The 2025 Newsweek Readers’ Choice Awards were announced recently, and the Taubman Museum of Art was named one of the Best Free Museums in the nation. The Taubman ranked third in the nation and the top in Virginia.
Newsweek’s featured panelists and contributors chose the nominees, and the public voted for the honor.
The top ten Best Free Museums according to the 2025 Newsweek Readers’ Choice Awards include:
1 Saint Louis Science Center | St. Louis, MO
2 Baltimore Museum of Art | Baltimore, MD
3 Taubman Museum of Art | Roanoke, VA
4 Virginia Museum of Fine Arts | Richmond, VA
5 Detroit Institute of Arts | Detroit, MI
6 Anne Frank Center – A History for Today | Columbia, SC
7 Eisenhower National Historic Site | Gettysburg, PA
8 Frye Art Museum | Seattle, WA
9 National Museum of Mexican Art | Chicago, IL
10 U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center | Carlisle, PA
“We’re delighted and humbled to be honored in this way,” said Cindy Petersen, executive director of the Taubman Museum of Art. “This award is a testament to our guiding philosophy of meeting the community where they are, and one of the many ways we strive to do that is through offering free general admission. We are grateful to Appalachian Power Foundation for their ongoing support that makes this barrier-free accessibility possible to our community and visitors.”
