Several museums—including both brand-new institutions and freshly-expanded ones—are starting off 2026 on a high note.
Across the United States, new museums will range from honoring two presidents to celebrating artistic mediums to teaching about history and exploration. Be sure to plan a visit to these new museums in 2026.
Barack Obama Presidential Center (Chicago)
With a targeted June 2026 opening date, this multi-purpose presidential center and campus on Chicago’s South Side will showcase striking architecture and quite a few public features. The 19.3-acre Presidential Center campus in Jackson Park will feature a world-class museum, auditorium, Chicago Public Library branch, fruit and vegetable garden and facilities for athletics, events and programs, among other amenities.
Each exterior wall of the museum building looks a little unique from the other, to represent distinctive differences coming together to shape a singular place and inspire change. Its exterior will also feature words from Former President Obama’s speech at the 50th anniversary of the Selma to Montgomery marches, and will be done so that the view from inside the museum will shine the words over Chicago’s South and West sides.
Its exhibitions will stretch across four floors, highlighting key moments from Obama’s presidency as well as the personal histories of the former President and First Lady. The top floor’s Sky Room offers 360-degree views of Lake Michigan and the Chicago skyline. Also at the center, the John Lewis Plaza will boast public art and serve as a gathering spot.
National Geographic Museum of Exploration (Washington, D.C.)
Opening in summer 2026, this National Geographic Society museum will consist of a sustainably-built, must-visit experience as part of its reimagined campus in our nation’s capital. The technology-driven attraction will feature one-of-a-kind National Geographic curated exhibitions, immersive and educational experiences, a state-of-the-art theater, a restaurant and a retail store. Visitors will enter the museum through an 11-foot-tall re-creation of the iconic magazine’s recognizable yellow border.
The debut exhibition, “Rolex Explorers Landing,” is dedicated to the innovative equipment and stories from major expeditions, featuring the work and artifacts of explorers. A 400-seat, state-of-the-art theater will envelop visitors in stunning audiovisuals through National Geographic films and stories. The Nighttime Courtyard Experience will present captivating visuals paired with projection mapping, interactive media and audioscapes.
Lucas Museum of Narrative Art (Los Angeles)
Cofounded by filmmaker George Lucas and his wife, Mellody Hobson, this cultural institution in Los Angeles’ Exposition Park is scheduled to open on September 22, 2026 (only a few months after the city’s other major museum milestone in 2026, the debut of LACMA’s new building). Dedicated to illustrated storytelling across time, cultures and media, the museum is built on the belief that this medium is a universal language that can connect people and capture the human experience.
The building’s 35 galleries are set to occupy 100,000 square feet, and each one has a name reflecting the human experience. Its permanent narrative art collection holds more than 40,000 works from noted names including Norman Rockwell, Beatrix Potter, Frida Kahlo, Jack Kirby, Gordon Parks and Dorothea Lange. Cinematic arts, including movie posters and documentaries featuring artists and filmmakers, will also be on view. The museum also houses the Lucas Archive, which contains models, props, concept art and costumes from the Star Wars creator’s filmmaking career.
Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library (Medora, North Dakota)
Situated against the landscape of North Dakota’s Badlands, this presidential library opening in 2026 will differ from other similar institutions: It will reside along a rugged hillside adjacent to Theodore Roosevelt National Park.
Overall, this presidential library will honor the life of our 26th U.S. president, from a sickly child to our commander-in-chief. Its format is part museum, part storytelling engine and part conservation campus with high-tech interactive galleries, immersive nature experiences and a digital companion dubbed Trailblazer.
As a nod to Roosevelt’s environmental stewardship, the library is sponsoring a Native Plant Project in partnership with Resource Environmental Solutions and North Dakota State University. It will help restore indigenous plants to the library’s extensive outdoor spaces. The library is also being constructed to meet the requirements of the Living Building Challenge, a certification program and philosophy promoting a regenerative approach to building design.
The Hip Hop Museum (New York City)
Slated to open in winter 2026, this museum will open in the New York City neighborhood credited as the birthplace of hip-hop: the Bronx. The 55,000-square-foot building spans two floors that tell the story of hip-hop culture progression from a local movement to an influential global phenomenon.
