United States Museums Trivia Quiz

Answer: California

The Hearst Castle is located in San Simeon, California, midway between Los Angeles and San Francisco. It was built by publishing tycoon William Randolph Hearst starting in 1919, at an approximate cost of $700 million (roughly five billion dollars in 2019 dollars). With a mind-boggling total of 61 bathrooms, it is certainly the most opulent structure ever built in the United States. Now owned by the state of California, it is open to tours by the public.

Answer: Ohio

This museum, portraying the history of the Amish and Mennonite peoples, is located in the little town of Berlin, in the heart of Ohio's Amish country.

Answer: Minnesota

The Spam Museum is located in the town of Austin, lying in the southern part of the state. This just shows that you can have a museum about almost anything.

Answer: Wisconsin

The Harley Davidson museum is located in Milwaukee, appropriate since the famous motorcycle company was founded there in 1903. It is open for tours 363 days a year.

Answer: Pennsylvania

The National Constitution Center is located, appropriately, in Philadelphia, near the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall. It opened in 2003, making it the newest museum in this quiz.

Answer: Michigan

The Gerald R. Ford Museum is located in Grand Rapids, Michigan, along the west bank of the Grand River, which flows westerly through Grand Rapids on its way to Lake Michigan. The museum emphasizes Ford's entire life, rather than just his rather brief time in the presidency. The museum is unique in that it is separate from the Ford library, which is located in Ann Arbor, 130 miles to the east.

What surprised me when I toured this museum was all the emphasis placed on the Mayaguez incident. The Mayaguez was a merchant ship which strayed too close to Cambodia in May of 1975, resulting in the capture of the ship and its crew by the Khmer Rouge. President Ford authorized a military rescue mission which was successful, and his popularity rating rose by 11 points.

Answer: Kansas

In this museum, located in western Kansas in the town of La Crosse, you will learn more than you ever thought there was to know about barbed wire. It is the only museum in the world dedicated to the history of barbed wire.

Answer: New York

The Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is located in the small town of Cooperstown, located at the south end of Otsego Lake. With a town population of only about 2,000, the business district of Cooperstown consists mostly of shops selling baseball memorabilia.

The location of Cooperstown was picked for the Hall of Fame because it was the hometown of Abner Doubleday, a Civil War veteran who supposedly invented the game of baseball in 1839. However, baseball historians have since concluded that the Doubleday invention story is a complete myth.

Answer: Oklahoma

Established in 1955 in Oklahoma City as the Cowboy Hall of Fame, this museum has since broadened its focus to emphasize all aspects of U.S. western heritage.

Answer: Maine

Maine is sometimes referred to as "The Lighthouse State", due to its 65 lighthouses spread out over its 5,000 miles of coastline. The Marshall Point Lighthouse was featured in the movie "Forrest Gump", as the place where the title character completed his cross-country run.