Pop Culture Comes Alive at These Museums

Come along we explore some top spots that bring some of our favorite aspects of pop culture to life.

National Comedy Center

Jamestown, New York | comedycenter.org

Dedicated to presenting the story of comedy and preserving its heritage for future generations, the National Comedy Center is the place to visit if your groups are looking for some true belly laughs. Exclusive collections, world-class exhibits, and cutting-edge technology merge to provide a truly well-rounded experience, whether you’re looking to explore comedy’s earliest roots, the latest viral meme, or everything in between.

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

Cleveland, Ohio | rockhall.com

Situated along the Lake Erie shoreline, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame buzzes with as much electricity as an Orange Super Crush 100 amp cranked up to 11. Both rotating and permanent exhibits in the museum’s multiple unique levels get groups up close and personal with some of rock’s all-time legends, while artifacts including Stevie Nicks’ Rumors dress, Jimi Hendrix's Flying V Gibson, and John Lennon’s handwritten song lyrics give just a sample of the greatness that awaits within.

Charles M. Schulz Museum & Research Center

Santa Rosa, California | schulzmuseum.org

Attention, Snoopy lovers! The Charles M. Schulz Museum & Research Center is a must-visit for a look inside the mind of the man who created the beloved Peanuts. Located on the property where Schulz spent his last 30 years drawing, the museum is a distinctive 27,000-square-foot building inspired by the Peanuts comic strip itself. View original Peanuts comic strips, admire a re-creation of Schulz’s studio, peruse the Snoopy Labyrinth (an outdoor labyrinth in the shape of Snoopy’s head), and more.

Photo courtesy of The Neon Museum Las Vegas.

The Neon Museum

Las Vegas, Nevada | neonmuseum.org

The cultural essence of Las Vegas comes alive at the Neon Museum, an establishment dedicated to showcasing the city’s iconic signage, diverse collections, and stories that define its vibrant past, present, and future. Across the museum’s 2.27-acre campus, groups will find the Neon Boneyard, immersive audiovisual experience “Brilliant! Jackpot,” which uses projection mapping technology to animate more than 40 non-operational signs, its Visitors’ Center inside the historic former La Concha Motel lobby, and more. With a selection of over 800 signs from more than 200 properties, groups are sure to leave glowing. 

The Museum of Broadway

Times Square, New York City | themuseumofbroadway.com

The Museum of Broadway is the first-ever permanent museum celebrating Broadway and is an immersive and interactive theatrical experience devoted to musicals, plays, and the people who make them. Featuring the work of dozens of designers, artists and theatre historians, this one-of-a-kind Museum takes visitors on a journey along the timeline of Broadway, from its birth to present day, where the past, present, and future of Broadway come together like never before.

Museum of Pop Culture

Seattle, Washington | mopop.org

The Museum of Pop Culture, or MOPOP, takes all aspects of pop culture and wraps them up into one unmissable attraction. With a mission to activate the world-shaping power of pop culture through participative experiences, discovery, and play, MOPOP thoughtfully explores a vast range of topics through artifacts and rotating exhibits, from horror movies, to African American music, to science fiction and fantasy, to indie gaming, and plenty more.

Additional worthy considerations include the Comic-Con Museum (San Diego), the Strong National Museum of Play (Rochester, New York), American Sign Museum (Cincinnati), and the OZ Museum (Wamego, Kansas).

Written by Sarah Suydam, Managing Editor for Groups Today.

This article originally appeared in the Sept/Oct ’26 issue of Groups Today.

Main photo courtesy of the Charles M. Schulz Museum & Research Center.