Museum Monday: Moab Giants, Moab, Utah

giant T-rex replicas with a red backdrop on the Dinosaur Trail at Moab Giants in Moab, Utah
T-rexes guard the Dinosaur Trail at Moab Giants just outside Moab, Utah (Photo by California News Press)

As a popular southwest tourist destination, Moab, Utah, is best known for its proximity to Arches and Canyonlands national parks. Its red-rock desert landscape, cut through by the Colorado River, is also a spectacular playground for all kinds of outdoor adventures such as mountain biking, off-roading and thrilling jet boat rides. But there’s a whole […]

Museum Monday: The Getty Villa Museum, Pacific Palisades

The long pool and statue in front of the Getty Villa in Pacific Palisades

Contemporary Southern California couldn’t be much further in time and space from the ancient civilizations of Greece, Rome and Etruria. However, at the Getty Villa Museum in Pacific Palisades, a stone’s throw from Malibu, these distinct cultures come together in a splendid showcase of classical art and architecture.  The lavish Getty Villa, a precise recreation […]

Museum Monday: The National Civil Rights Museum, Memphis, Tennessee

Signage for the Lorraine Motel at the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Tennessee against a gray sky

The third Monday in January is Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a federal holiday to honor the life and legacy of the foremost figure of the American civil rights movement. The National Civil Rights Museum, adjacent to and encompassing the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, memorializes and celebrates Dr. King all year round.  The museum […]

Museum Monday: The Exploratorium, San Francisco

closeup view of the Rolling Through the Bay kinetic art sculpture at the Exploratorium, one of the top museums in San Francisco

The Exploratorium, an award-winning, science-meets-art museum in San Francisco, checks off a lot of boxes on visitors’ wish lists. It’s one of the best places to go with kids in San Francisco, yet the museum is equally fun and engaging for all ages. Designed as a public learning laboratory for science, art and human perception, […]

Museum Monday: Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) 

A closeup view of Chris Burden's Urban Light art installation outside LACMA

In late 2024, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is set to complete construction of its brand-new David Geffen Galleries. The building will house the museum’s permanent collection of 150,000 objects and reestablish its status as the largest art museum in the western United States. LACMA’s Resnick Exhibition Pavilion and Broad Contemporary Art […]

Museum Monday: The Santa Barbara Maritime Museum

Dwight Brooks ship models and more displays inside the main exhibit hall of the Santa Barbara Maritime Museum

The Santa Barbara Maritime Museum has a mission to preserve and celebrate over 13,000 years of human interaction with the ocean. It’s quite the scope, narrowed by a focus on the local coastal region, the Santa Barbara Channel and the Channel Islands. The museum showcases centuries of interaction between human inhabitants and the rich coastal […]

Museum Monday: An American Christmas Story at the Reagan Library

A closeup of ornaments on the California Christmas tree at the Reagan Library's An American Christmas Story exhibit in 2022

Every holiday season, the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley presents a special exhibit of Christmas trees decorated to fit the year’s theme. In 2022, the theme is An American Christmas Story. The 5,000-square-foot exhibit features more than 60 trees representing each U.S. state and territory. Also on display are rare artifacts, gifts and […]

Museum Monday: The Georgia O’Keeffe Museum, Santa Fe, New Mexico

A display of skull paintings over a cabinet with animal skulls at the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe, New Mexico

Georgia O’Keeffe (1887-1986) was born in Wisconsin, rose to fame among early modernist art circles in New York City, and traveled widely across the globe during her 98 years of life. Yet her artistic legacy is forever tied to Santa Fe, New Mexico, where O’Keeffe settled in 1949 and remained until her death. The celebrated […]

Museum Monday: Point Mugu Missile Park, Ventura County

An F-4 Phantom 2 jet mounted on display next to palm trees at Point Mugu Missile Park in Ventura County, an open air museum in Southern California

If you’ve ever driven along the stretch of PCH north of Point Mugu State Park and south of Oxnard, you might have noticed a curious display of grounded vintage fighter jets and missiles in the distant corner of an otherwise empty field. It’s clear that they have a military connection due to the location – […]

Museum Monday: MOXI, The Wolf Museum of Exploration + Innovation, Santa Barbara

The white wall exterior of MOXI museum in Santa Barbara, California, with a giant color mixing machine visible in the entrance

If you’re exploring Santa Barbara with kids, a visit to MOXI, The Wolf Museum of Exploration + Innovation is a must. This interactive science museum is in a prime location on lower State Street, right next to the train station and minutes from beaches and the pier. You can’t miss the striking museum – a […]

Museum Monday: La Brea Tar Pits, Los Angeles

An up close view of the face, trunk and tusks of a replica mammoth at the La Brea Tar Pits and Museum in Los Angeles, California

“Visit the only Ice Age fossil site in the world that’s being actively excavated in the middle of a city!” This very niche, very cool claim to uniqueness could only be an invitation to the La Brea Tar Pits and Museum in Los Angeles.  Part of the Natural History Museums of Los Angeles County, La […]