemed like a nice museum, but I cannot give it more than three stars because I didnt get to see all of it. The lower level which is apparently the best is closed for cleaning on Monday. We did get to see exhibits on local quilts, art, and WV police museum, and an exhibit on its politicians and some of the first ladys dresses which was interesting. This museum he old contraband, which was interesting!

This is a great museum giving history of the state. Would recommend everyone visiting. It is free which makes it even better! If you are in Charleston, or even just passing through and have a couple hours, be sure to check it out.

Well worth the visit. The museum is very informative and well laid out. We missed the state capital due to covid and extensive renovation to the dome. Disappointed not to see the gold dome. But the museum and grounds are still good to tour.

This is a fabulous free museum!The breath of the collection is stunning and is really a hidden gem. Among the pieces they have are Billy the Kids chaps!As well as State historical items, they have US historical items too.Well worth a visit if you are in town.

This is a must stop n see. The war memorial outside the Capital n a vast museum of WV history beside also. No charge to visit the museum or war memorial. Just pay for parking. At least an hour to go through. Minimum.

Great place for history buffs . Learned some things I didnt know about west virginia. Overall a nice place to take your kids to learn about west virginia. Other than history books at school.

The staff were very friendly and accommodating but the museum was not well-maintained.

This was an awesome museum and the best part is it is free. They have great informational areas that form a path starting at the beginning of time and moving on from there.

Was really impressed by this museum! A ton of interesting info presented in a compelling way, and its free! Too bad I only had an hour.

My kids went here on his school trip and it was a really cool place to see. You can probably see the whole thing in an afternoon. Would recommend to see it if you like history.

Great place to visit, the only negative; pre-recorded narrations talking over each other which is distracting.

Amazing museum that tells West Virginias history in a creative and fun way. Following the timeline and seeing the scenery change as you walk through was really fascinating. On top of that, there are areas with artifacts that you can step off the timeline and view. I do wish that the artifact rooms didnt make you jump past parts of the time lines at times and that there was a way to reset the speaking, as sometimes youd trip the sensor for the next part before you were done with the last one.

This place has some amazing facts...check it out

Incredible museum showcasing the amazing history of West Virginia. The quality of displays and artifacts is outstanding, especially considering the admission is free! You could spend hours upon hours walking this museum and still not see everything. You can tell they really care about the museum and have put a lot of time and effort into it. Quite an exceptional place.

This place has some amazing facts...check it out

Great time there today with my kids kindergarten class. The gentlemen who helped us with our heavy stuff and our tour were great. Super knowledgable and helpful with the kids. There was another lady who was hepimg clean up at the end and she was a hoot too!

Friendly staff, some great exhibits and great price.

This place is nice. Great exhibits

This museum has a great collection of exhibits with an interactive walk through format. Be sure to make time for the various short films and interactive programs in each exhibit that flesh out the history represented by the objects in the cases. Kids have a chance to get more involved by completing a scavenger hunt!

This is a really underrated museum. Its extremely well-done, with plenty of interesting exhibits arranged chronologically.

Wonderful place to go if you have never been to the state. We could have spent hours there going through all of the exhibits but unfortunately we were only stopping through. They also have a really friendly staff. A great thing to do is park at the Capitol Market and take the trolley to the museum!

This was a delightful free museum. Very well done, a lot of work put into it. Great for people of all ages, fun and informative. Plus it is free too! I highly recommend!

Excellent way to spend a couple of hours.

The West Virginia State Museum was one of the best State history museums Ive been to. The museum had a theme in every section. You start off in prehistoric times, to the foundation of the State and its history of the civil war, to coal mining and the present. This is a place I would visit again.

So many things and displays here! Very interesting history! So much to look at! Much bigger than I thought it would be. Clean bathrooms. The staff were so friendly !

I visited the Genealogy library at the Cultural Center. They have an excellent array of vital documents, wills, newspapers, land records. Etc plus reference materials. Watch out for the parking police!

An evening or night stroll around the WV Capitol grounds is magical.

Ngl, better than my own State Museum

I took my teenaged son to the museum while we were in the area to visit my father over Christmas. We were both overwhelmed by the attention to detail everywhere we looked within multiple VAST displays of West Virginia history! Before arriving, I was seriously expecting a long boring walk highlighting the finer points of the coal industry (no offense). But this place completely blew me away! The museum does feature several displays on the history of coal mining, its a rich part of the states heritage, but the presentation goes exceedingly beyond mere coal. Featuring civil war relics, the humble beginnings of the emancipation proclamation, President Lincoln, Daniel Boon, Byrd, Yeager, the state police, crafts, all the way back to geological specimens AND MUCH MORE (including a robot). Stop by if youre curious and in the area, expect to spend a couple hours. My son and I both want to go back so we have more time.

