BENTONVILLE

Field guide

Museums in Bentonville, AR

6 museums in Bentonville, with hours, admission, and what is on view.

Field notes

How a town of 35,000 got a national art museum

Crystal Bridges opened on November 11, 2011, when Bentonville had about 35,000 people. Alice Walton founded it. The name comes from Crystal Spring on the grounds and from the bridges built into Moshe Safdie’s design, a series of pavilions set around two spring-fed ponds. Five of the six museums here charge nothing for general admission. The Amazeum is the exception.

  1. 01Architecture

    The house that moved 1,235 miles

    The Frank Lloyd Wright house at Crystal Bridges was built in the 1950s for Gloria Bachman Wilson and Abraham Wilson beside the Millstone River in New Jersey. Floods kept threatening it, so the museum bought it in 2013, took it apart, trucked it here, and opened it in 2015. Wright called houses like it Usonian: simpler, lower-cost homes for middle-class families.

  2. 02Reuse

    From cheese plant to art space

    The Momentary is a Kraft plant built in 1947 that made cheese from milk supplied by Northwest Arkansas dairy farmers until 2013. The Eagle Flour Mill stood on the site from 1913. The architects kept most of the old building intact and added new elements only when necessary, and it opened as an art space on February 22, 2020.

  3. 03Business

    The dime store is the museum

    Sam Walton opened Walton’s 5 & 10 on the square on May 9, 1950. In 1990 he opened the Wal-Mart Visitors Center in the same space, and it was renamed the Walmart Museum in 2012. The first Walmart store was not here. It opened in Rogers on July 2, 1962.

  4. 04Older stories

    Before the art museums

    The Museum of Native American History was founded by David Bogle, a member of the Cherokee Nation, and holds more than 10,000 artifacts. The Peel Museum is the 1875 Italianate home of Congressman Samuel West Peel, open as a museum since 1993.

Show sources
More on Walton and the square in Learn Bentonville.

6 places

Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art

4.8

Art museum

600 Museum Way

Closed nowDetails
Hours and contact
Address
600 Museum Way, Bentonville, AR 72712
Hours
Monday11 AM to 6 PM
TuesdayClosed
Wednesday11 AM to 6 PM
Thursday11 AM to 8 PM
Friday11 AM to 8 PM
Saturday10 AM to 6 PM
Sunday10 AM to 6 PM

Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art is an internationally recognized art museum in Bentonville, Arkansas, where visitors can see, explore, and learn through American art, architecture, nature, and cultural experiences. Explore a growing collection spanning five centuries, along with special exhibitions, outdoor trails, a creative learning Hub, family activities, dining, and shopping. General admission is always free. On weekdays the galleries open at 11 AM and the lobby opens at 10 AM. Saturday and Sunday the museum opens at 10 AM. The museum is closed Thanksgiving and Christmas. The grounds and trails are open from sunrise to sunset, including Tuesday.

The Momentary

Contemporary art museum

507 SE E St

Closed nowDetails
Hours and contact
Address
507 SE E St, Bentonville, AR 72712
Hours
MondayClosed
Tuesday10 AM to 6 PM
Wednesday10 AM to 6 PM
Thursday10 AM to 6 PM
Friday10 AM to 8 PM
Saturday10 AM to 8 PM
Sunday10 AM to 6 PM

The Momentary is a contemporary art space in a former cheese factory in downtown Bentonville, and a satellite of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. Galleries and performances are inside; the Momentary Green and outdoor art stay open daily. General admission is free. The building is closed Mondays, Thanksgiving, and Christmas Day.

Scott Family Amazeum

Children's museum

1009 Museum Way

Closed nowDetails
Hours and contact
Address
1009 Museum Way, Bentonville, AR 72712
Hours
Monday10 AM to 5 PM
TuesdayClosed
Wednesday10 AM to 5 PM
Thursday10 AM to 5 PM
Friday10 AM to 5 PM
Saturday10 AM to 5 PM
Sunday1 PM to 5 PM

The Scott Family Amazeum is a hands-on children's museum with about 50,000 square feet of exhibits and about an acre of outdoor space. Admission is $17 in person or $14 online for adults and children age 2 and older. Members and children under 2 are free. The museum is closed Tuesdays, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Year's Day. Most Wednesdays it stays open 4:30 to 7:30 PM for Priceless Nights, with pay-as-you-wish admission. An expansion is underway, and the museum asks visitors to use Campus Parking on Museum Way.

Museum of Native American History

Native American museum

202 SW O St

Closed nowDetails
Hours and contact
Address
202 SW O St, Bentonville, AR 72712
Website
monah.org
Hours
MondayClosed
Tuesday11 AM to 5 PM
Wednesday11 AM to 5 PM
Thursday11 AM to 5 PM
Friday11 AM to 5 PM
Saturday11 AM to 5 PM
SundayClosed

The Museum of Native American History presents Indigenous cultures of the Americas through prehistoric and historic art. David Bogle, a member of the Cherokee Nation, founded it. The current building opened in June 2008 and holds more than 10,000 artifacts. Admission is free. The museum is closed Sundays, Mondays, New Year's Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas Day. Parking, restrooms, and the galleries are accessible.

Walmart Museum

History museum

105 N Main St

Closed nowDetails
Hours and contact
Address
105 N Main St, Bentonville, AR 72712
Hours
Monday10 AM to 9 PM
Tuesday10 AM to 9 PM
Wednesday10 AM to 9 PM
Thursday10 AM to 9 PM
Friday10 AM to 10 PM
Saturday10 AM to 10 PM
Sunday12 PM to 6 PM

The Walmart Museum is on the Bentonville square, in the space of Walton's 5 & 10. The galleries tell the company's story, and the building includes the dime store and The Spark Cafe. Admission is free. The museum is closed Easter Sunday, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day.

Peel Museum & Botanical Garden

Historic house museum

400 S Walton Blvd

Closed nowDetails
Hours and contact
Address
400 S Walton Blvd, Bentonville, AR 72712
Hours
MondayClosed
Tuesday10 AM to 5 PM
Wednesday10 AM to 5 PM
Thursday10 AM to 5 PM
Friday10 AM to 5 PM
Saturday10 AM to 5 PM
SundayClosed

The Peel Museum & Botanical Garden is the 1875 Italianate home of Congressman Samuel West Peel and Mary Emaline Berry Peel. The Peel Compton Foundation has operated it since 1991, and it opened as a museum in 1993. The house has historic furnishings, and the grounds are a botanical garden. General admission is free, including guided and self-guided tours. Closed Sundays and Mondays.