Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site Visitor Center in Bryant

Very detailed history of the location is available to read in a visually pleasing manner. The ranger with blue hair (at the time!Was incredibly knowledgeable and kind, will go back!

As a history teacher who lives in Florida I was thrilled to see the high school and the history behind it when I recently visited friends in Little Rock!

Definitely a stop you have to do

Such an incredible landmark to visit. Also amazing is that its still a functioning high school.Kids were coming in and out of the front while our park ranger was giving us a tour from the outside. Presentation was given on the front steps.Everyone should visit to better understand how segregation was, sadly, started in America. The path was long and horrendous but the students that endured the unspeakable torment made it possible for so many more to move forward.

Well detailed account of the events that happened. Really enjoyed all video accounts that you can listen to at your own pace. Its free, with plenty of parking. A short walk to the school itself, which is still an active school.

I would recommend the tour. Ive read many books, but learned so much from the Ranger.

Beautiful grounds. The Park service has a building nearby that tells the story.

Very good. Good to see the actual place where 9 high school students were brave enough to stand up for their rights to equal treatment.

A great introduction to the history of civil rights in the United States from 1787 US Constitution (voting rights only for white, male property owners, etc.to recent events with a focus on school segregation and desegregation history in North (e.g., resistance to busingand South. We’ll worth a visit, along with the State Capitol tour and Clinton Library if you’re interested in history, architecture and politics. This is particularly good for grade school age children or older who have a 15+ minute attention span.Note museum opens at 10 and not 9 as advertised in some places and the Central HS building is still an active high school so tours require advance reservations and can sell out well in advance.

We took the ranger tour which was quite a bit longer than we were told it would be when we registered. It was still going on after two hours when we left. It was supposed to be one hour.

Excellent museum. The guide giving the tour was very knowledgeable and professional. This is an excellent National Park Service unit to visit.

The tour was great! Highly educated ranger Rebecca Really learned alot. Felt so real with walking the steps

Theyve kept the building up well. Great landscaping for a high school. Obviously of great historical significance in the US.

A must visit park for a must hear story! Take the tour if possible as it helps to bring the heart breaking yet triumph history alive. This is a must visit for school aged kids for sure.

A truly important landmark site in US history. The museum is well organized, full of information, and straightforward to navigate. A mask was required to enter the museum and store. The park attendant was emphatic about the gravity of what the Little Rock Nine experienced, and the entire experience was truly beneficial to understanding more about how far our nation has come socially since that time as well as how close by it was temporally to current day. The entire museum as well as getting to walk around the school campus would take about an hour to an hour and a half, but you could also potentially spend much longer especially if you take a tour.

I wish I could have taken buses of chicken here for a school revival!! This historical site is beautiful, very honest and inspiring. Its a must see ....... I really like the pictures showing photos of the students together after integration. It was 👍 great!

Emotional visit to this historic place. To be in the same location and walk the same steps as these courageous people. You need to be there in order to experience the gravity of the situation. The visitor center had so much information and was nicely laid out. I highly recommend visiting. Took us about an hour and a half.

Beautiful architecture of the building with century old history. You will immerse in the breathtaking design and landscaping. Don’t miss the early 1900s Mobil gas station across the street.

The High school in its present state is a spectacular building. The historic information site is around the corner and has a lot of great info on the desegregation of Central High.

One of the best and most engaged park rangers weve come across. This is a definite must-see. Park at the visitor center and tour the exhibit first and talk with the ranger. I would also recommend the junior ranger activity for all ages (yes, even adults). Then walk over to the gas station and the school and try and put yourself in the students places. Weve come a long way, but this is a turning point that we all need to remember. Highly recommend a visit.

We decided to stop here on our drive home from Arkansas to Florida. We’re an interracial marriage and it’s important for our kids to understand the history of both races and the struggles of bringing equality and civil rights to people of color in the U.S.A. It’s hard for them to understand that one point in time it was illegal for their parents to be married.The museum was awesome and the rangers were considerate and helpful. Our kids loved the museum and continued to talk about it hours after we left. We spent about two hours here simply soaking in all of the information. There is so much social (in)justice history in this building. We will definitely return and attempt to book a tour of the high school.

I loved learning and sharing the history with my children. Although difficult to see what transpired back then, its good to see what we need to avoid now.

Short little stop along an I-40 roadtrip. Not more than 30 minutes spent at this site. Before coming, I questioned why a high school would be a national park unit. Now, after visiting, I understand the importance that this high school had in forming the United States as we know it today.

The visitors center is directly across from the school. They have done such a great job organizing facts, pictures, news footage and pictures! Also, the people working there are very knowledgeable and willing to answer any questions. You can walk out of the center and see the High School which is still in use. Very impactful.

Not only is this a simultaneously inspiring but depressing story of equal rights denied and justice delayed but the ranger guide was amazing. Patti Cummings was knowlegable, passionate, and vividly dramatic. This guided experience was a real sleeper in our tour of the civil rights historic sites. Dont miss your chance for a free visit and an opportunity to walk with the Little Rock Nine and re-live this painful episode in dramatic detail.

