Museums & Galleries in Lake Saint Louis

CAM St. Louis’s sleek structure houses a dynamic forum for innovative, boundary-pushing contemporary art. Members gain free access to the museum’s ever-changing exhibitions by both well-known and emerging creatives such as the Cyprus-based Christodoulos Panayiotou, whose works examining the construction of national identity and history have made him one of the most compelling young European artists working today. Four guest passes enable members and their friends and family to share the provocative intrigue of Robert Breer’s 1957 and comment on the films' lack of a cowbell-heavy soundtrack. Because CAM St. Louis is a non-collecting institution, exhibitions in the Main Gallery and Front Room rotate regularly to afford a new experience with each visit and keep room corners free from provoked-thought buildup.

In a modern world where historic buildings are demolished daily to make room for hip new watergun stores, museums are more important than ever. Today’s Groupon gets tenacious time-travelers and dedicated diorama builders a $3 admission to the historic Campbell House Museum, a $6 value. The first house in the elegant Lucas Place neighborhood, Campbell House was the home of influential fur trader and entrepreneur Robert Campbell. After a recent five-year-long restoration to the tune of $3 million Earth dollars, Campbell House is one of the most accurately restored 19th-century buildings in America and home to the period paintings, furniture, light fixtures, clothing, old-fashioned LaserDisc player, and the correspondence of its previous tenants. Residue: Haunted houses, especially those that have been neglected for a long time, tend to accumulate a powdery "ghost residue," which compounds in layers on shelves, the tops of books, furniture and pottery, and even floats freely in the air, illuminated by an afternoon sunbeam. While many write this off as dust, this explanation does not account for its preternatural taste.

Something new is always happening at Saint Louis Science Center, where hundreds of staff members and volunteers ignite visitors’ passion for science and technology with educational exhibitions and special events. The center houses a four-story Omnimax Theater, a hands-on life-science lab and atrium, and a variety of constantly changing exhibitions that draw 1.2 million visitors every year. More than 9,000 stars revolve around the 80-foot domed ceiling of the James S. McDonnell Planetarium, whose two levels of exhibits explore the future of space travel, life on the international space station, or Pluto’s bureaucratic search to regain planetary status.

Where can you learn the stories of Civil War soldiers, discover little-known facts about famous figures such as Chuck Berry, and see St. Louis Cardinals artifacts from the 1960's Busch Stadium all in one place? The Missouri History Museum boasts an expansive collection of photographs, artifacts, and maps that reveal some of the nation's and state's most intimate stories. Originally built as the first national monument to Thomas Jefferson, the site now offers exhibits that include items such as the sister plane to Charles Lindbergh's Spirit of St. Louis and images of the buildings and grand palaces that were erected for the 1904 World's Fair.

In addition to rotating exhibits, events such as lectures, genealogical workshops, theatrical performances, and movie screenings offer guests a bridge to the past and a new perspective on the future. The museum is also planning a 2014 exhibit to commemorate St. Louis's 250th anniversary, which will unfold via 50 people, 50 places, 50 moments, 50 images, and 50 objects representing the city's richness and diversity.

Though built as a private home in 1901, the Victorian mansion stood vacant for years—until its first children's hands-on exhibits opened to the public more than 30 years ago. Since then, The Magic House's curators have worked to engage children of all ages in learning and creative thought through a range of interactive multimedia exhibits. Their exhibits enable visitors to service cars, climb treehouse ladders, and go fishing in a child-centric community, or play with pumps and pipes in a waterworks playground. They can also climb a three-story fairy-tale beanstalk or use detective skills, fingerprint analyses, and secret passageways to solve mysteries.

Museum staffers also organize a range of themed birthday parties, during which attendees play and complete special tasks as time travelers, scientists, or fairy-tale nobility. Family programs encompass monthly visits from outside professional artists, and educational sessions on car and bike safety. Visitors can refuel for exploration at the on-site Picnic Basket Cafe, whose menu highlights whole grains and healthy ingredients.

Fred M. Kemp, Sr. fell in love with the first Mercedes-Benz he ever bought. So he bought 40 more. Over the course of 30 years, his obsession created a collection of some of the rarest and most groundbreaking cars ever made. Upon his passing in 2004, he deeded his cars to the public for exhibition and education, founding the Kemp Auto Museum born to house his extensive collection.

Kemp's legacy includes one of Karl Benz's patent Motorwagens, which captivated the public's imagination when Mrs. Benz drove the device 112 miles to visit her mother in 1888. At the other end of the spectrum sits the 1960 Mercedes 220SE Cabriolet, whose 134-horsepower fuel-injected engine could have ferried Mrs. Benz to her mother's house in about an hour. Visitors can take either docent-led or audio tours to see the standing exhibit, or catch one of the touring special exhibits, featuring classic cars such as department-store Crosleys and classic engines such as Fred Flintstone's feet.