Browse Museums

Bowers Museum
Santa Ana, California

Anthropology, Archaeology, Art, Children's, Culture, History

The Bowers Museum of Cultural Art is one of California's largest and finest museums. Its permanent collection includes more than 130,000 objects from such diverse areas as African, South Pacific, Asian, Native American, Pre-Columbian, and Californian. In addition to its permanent collection, the Museum also presents several special exhibitions each year as well as a variety of events and programs, including films, lectures, concerts, guided tours, talks, and family programs. A few of the high profile special exhibitions include "Terra Cotta Warriors: Guardians of China's First Emperor," "Secret World of the Forbidden City," "Mummies: Death and the Afterlife in Ancient Egypt," "Treasures from the British Museum," "Secrets of the Silk Road," and "Ito Jakuchu: A Man with No Age."

Chumash Indian Museum
Thousand Oaks, California

Anthropology, Art, Culture, General, History, Library, Nature Centers, Park, Specialized

The goal at the center is to provide the public with an awareness of the Chumash People and their historical, cultural, material and present day interactions throughout Southern California. A blend of resources are used to accommodate a wide variety of interests!

Fossil Discovery Center of Madera County
Chowchilla, California

Anthropology, Archaeology, Natural History, Science, Specialized

A popular destination for thousands of visitors, including over 5,000 grade school students each year. We have a nice exhibit to browse, a working lab and a mock dig pit for kids. One of the largest Middle Pleistocene fossil deposits in California was discovered across the road at the Fairmead Landfill. Over 15,000 fossils have been collected and many have been identified including the Columbian mammoth, camel, horse, saber-tooth cat, scimitar cat, dire wolf and giant ground sloth as well as reptiles, amphibians and fish.

Grace Hudson Museum & Sun House
Ukiah, California

Anthropology, Art, Culture, History, Historic House, Park

The Grace Hudson Museum and Sun House in Ukiah, California, is an art, history and anthropology museum focusing on the lifeworks of artist Grace Carpenter Hudson (1865-1937) and her ethnologist husband, Dr. John W. Hudson (1857-1936). Changing interdisciplinary exhibitions and public programs feature Western American art, California Indian cultures, histories of California's diverse North Coast region, and the work of contemporary regional artists.

La Senora Research Institute
Santa Monica, California

Anthropology, Botanical Garden, Cemetery, Children's, Culture, History, Historic House, Historical Society, Specialized

La Señora Research Institute's focus is on research and education. It begins with our scholars as we document the Rancho Era of Early California under Spain, Mexico and the United States, especially as it relates to the 1839 Mexican Land Grant Rancho Boca de Santa Monica where our José Mojica Hacienda and the Pascual Marquez Family Cemetery are located.
Equally important to the preservation of historic records is the preservation of the Rancho's rich cultural heritage with its typically Mexican "Welcoming Traditions". From the beginning, the Rancho's canyon grounds were freely visited by anyone seeking tranquility under its sheltering trees and ocean breezes.

Mission Santa Clara
Santa Clara, California

Anthropology, Art, Botanical Garden, Church, Culture, General, History, Historic House, Park, University

We welcome visitors to our historic and beautiful campus. Our campus slideshow can give you a great preview of many campus sites, including the Mission Santa Clara, the Mission Gardens, the Center for Performing Arts, and the de Saisset Museum.

Pacific Asia Museum
Pasadena, California

Anthropology, Archaeology, Art, Botanical Garden, Culture, General, History, Historic House, Library, Specialized

Established in 1971, Pacific Asia Museum is one of only four museums in the United States exclusively dedicated to the arts of Asia and the Pacific Islands. The museum houses 5,000 years of artistic expression from across Asia and the Pacific in a California historic landmark building. Visitors will enjoy a mix of contemporary and historic exhibitions and a wide variety of enriching public programs all year round.

Ralph Leroy Milliken Museum
Los Banos, California

Anthropology, Archaeology, Culture, General, History

Mural, Indian artifacts, history

San Bernardino County Victor Valley Museum
Apple Valley, California

Anthropology, Archaeology, Children's, Culture, History, Historical Society, Natural History, Nature Centers, Science

The Victor Valley Museum is a branch of the San Bernardino County Museum and maintains and develops unique cultural and natural science collections related to the High Desert.

Sierra Mono Indian Museum
North Fork, California

Anthropology, Archaeology, Art, Culture, General, History, Natural History, Specialized

Permanent collections include a wide variety of Native American baskets and cultural artifacts. Also on display is the Tettleton Wildlife Diorama Collection consisting of over 100 freestanding taxidermy animals of North America and Asia. Other collections include historical photographs, cultural items, beadwork and weapons.

