The International Museum of the Horse & the Al-Marah Arabian Horse Galleries

The Kentucky Horse Park has two museums and one large gallery which are all free with admission to the Horse Park. We were only able to fit in The International Museum of the Horse and Al-Marah Arabian Horse Galleries. We started off in the International Museum of the Horse which provided us with much needed relief from the heat and nasty humidity.

Obviously, everything there was horse related. I learned more than I ever thought was possible about horses. Alyssa just soaked it all up! She could have spent all day there.

When I was a little girl I was obsessed with Egypt and King Tut. Seeing these two plaques which were part of a golden fan found inside the tomb of King Tutankhamun was thrilling for me. They depict the original hunt 3,300 years ago.

If you want to get your horse on and learn a lot about horse history this is the place for you! There was so much to see and more information than my brain could handle after being in the hot sun all day.

Braxton really loved this diorama of a western town in winter. 

The International Museum of the Horse has a very unique lay out. As you start through the museum you slowly wind up hill through the history of horses and their impact on mankind. At the top of the spiral museum is this large open room with hanging horse-drawn vehicles. It was the highlight of the museum, in my humble opinion.

Loved the fact that there was so much history for Alyssa to learn about. Each item could have opened up a different historical discussion. Since we are huge history buffs it was cool!

I know nothing about horse-racing since we don't gamble at all or follow any kind of racing event. It was interesting to learn more about Man o'War since he was such a beloved race horse.

They all cracked me up by spending quite a while here looking through the computers at different horse breeds. I think Alyssa was the only one interested in really learning about them. Hotch probably wanted to sit and chill so he did the obligatory perusal. Brax and Lane just wanted to play with the computer because it was so cool!  

Once we were at the top of the International Museum of the Horse we needed a bathroom break before taking the elevators down. (It is a one way kind of museum. Everybody just goes up to the top.) When we were getting ready to go downstairs we noticed a door to the Al-Marah Arabian Horse Galleries. Since we there we decided to check it out too. Totally worth your time! 

As you enter there is a really neat interactive program to start. You grab a card, scan it, choose a horse and its name. The card will save your info on it so throughout the gallery you can learn more about your chosen horse while playing some educational games.

The first stop is here where you learn about your particular horse and all of its body parts. The kids were able to learn how Arabian horses were well adapted for their surroundings and jobs.

Another interesting aspect of the gallery is learning all about the Bedouin culture. The children really enjoyed climbing into the tent and listening to a story by "campfire."

They all wanted to play the interactive games. There was so many hands on things for the kids to do. I loved watching them dive into learning!

We took the elevator down to the first floor where the doors opened to the Black Stallion Experience exhibit. It was really aesthetically pleasing with an emphasis on children's literature about horses.

As we finished looking at the Black Stallion Experience, we started to wonder if we would ever be able to leave the museum. We were tired and the museum never seemed to end. It is like a maze! There was a huge trophy room and then finally the horse-drawn vehicle room.

We were exhausted at the end of our day, but everyone had a blast. Make sure to wear comfortable shoes and prepare to be on your feet all day. Kentucky Horse Park it was a pleasure to visit you!