Lovely museum with tons of information about the state and its history. I loved the narration throughout and the displays. Its hard to believe it is free admission as some paid admission museums dont have this much quality displays.Plan to spend a few hours here so you can read most of the information and, enjoy the many displays.

Love this place. I go every year. A great mix of state and national history. West Virginia has an amazing history during the civil war. Its free and a great place to learn history from fossils to modern day. They add things every year so it never gets old. Definitely a must do if your in the area.

Awesome , very informative. Interesting

What a wonderful experience. You can just walk through or spend all day reading all of the very interesting things about West Virginia. They have done a wonderful job putting this together. I was proud to bring my family here who were visiting from California. I think they were impressed.

Awesome museum. Way bigger and extensive than I expected. Good mix of artifacts and information. Everything from prehistoric to modern history of the state. Definitely worth a stop if you are stopping by.

Great time at Mountain Stage. Enjoyed The Matchsellers, Bluegrass Astronauts. #mountainstage #almostheaven l

This has to be one of the best museums that you will ever visit if you want to understand American History of the people. The museum is free to enter (not as other reviewers imply it is expensive.) You travel downstairs on an escalator and start from before man was on the planet. Slowly you walk through a labyrinth of corridors each one leading to the next and a date stamp on the floor to give you an idea of the period you are in. This must have taken a few years to set up and one of the attendants told us that if you were to read all the plaques, it will take you 30 hours, from start to finish. This is excellent and highly educational and if you visit Charleston an experience you should not miss.you have to give the museum 10 stars out of 5 and I would have gladly paid 20 dollars unfortunately I was unable to pay a cent or leave any money for a local charity, that was a shame. I must add I was a visitor from the UK and will always remember this museum.Thank you

MUST SEE if you are want to know more about West Virginia. Great overview of the history of WV. Very well done and interesting.

This free museum is very nice. Instantly, you get a sense of what makes West Virginia different than the other 50 states. Curated with love, it seems to me. Worthwhile.

A great place to take your pup and walk around with or without your pets. Squirrels everywhere. Great place to see monuments as well.

Beautiful place. Enjoy the history and culture of our state and nation.

A very nice and free museum. Instantly, you get a sense of what makes West Virginia different than the other 50 states. Lovingly curated, it seems to me. If your kids have not come here as part of their school, then bring them here yourselves. Worthwhile.

There is quite a bit to look at.

The display is fantastic! My brother came back cause our other sister got really sick, so he came to see her. We had some time before we could go see her and we ended up at the museum. I was awe struck! The time and work that went into the display was worth it!! It was beautiful!

Very nice museum, with great exhibits and artifacts. Competes easily with any DC museum, just doesn’t get the traffic or recognition of any of those.

Had a blast!

Wonderful museum with so many interesting exhibits on West Virginia. I very much enjoyed it. So worth the visit!

It was like a trip into Disney World, Im still shocked that it was free admission considering how intricate all of the displays were!

This place was awesome. It could entertain kids or adults with its stories and sets/scenery.

Beautiful place to visit

I was surprised by how much there was to see at this museum. Theres plenty for anybody who is even remotely interested in history. We will definitely be back, and well plan to spend more than 2 hours there

The West Virginia State museum is a very special place. I was fortunate enough to attend the Black history month celebration for student writers in West Virginia. We had a delicious lunch and a wonderful reception in the main entryway. It was truly an experience to cherish.

Very nice museum and gift shop. Wish i had time to do research

A phenomenal representation of West Virginia history to current day!

Great museum. Free admission. Metered parking. Multiple exhibits overviewing West Virginias history. They currently have state police memorabilia for the 100th anniversary. Worth a stop.

Very nice gift shop. Liked looking at the exhibits and memorials around the building.

Im a big fan of this place. There are lots of interesting artifacts and immersive exhibits, and you will leave feeling a sense of pride in our State. If you havent been to this museum before, or its been a long time (theyve made substantial improvements within the last 10 years or so), you should definitely check it out sometime soon.

Amazing place to visit, its free to enter! My husband kinda rushed me lol but it was fun! I loved the gift shop too!

Cool Ill go back when I have more time.