Cachuma Lake Nature Center
Santa Barbara, California

Anthropology, Botanical Garden, Children's, Culture, Historic House, Natural History, Nature Centers, Park

Cachuma Lake Nature Center in Santa Barbara, CA is one of more than 15,400 museums in the MuseumsUSA directory. Find an exciting museum to visit where you live or vacation today.

Exploratorium
San Francisco, California

Anthropology, Archaeology, Art, Children's, Culture, History, Natural History, Science, Specialized, University

We're now open in a spectacular new location at Pier 15 on the Embarcadero at Green St. in San Francisco. There are 150 new exhibits for a total of 600, indoors and out, including many beloved classics; a Bay Observatory; a bigger focus on tinkering and social science; and more. Come explore!

Fresno Historical Society
Fresno, California

Anthropology, Archaeology, Art, Cemetery, Culture, General, History, Historical Society, Library, Military

The Fresno Historical Society Archives welcomes the use of its collections. The mission of an Archives includes two equally important components. In addition to providing access to primary source material for study and research, an Archives is a repository that is charged with the preservation of primary source materials of all kinds.

Healdsburg Museum
Healdsburg, California

Anthropology, Archaeology, History, Historical Society

The Heraldsburg Museum houses an impressive range of artifacts and documents related to northern Sonoma County history. Some examples are Pomo Indians basketry, nineteenth century weapons, tools, archival library with 8000 photos and annual toy exhibit.

Mexican Museum
San Francisco, California

Anthropology, Archaeology, Art, Culture, General, History, Library, Nature Centers, Park, Specialized

Fort Mason Center offers a variety of cultural activities as well as being in close proximity to the Marina Green, Crissy Field and the Golden Gate Bridge. Stop by and visit the museum while touring the Marina District and other nearby tourist destinations!

Modoc County Historical Museum
Alturas, California

Anthropology, Archaeology, Art, Culture, General, History, Historical Society, Library, Military, Natural History

Located in Alturas, it contains several exhibits pertaining to the culture and history of Modoc County in California. Exhibits range from prehistoric cultures to modern residents of the surrounding region. Natural history including mammoth bone, and a taxidermist collection of several local species. A gun collection of over 200 firearms all used and collected by local people.

Pomo Visitors Center
Ukiah, California

Anthropology, Archaeology, Culture, History, Natural History

San Bernardino County Museum
Redlands, California

Anthropology, Culture, General, History, Natural History

The largest museum in inland Southern California, the San Bernardino County Museum has three floors of exhibits where visitors experience the natural and cultural history of inland Southern California: archaeology and anthropology, minerals, fossils, history, and the natural sciences, including North American mammals and an outstanding collection of birds and eggs. Changing exhibits focus on specimens and artifacts from museum collections and exciting new discoveries about the cultural and scientific heritage of our southwest. The Exploration Station live animal gallery is a favorite of children and families. Outdoor exhibits include native plant and cactus gardens, a steam locomotive and caboose, mining and lumbering equipment, heritage orange groves, and sculpture.

San Buenaventura Mission
Ventura, California

Anthropology, Archaeology, Church, Culture, History, Historic House

The founding of San Buenaventura Mission was foreshadowed well over two centuries ago on the Spanish isle of Mallorca, when a devout Franciscan priest, who was a brilliant scholar and professor of theology, earnestly prayed that he might be permitted to forsake his comfortable circumstances to take up the Lord’s work among the aborigines in the New World. The hoped-for answer to his prayers came on Palm Sunday, March 30, 1749.

Sierra Valley Historical Park
Loyalton, California

Anthropology, Culture, General, History, Park

Loyalton Museum & Historical Park Two hundred years of Sierra Valley history – logging, agriculture, Native American. Research center.

MUSEUM CONFERENCES

Georgia Association of Museums 2025 Conference

February 5 - 7, 2025

Milledgeville, Georgia

Small Museum Association 41st Annual Conference 2025

February 17 - 19, 2025

Gaithersburg, Maryland

2025 California Association of Museums Conference

February 18 - 22, 2025

San Fransico, California

Virginia Association of Museum's 2025 Annual Conference!

March 15 - 18, 2025

Blacksburg, Virginia

2025 Am Assoc for State and Local History Annual Conference

September 10 - 13, 2025

Cincinnati, Ohio

RECENT UPDATES

Museums

03/07 Pointe Coupee Parish Museum

New Roads, Louisiana

03/07 Uintah County Heritage Museum

Vernal, Utah

Museum Vendors

03/07 Digiscura

Encino, California

Museum Associations

03/07 Public Lands Alliance

Washington, District of Columbia

03/07 Oregon Museums Association

Portland, Oregon

03/07 Virginia Association of Museums

Richmond, Virginia

03/07 American Association for State and Local History

Nashville, Tennessee

03/07 Small Museum Association

Dover, Delaware