Rosa Parks Museum

The museum is filled with artifacts relevant to Rosa Parks’ life and the significance and resonance of her activism, including police records and a 1950s-era Montgomery city bus. Visitors will also find exhibits about the Montgomery Bus Boycott—the 13-month mass protest that followed her act of defiance—and the Civil Rights Movement in general. In the museum’s Children’s Wing, the Cleveland Avenue Time Machine transports visitors to the 19th century and the beginnings of Jim Crow segregation, letting guests “meet” such notable figures as Dred Scott and Harriet Tubman.

Self-guided walking tours of Montgomery’s Civil Rights landmarks typically include a stop at the Rosa Parks Museum. Admission to the museum is also included in many Montgomery multi-attraction passes.

• There is a small admission fee for both the main museum wing and the Children’s Wing, with discounts for children, seniors, students, and members of the military.

• The museum is self-guided, but visitors may only enter on the hour and half-hour due to the timing of interactive elements.

• The museum is ADA-accessible.

The Rosa Parks Museum is on the campus of Troy University, located within walking distance of many hotels and attractions including the Alabama State Capitol. Museum visitors may park in any Troy University Montgomery parking lot at no charge. There is also metered parking on surrounding streets.

The Rosa Parks Museum is open Monday through Saturday from morning until evening (with earlier closure on Saturdays). Keep an eye on the calendar as the museum hosts special events throughout the year, including on Parks’ birthday (February 3) and on the anniversary of her refusal to give up her seat (December 1).

A 15-minute walk from the Rosa Parks Museum, the Legacy Museum is another must-visit attraction for those interested in learning more about the Civil Rights Movement. Located on the site of a former cotton warehouse where enslaved Black people were forced to work, the Legacy Museum uses exhibits, interactive media, and first-person narratives to tell the story of slavery in America and its lasting impact, from the era of Jim Crow to today.