This is one of the coolest museums Ive ever been to! Its completely free, parking is simple, and the museum is under ground which really makes a unique experience because alot of West Virginias history has to do with mining

This is probably the most underrated museum Ive ever been to. Its tucked in the basement of one of the capitol buildings, so unless you already know to look for it you may miss it. There are artifacts and oddities from the past, various stories about the state told, and a great deal of West Virginian spirit on display throughout. Itll probably take you a couple of hours to walk through the entirety, but it really is worth it if youre already in Charleston.

Very interesting place to be in order to learn about our state!

Excellent museum. You could zip through in an hour, or really enjoy it for 4 hours or more!

Very nice. Never been there before the history the pleasant atmosphere the staff all top notch. Prices at gift shop to high

Does a nice job of exploring the states history. Learned a lot!

Good place to go if you like state history

The place gives you the history of the state from Stone ageThe staff was very niceWe arrived late 30 minutes before closure yet they let us in, we had a quick tourThere is lots of stuff to see, it seemed very interesting for sure we will come back to visit for longer time to see everything

We were here for the Vandailia Gathering. I was disappointed in the number of craftsmen who were demonstrating their crafts. They definitely needed more access to restrooms.

Major update was done since my last visit many years ago. Its a top quality show case of what it represents.

We visited the annual quilt display and gift shop. The best of WV!

Awesome knowing the History. So Beautiful ♡

I really enjoy the museum theres a lot of Hands-On exhibits and theyre continually updating things I love her they close at 4:30 not 5

AWESOME...very great place to enjoy, especially with the family and kids. Its really enjoyable with a group of school kids, we went with our 8th grade class from Beth Haven Christian School. The kids had a great time and learned so much about our West Virginia History, Heritage, and Culture. Theres also a really nice gift shop at the end of the tour.

The Museum at the Culture Center is always changing, always free, always hosted by friendly, knowledgeable people. Celebrating 100 year history of the WV State Police with special exhibits now.

Attended the Mountain Stage taping. Great theatre with beautiful acoustics. The museum is very cool too.

Museum is very nice. would liked liked to see some history of the steel industry.

Incredibly large, wide-ranging displays. Two hours were not enough.

Currently, they have a WV state police exhibit, which is pretty awesome if you like historical fire arms.

Had a great visit, my 3 girls 1st time there, saw the capital & the museum. Went to an escape room, it was great!

I dont go as often as I did, but this is a great place to visit with a lot on unique items from West Virginias history.

Great place to see many historic items and interest ing items. Free. Great way to spend an afternoon on a hot summer day.

Very informative and is climate control. Very interesting concepts.

One of the best state history museums in the country! Worth a trip and designed in a way that is even engaging to young children!

Loved this place!! We had a great time exploring the complex. Many neat things pertaining to our great state can be found here.

Very interesting and well curated. the first floor of the museum documents and displays West Virginias rich and diverse history - from prehistoric times to native culture thru the civil war and statehood on up till present day. the second floor appears to be used for other more seasonal displays such as state first lady gowns and old toys. it was a great way to spend an afternoon while we are visiting my local father - educational, informative and well done... worth the time!

It was a fun place to go with the girl i liked

They have a wide selection to choose from. The prices are a bit high. The people the work there are friendly and helpful also.

Very nice and informative. We spent almost 2 hours looking around but it didnt feel like that long. Learned lots of interesting facts about WV

Great opportunity to learn local history of WV. I love history and the staff were very helpful and attentive.

Open area with interesting local displays.

It was extremely interesting and entertaining. We very much enjoyed our tour

Stumbled on a history museum and loved it. Had no idea the place was there!

Very well designed exhibits. Comprehensive information. Well organized. Free!

This was a great museum and it told the complete story of West Virginia.

I cannot even begin to tell you what a fantastic experience this was

Great free place to go with kids for learning and fun

We went on an educational trip as a family. The staff is vary friendly and had provided a map of the downstairs for easy manuverability. Definitely a place to go for learning about the states history. There are plenty of well preserved artifacts and my family and I all had a marvelous time.

Had the place to myself! Great staff! Cool exhibits!! Plus its free!

I almost didnt go to the West Virginia State Museum, but hey, it was free. Turned out to be an amazing labyrinth of history spanning time: from the formation of the Appalachian Mountains thru to today. It was truly a wonderful museum, the entrance lobby displaying dozens of large, hand-made quilts. Do yourself a favor and take your time, browse through the many wonderful displays, room-sized recreations, and the countless intricate details documenting the history of West Virginia. Do not miss this. Highly recommended.

Fun time went thru twice on same visit.