The Louisiana State Museum - Patterson is the official state aviation and cypress sawmill industry museum and houses two important collections documenting state history.

The Wedell-Williams Aviation Collection focuses on the legacy of Louisiana aviation pioneers Jimmie Wedell and Harry Williams who formed an air service in Patterson in 1928. Both men became nationally prominent during what was known as the Golden Age of Aviation. Although both Wedell and Williams perished in plane crashes, their legacy lives on in the memorabilia and planes on display.

The Patterson Cypress Sawmill Collection documents the history of the cypress lumber industry in Louisiana. Lumbering became the state's first significant manufacturing industry. As a result, cypress lumber harvested and milled in Louisiana was shipped in mass quantities across the United States. The town of Patterson was once home to the largest cypress sawmill in the world, owned by Frank B. Williams, and in 1997 the Louisiana State Legislature designated Patterson as the cypress capitol of Louisiana. The exhibit features a variety of artifacts, photographs, and film that tell the story of this important regional industry.

In addition, the museum also has a changing exhibit gallery that highlights other aspects of Louisiana's culture and history, and provides school tours and accompanying enhanced curriculum guides.

The Presbytere, originally called the Casa Curial (Ecclesiastical House), derives its name from the fact that it was built on the site of the residence, or presbytere, of the Capuchin monks. It was designed in 1791 to match the Cabildo, or Town Hall, on the other side of St. Louis Cathedral. The building initially was used for commercial purposes until 1834 when it became a courthouse.

Today, the Presbytere offers exhibits on New Orleans history and culture.

Built in 1839, the Arsenal was designed by noted architect James Dakin and is associated with an infamous battle that happened after the Civil War. During the period of Reconstruction several clashes occurred throughout the state between integrated and white supremacist groups. In 1874, the Battle of Liberty Place, wherein the Metropolitan Police of New Orleans were pitted against the Crescent City White League, occurred. The White League prevailed, forcing the Metropolitan Police into the Customhouse and the Cabildo. From the adjacent Arsenal, the Police fought back by shooting cannonballs toward Chartres Street.

Today, the Arsenal offers exhibits and occasional recreational and educational events.

The Louisiana State Museum features thematic exhibits on the diverse aspects of Louisiana history, industry, and culture. The museum includes two permanent exhibitions: Grounds for Greatness: Louisiana and the Nation, and Experiencing Louisiana: Discovering the Soul of America. Topics range from the Louisiana Purchase to Sportsmen's Paradise to Mardi Gras traditions throughout the state. Artifacts include a 48-foot wooden shrimp trawler, a Civil War submarine, a record-breaking marlin, a Krewe of lawnmowers, a New Orleans Lucky Dog cart and musical artifacts from Fats Domino, Buddy Guy, Clarence Gatemouth Brown, Aaron Neville, and much more.

The museum offers school tours; for the third and eighth grades, these include enhanced curriculum guides.

The Smoky Hill Museum preserves, presents, and interprets the history of the Smoky Hills region. Exhibits include "Crossroads of the Heartland," which traces the area's history; the Prairie Education Lab, which recreates life in an 1860s cabin; and "One Keeper's Place," where children can solve interactive history mysteries.

The museum offers exhibits, educational tours and programs, and occasional recreational and educational events.

The Santa Fe Trail Center interprets the historic transportation route known as the Santa Fe Trail. This regional museum and library preserves artifacts and manuscripts related to the blending of the major cultures along the Trail and enhances understanding of the continued development of the Trail. The center presents interrelated interpretive exhibits, learning programs, and resource materials to engage the public in learning about its past.

The center offers exhibits, school tours, and research library access.

The Gallery stands as a major center of American art, both historic and contemporary. Founded "for the purpose of encouraging American Genius," the Corcoran's collection of 18th-, 19th-, and 20th-century American art represents most significant American artists. The Corcoran possesses a collection of European art as well.

The museum offers permanent and changing exhibits, tours (including tours for school groups), classroom materials for loan, and recreational and educational events (including professional development opportunities for educators).

The Museum collects, preserves, and interprets history in relation to the past of Augusta and Central Savannah River region for the education and enrichment of present and future generations.

The museum offers exhibits, tours, educational programs, and occasional recreational and educational events.

The Museum interprets the turn-of-the-century Tampa Bay Hotel, an 1891 railroad resort, and the lifestyles of America's Gilded Age. Through educational exhibits and events, the museum takes visitors back to the late Victorian period, the beginnings of Florida's tourist industry, and the early years of the city of Tampa. This Victorian palace features Moorish revival architecture, European furniture, and art treasures of the original railroad resort.

The museum offers exhibits, tours, educational programs, and occasional recreational and educational events.

At the Museum, a series of interactive permanent exhibits walk visitors through Florida history. Visitors will discover the area's first peoples and their initial encounter with the Spanish; fast forward to the 19th century and experience the Seminole Wars and the challenges of Central Florida's early pioneers; hear a firsthand account from a cowman of what life was like on the wide-open cattle range of the 1880s; find out about the Big Freeze in the 1890s that devastated the new citrus industry and sent many packing; move into the 20th century and experience Central Florida during the war years and the importance of the Orlando Air Base during World War II.

The museum offers exhibits, educational programs, research library access, and recreational and educational events.