what to do in tulsa

What to Do in Tulsaflickr/Allison Meier
The Gilcrease Museum (1400 N. Gilcrease Museum Rd.) is a must-see for any aficionado of Western and Native American art. Virtually every item in the museum's vast collection relates to the discovery, expansion and settlement of North America. The Western-themed works by masters like Albert Bierstadt, George Catlin and John Singer Sargent are noteworthy.

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The Philbrook Museum of Art (2727 S. Rockford Rd.), Tulsa's other outstanding art museum, occupies an expansive Italian Renaissance villa built for city oilman Waite Phillips. Today it's a repository for the museum's collections, which range from Italian Renaissance paintings and European sculpture to African, Asian and Native American art. The gardens feature a variety of native Oklahoma plants.

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“My ancestors didn't come over on the Mayflower, but they met the boat.” That's one of many memorable lines attributed to William Penn Adair “Will” Rogers, the vaudevillian, humorist, movie star and social commentator who was one of the world's best-known celebrities during the 1920s and '30s. The Will Rogers Memorial Museum (1720 W. Will Rogers Blvd.) in nearby Claremore pays tribute to the legacy and accomplishments of an Oklahoma native son.

Guns, guns and more guns—but also saddles, spurs, German beer steins and Native American artifacts—are on display at the J.M. Davis Arms & Historical Museum (330 N. J.M. Davis Blvd.) in Claremore. The extensive collection of firearms includes Davis' first weapon, a muzzle-loading shotgun given to him by his father. But Davis also collected everything from political buttons to music boxes, and they're all on display.

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Stop and smell the roses at the Tulsa Garden Center (2435 S. Peoria Ave.) in Woodward Park. The lovingly tended rose garden, created by the WPA in the 1930s, encompasses five terraces. Ivy-covered stone walls, fountains and magnolia trees accent the many varieties of hybrid tea roses, which are at peak bloom from mid-May through June and again in October.

Australian stonefish and Giant Pacific octopi in Oklahoma? You can find them at the Oklahoma Aquarium (300 Aquarium Dr.) in Jenks. The aquarium also spotlights the diversified marine life—alligator snapping turtles, gars, sunfish and more—inhabiting the Sooner State's lakes, rivers and streams.

Tulsa Zoo
If you're looking for fun things to do with kids, head to the Tulsa Zoo (6421 E. 36th St. N.). One of the most impressive exhibits is The Rainforest, an enclosure where free-flying bats and birds flit about and visitors can see jungle dwellers like dwarf caimans, black howler monkeys, sloths and jewel-colored poison dart frogs.

Named for a Route 66 gas station's fanciful blue dome, the Blue Dome District along E. 2nd Street is the center of downtown Tulsa's nightlife scene. Partiers congregate at laid-back nightspots like Woody's Corner Bar (325 E. 2nd St.), the unofficial after-game gathering place of the Tulsa Oilers ice hockey team. Other hotspots? The arcade games at Max Retropub, German beer and live music at Fassler Hall.

More than a quarter of a million people gather to ring in Tulsa International Mayfest , one of Oklahoma's biggest festivals held downtown (400 S. Main St.). This celebration of live music and the visual arts offers everything from powwow dances and drum circles to body artists and a youth art gallery.

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A carnival midway, prize-winning livestock, corn dogs and funnel cakes—there's no finer family entertainment in town than the Tulsa State Fair , which takes place at Expo Square (4145 E. 21st St.) in late September and early October.