The Buffalo Bill Center of the West’s Cody Firearms Museum has placed in True West magazine’s annual list of Top Ten Western Museums for 2016. The museum is ranked third in that group.
“We see a special trend as we cross the West visiting museums. There’s this desire to not only show the artifacts that are important to a local place—from prehistoric tools to 20th-century clothing—but to engage visitors through use of better films, more interactive exhibits, and stronger programs, particularly those aimed at younger visitors,” writes Candy Moulton for True West. “Now more than ever, it is time to take the family to the museum.”
For a dozen years, True West has recognized the best western museums and best western art museums in America “for their dedication to keeping the Old West alive in our communities and nation.” Moulton, Spur Award-winning writer, and the editors of True West picked the winners for this annual award based on the extraordinary efforts of the museums over the past year to create and host new temporary exhibits, as well as maintain dynamic permanent exhibitions.
“True West has become very important to the Buffalo Bill Center of the West,” says Ashley Hlebinsky, firearms curator. “We collaborate on articles, provide historic images, and are excited to see their special story about the Center’s Centennial in 2017. We know how important True West has become in perpetuating the story of the American West.”
True West also tapped the Center’s Whitney Western Art Museum in its list of the best western museums, naming it #2 in the 2016 Top Western Art Museums.
In 2015, True West named the Center of the West Top Western Museum, the Whitney #4 western art museum, and the Center’s Plains Indian Museum as the best American Indian collection. The Cody Firearms Museum was the Top Western Museum in 2014.
True West has led the way for 63 years in presenting the true stories of Old West adventure, history, culture, and preservation. For subscriptions and more information, visit twmag.com or call 888-687-1881.
Since 1917, the award-winning Buffalo Bill Center of the West in Cody, Wyoming, has devoted itself to sharing the story of the authentic American West. The Center is an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution. For additional information, visit centerofthewest.org or the Center’s Facebook page.