This was the first time that I had been to a National Historic Site and it did not disappoint!The exhibit was wonderful and full of information not told in history books. Ranger Randy Dotson was amazing and answered all of my questions about the events leading up to Little Rock Nine and integration in Arkansas and he shared a lot of insight on the things that were displayed. I hate that I didn’t get a chance to finish the exhibit.I happened to be there in time to tag along for the 1pm tour that they give with more of a visual presentation of the information and a short walk to the school. Ranger Brian Schwieger was an amazing guide that really painted a picture of the heroism and the opposition that took place at Little Rock Central High School and all the other events that lead up to the Little Rock Nine.I highly recommend visiting this place and I will be back to finish the exhibit.

Wonderful experience. Tour guide was very knowledgeable. Wish we were able to enter the school.

Outstanding NPS site and well worth a stop. We’ve been to many parks, but never have we been so moved by the experience. The visitor center and self-guided tour will give you a sense of what happened here, but taking a ranger-led tour will make you feel it. You MUST book ahead for the tour! Do it! Ranger Randy was amazing. Incredible experience - thank you!

If you are in Little Rock this is a must stop! There is something for everyone learn about what happened to the "Little Rock Nine". Very eye opening experience!

Not that great of a place but if you read the history and come visit this place then maybe it might be worth your time. I would say you will finish seeing this place in 10 mins.You can take pictures and if you are in little rock ,there’s nothing much to do so you could come and visit this place.No entry fee anyone can go and see the place

This site goes well beyond information strictly pertaining to the high school. It also covers women’s rights, workers’ rights, etc - because we’re not free until we’re all free. The ranger who met me at the door was obviously passionate and helpful. The NPS app is a helpful addition, especially to visiting the grounds. I wish I had planned ahead better, so that I would be able to take a guided tour.Beyond worth your time.

Wasnt able to go inside since it was closed on a Sunday but the architecture and the grounds were a delight to be around.

The visitor was an excellent opportunity to learn a lot, it was very organized and easy to understand. It isb free and there is a gift shop at the end of the museum. Dont forget to buy a t-shirt or keychain.

We were lucky to get a tour of the school, you have to book in advance. The tour of the school was ok..not too much to see..just an older school(still in usethat looks like its from the 1950s. The great part of the tour was the ranger stories and all the questions he answered. Go and make sure to get the tour. They also have the Jr ranger program here for the kids. No pictures in the school.

To put this review in context I am 73 and grew up in Ohio. I have memories of tv showing the events of Sep 57. When asked who the governor of AR was, I remembered Orville Faubus. I remember adults praising Ike for "sending the paratroopers in to kick a$$."Now to todays visit. A beautiful park. Well explained. The rangers did a great job. Powerful. Our group (2 adults, 2 tweenstalked more than we did all trip. I didnt feel entitled. I felt proud that our government saw a wrong and fixed it. Still proud of what Ike did. There was no mention of the race of the paras. They were ordered to right a wrong and they did.A powerful experience

Very informative park. They have done an excellent job of preserving a pivotal event in U.S. history.

The school is beautiful! It wasnt open for public to visit indoors but it is definitely gorgeous from outside. You can visit the small museum that they have a visitor center which provides plenty of history about what happened at the place. They have free parking which is always a plus.

The visitors can walk around the school from the outside and see the museum inside the visitor center. If you want parking, thats at the visitor center. The architecture is beautiful and the place is historically significant! Its also the most expensive high school in the country!

This gem of a national park has a visitors center with parking in proximity to central high school. There are also some Memorial grounds and restored building at the school intersections. I was amazed at how large the school was compared to the historical pictures.

Our park ranger Noah was very informative and made this tour well worth our time. Noah put it in real life perspective through the lens of the “Central High Nine”. Take the tour. You will not regret it.

Not a large exhibit but powerful nonetheless. I was too young to understand this at the time so I learned a lot. The Little Rock Nine were a brave group of young people.

The tour guide did a fabulous job telling the history/story of the Arkansas 9.

I been wanting to come here. For me this holds a sentimental place in my heart being afro-latina. The visitor center was closed do to all the crazy stuff happening in Our world but i got to see the school and it was breath taking .

Very informtive. Great tour and guide. Beautiful school and grounds. A immersive walking tour to understand what 9 students experienced.

Wow. I wish we would have spent more time at this visitors center! What a great place to better understand this time in history and the challenges we still face today. The lead ranger, (Keith?was so incredibly friendly and well informed. He spent lots of time with my wife and I discussing not only the events remembered at LRCHS, but also how this has changed the community in recent years. He represented the park service well. Thank you for your service and passion for this historical place.

Loved our experience at the central high school. Great knowledgeable rangers who give you much more insight than the textbooks share.

Painted a great picture of what happened in the past. Great exhibits and photos. Great for the whole family. Staff was amazing and helpful.

This was kind of a spur of the moment stop on a road trip and boy was it worth it. We were able to get in on a tour, although we could only go outside. The tour was informative and it felt surreal to be in such a place. Definitely eye opening for my son, whose in middle school now. I woukd recomend it for every middle and high schooler out there

Take the guided tour. Our tour guide was so good our kids retained so much of the information! Only an hour and a half and its free so you cant beat that.

A great historical treasure! Its wonderful to see the architecture and history of a truly unique school. Tour the wadding pool representing all the Little Rock Nine and future students. See the guardians that describe the values of the school.We were thrilled that the site has a visitors center with historical video. We were also able to purchase books written by the Nine.Theres also a neat gas station that has been preserved from the time period.