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Cincinnati Museum Center

Museums ·Cincinnati ·Closed
4.711.8K
#1Museums in CincinnatiTravelers' Choice 2025
  • from USD 7.25
  • Ideal for kids
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About

Cincinnati Museum Center is a museum complex in Cincinnati’s Union Terminal, a former railway station in Queensgate.

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Cincinnati Museum Center

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Why go

  • The Torvosaurus skeleton in Dinosaur Hall is 55 percent complete and the only one of its genus on public display.
  • A limestone cave exhibit has an underground stream and a 40-foot dome pit.
  • Union Terminal became a National Historic Landmark in 1977.
  • Union Terminal inspired the Hall of Justice in classic comic books.
  • Tour Tower A, once the command center for 216 daily trains.

Opening hours

Today10:00 – 17:00Show all
Monday10:00 – 17:00
TuesdayClosed
WednesdayClosed
Thursday10:00 – 17:00
Friday10:00 – 17:00
Saturday10:00 – 17:00
Sunday10:00 – 17:00

Don't miss

  • Grand E.M. Skinner Concert OrganSee the 1929 concert organ.Cincinnati Museum Center
  • Arctic exhibition and OMNIMAX presentationExplore the Arctic through an exhibition and an OMNIMAX presentation; check whether they are available on your visit date.Cincinnati Museum Center
  • Pop-up food samplingTry pop-up food sampling; check whether it is available on your visit date.Cr(eat)e Culinary Studio
  • Nature workshopsJoin workshops about how nature works, focused on life in the eastern forest; check whether they are available on your visit date.The Edge

Know before you go

  • Open daily from 10:00 to 17:00.

What's inside

  • Cincinnati History Museum
  • Museum of Natural History & Science
  • Duke Energy Children's Museum
  • Robert D. Lindner Family OMNIMAX Theater
  • Traveling exhibitions

With kids

  • The annual family day includes fossil activities.
  • Holiday Junction is an annual rail-themed event.
  • Annual 1940s Day takes place on the second weekend in August, with vintage-themed activities.

Tips for your visit

  • For an adults-only evening, check the dates of Layers of the Unknown.

Tours and audio guides

History tours
Walking and motor coach tours Led by Heritage Programs docents

Interesting facts4

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  1. Workers sculpted the limestone cave from gunite to resemble Mammoth Cave National Park.

    Cincinnati Museum Center - Wikipedia

  2. The center’s collection holds Union Terminal architectural drawings, construction photos, restaurant menus and company records.

    Cincinnati Museum Center - Wikipedia

  3. Union Terminal’s peak passenger traffic came in the 1940s, especially during World War II.

    Cincinnati Museum Center - Wikipedia
  4. 1990

    At its 1990 opening, the center featured robotic dinosaurs, a World War II exhibit and one of only fourteen OMNIMAX theaters in the United States.

    Cincinnati Museum Center - Wikipedia

Shorts

History

After restoration work in the southwest wing began in 2009, the terminal closed from July 2016 to November 2018 for a building-wide renovation.

  1. 1933Union Terminal was built as a train station.
  2. 1967The Cavern was first installed at the Gilbert Avenue site.
  3. 1986County voters approved $33 million to convert the terminal into museum space.
  4. February 1988The first terminal exhibit, “U.S.S.R.: Individual, Family, Society,” explored Soviet life.
  5. November 10, 1990The museum center opened.
Show all
  1. November 2, 1991The museum center held its grand opening.
  2. Around 1994The Cavern was reinstalled at Union Terminal.
  3. 1995The participating organizations officially merged to form the museum center.
  4. 2009Restoration began in the terminal's southwest wing, including work on the roof, masonry, heating and cooling, and dining room.
  5. July 2016–November 2018The terminal closed for a $228 million renovation after more extensive water damage was found.
  6. November 17, 2018The terminal and museum center held a reopening ceremony.
  7. January 2019The Nancy & David Wolf Holocaust and Humanity Center became a tenant in the former History Library space.

Sources: Cincinnati Museum Center - Wikipedia · Cincinnati/Over-the-Rhine - Wikivoyage (see) · Home Page - Cincinnati Museum Center · Member Portal - Cincinnati Museum Center · Donate - Cincinnati Museum Center · Cincinnati Museum Center at Union Terminal - Wi… · checked 12 Oct 2026

Where
1301 Western Ave Union Terminal, OH, Cincinnati

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Questions and answers

Does Union Terminal still have a railway role?

Amtrak restored it as a stop on its passenger route between New York Pennsylvania Station and Chicago Union Station.

When was the concert organ installed?

The Grand E.M. Skinner Concert Organ was installed during renovations in the 1990s.

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