On the first floor, along with a rotating exhibit gallery and a gift shop, the Origins Gallery explores multiple stories about the foundations of hip-hop, including DJing, MCing, breaking and graffiti art. Culture is a double-height space showcasing hip-hop icons through mixed media installations with video screens and artifacts. On the second floor, the Global space pays tribute to hip-hop’s worldwide reach, including in Japan, the U.K., Canada, France, India, Australia, Nigeria, South Africa, South Korea, Mexico, Brazil and Germany.
Visitors can immerse themselves with DJing and MCing opportunities, busting a move alongside life-size digital dancers and creating graffiti and hip-hop–inspired art. A Fashion Space highlights hip-hop’s influence on global style through designers, clothing, jewelry, beauty and hairstyles. The Journey, an L-shaped timeline, traces hip-hop culture’s evolution, from its pre-origins through every decade up to the 2020s. Other highlights include a state-of-the-art, 150-seat black box theater, an on-site radio station and a mixed-used food and beverage event area.
Memphis Art Museum (Memphis)
The Memphis Art Museum’s new cultural campus in the heart of Downtown Memphis, along the Mississippi River bluff, opens in December 2026. Currently known as the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, it is both the oldest and largest art museum in Tennessee, with a collection of more than 10,000 works spanning from ancient to contemporary art.
The new 122,000-square-foot structure will expand the institution’s existing gallery space by 50 percent. Along with a community courtyard, five galleries with large windows, and a transparent glass façade for engaging with the museum’s art, the building will have a full-roof garden graced with several sculptures, native plants, an event pavilion and sweeping views of Downtown Memphis and the Mississippi River. As one of the first major U.S. museums made with laminated timber, its design also incorporates natural tones inspired by the river’s clay banks.
The Dot Experience at American Printing House for the Blind (Louisville, Kentucky)
In October 2026, this nonprofit organization will welcome this re-imagined museum, whose name comes from the six-dot system of braille. The Dot Experience informs visitors about disability access by sharing everyday stories of the human experience from those who are blind or have low vision.
Visitors will encounter teenage inventor Louis Braille, creator of the braille code, as well as Helen Keller—presented in her own words thanks to the American Foundation for the Blind Helen Keller Archives. The American Printing House will also offer a tour of their own production facility, to both show how their products are made as well as to meet some of the students who benefit from them.
The Museum of Utah (Salt Lake City)
Projected for a 2026 opening, Utah’s first state history museum is to be based at the Utah State Capitol and will teach you just about everything you’d like to know about the Beehive State.
Around 17,000 square feet in size, the Museum of Utah will house four permanent galleries: Becoming Utah, Inspiring Utah, Connecting Utah and Building Utah. These different galleries will highlight Utah through different perspectives, innovations, cultures and communities with the aim of telling about the state’s unique history and how it shapes Utah’s future.
Leonardo da Vinci Museum of North America (Pueblo, Colorado)
Based along the Pueblo Riverwalk, this museum opens in early 2026 and is to be the only permanent home in the United States for Leonardo da Vinci’s model-based exhibits. It will feature life-sized machine replicas based on the Italian polymath’s sketches along with STEAM exhibits and interactive displays. This museum is also designed to focus on the meeting of art and science—two subjects heavily associated with da Vinci—with working replicas of his machines reconstructed by Artisans of Florence.
Mardi Gras Museum of Imperial Calcasieu (Lake Charles, Louisiana)
In this southwest Louisiana city—which puts on its own annual Mardi Gras celebrations, about 200 miles outside of New Orleans—this Mardi Gras museum will open its doors in late January. Originally founded in 1998 by Lake Charles’ community leaders and krewe captains to preserve and display Carnival history year-round, the museum will showcase a collection of elaborate Mardi Gras costumes, floats and cultural artifacts that highlight the artistry and pageantry of local krewes. (Krewes, by the way, are organizations or associations that stage a parade or other event for a Carnival celebration like Mardi Gras.)
The museum tells the story of Southwest Louisiana’s unique Mardi Gras culture, blending Cajun, Creole and regional heritage. Plans include immersive exhibits where visitors can try on costumes, learn the art of float-building and experience Mardi Gras through sound, light and motion. The one-story, 6,000-square-foot structure replaces the museum’s original location and is found in Lake Charles’ Nellie Lutcher Cultural District.