The very first group of women in the history of the world to make a living from a professional sport were the cowgirls who worked the rodeo circuit, and this surprisingly high-tech museum tells their tale and the stories of the women who preceded them (Annie Oakley most prominently). It does so in a majestic Art Deco-esque building in the Cultural District, filling a series of second floor rooms with videos of these daring dames in action, all sorts of memorabilia (from the sparkly costumes most of the early cowgirls had to sew themselves to rodeo programs and posters) and an entire section on cowgrils in the movies and TV (hello Toy Story!). All in all more than 150 women are honored, and there's enough here to keep even those with only a passing interest in this sport engaged, including a very tame mechanical bull that you can videotape yourself riding (you move it with your body motions, rather than the other way around). Most will take no longer than an hour to tour the museum.

-Pauline Frommer