Once known as "The Queen of the Copper Camps", Bisbee nestles among the Mule Mountains of southeast Arizona, world renowned for its diverse minerals and wealth of copper. Although its mines closed in the 1970s, the town's legacy has been preserved not only in its architecture and mining landscape, but in a museum that has welcomed, educated and entertained hundreds of thousands of visitors.

Bisbee's storied past is recorded, reflected and retold in this museum like no other; it is one of only 2,000 sites nationwide honored as a National Registered Landmark. Once the corporate headquarters of the Copper Queen Consolidated Mining Company (eventually purchased by Phelps Dodge Corporation), the museum is at the center of town and at the heart of its history, an evolving tribute to the community, its determined citizens and the industry that helped build it.

What's more, it's part of the Smithsonian Institution's Affiliations Program, the first museum in the southwest to be designated – and distinguished – as an Affiliate. Since 1998, this has been a growing partnership between the nation's largest museum and one of its smallest.

It gets better. Because once you've seen who did it and how it was done, you can walk over to the Queen Mine Tour, put on a hard hat and venture underground to see where it was done.

Hours: Open Daily • 10:00 am – 4:00 pm Fees: Adults: $7.50 Seniors (60+): $6.50 Children under 16: $3.00 Location: No. 5 Copper Queen Plaza Bisbee, Arizona