158 Museums to Explore in California

A majestic museum, which showcases the rural community of Centerville. Stroll through the Colman Museum to learn about the history of the region and its inhabitants, from the Maidu natives to those who came during the Gold Rush to the simple everyday stories of everyday Canyonites. Explore artifacts, displays, and exhibits.

The Chico Air Museum is a nonprofit aviation museum located at the Chico Municipal Airport in Chico, California. The museum’s primary purpose is to educate and inspire people of all ages about aviation and the history of flight.

The Children's Creativity Museum offers hands-on, multimedia arts and technology experiences designed to build creative confidence in children ages 2-12. It offers workshops and exhibits that allow children to produce their own media through various interactive, creative processes: stop motion animation, programming robots, music video production, design challenges, art projects, and more.

This is a cultural institution serving children, families, and schools in the Silicon Valley/San Francisco Bay Area. A member of the Association of Children's Museums and the Association of Science-Technology Centers, Children's Discovery Museum is located in downtown San Jose. The museum builds and displays interactive exhibits that responds to early childhood education.

The Comic-Con Museum operates differently than most museums. Instead of a set of permanent collections accented by one or two rotating exhibits, the Comic-Con Museum focuses on a constant stream of new and ever-changing exhibits, requiring flexible and adaptable spaces to accommodate a wide variety of creative art forms. The Comic-Con Museum will encourage an appreciation of comics and related popular arts through exhibits, programs and events drawn from across the Comic-Con universe.

The museum presents stories and artifacts of the information age and explores the computing revolution and its impact on society. The museum claims to house the largest and most significant collection of computing artifacts in the world. This includes many rare or one-of-a-kind objects such as a Cray-1 supercomputer as well as a Cray-2, Cray-3, the Utah teapot, the 1969 Neiman Marcus Kitchen Computer, an Apple I, and an example of the first generation of Google's racks of custom-designed web ser

Oldest art museum west of the Mississippi River. The Museum holds one of the state's premier collections of Californian art. The museum contains American works dating from the Gold Rush to the present, European paintings and master drawings, one of the largest international ceramics collections in the U.S., and collections of Asian, African, and Oceanic art.

The de Saisset Museum is the South Bay's free museum of art and history. The museum owns nearly 10,000 art pieces and historical artifacts, including the work of early Californian artist and university alumnus Ernest de Saisset and a considerable collection of California mission artifacts. Highlights of the de Saisset’s permanent collection include Renaissance, Baroque, Rococo, and 19th century prints by artists such as Albrecht Dürer, William Hogarth and so more.

This is a fine arts museum located in San Francisco, California. Located in Golden Gate Park. It showcases American art from the 17th through the 21st centuries, international contemporary art, textiles, and costumes, and art from the Americas, the Pacific and Africa.

A science museum with more than 100 hands-on science exhibits designed to spark children's natural curiosity.

Entomology Research Museum is the insect collection of the Department of Entomology of the University of California, Riverside. It contains approximately 4 million total insect specimens, over 3 million of which are pinned, roughly 400,000 mounted on slides, the remainder preserved in ethanol. It serves as a repository for specimens representing the local arthropod fauna, as well as sites worldwide.

The Exploratorium is a museum of science, technology, and arts in San Francisco. A huge number of diverse exhibits, and many with hand-on learning experiences. This is the only place in San Francisco where visitors can touch, tinker and play with more than 650 hands-on exhibits.

The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, comprising the de Young Museum in Golden Gate Park and the Legion of Honor in Lincoln Park, is the largest public arts institution in the city of San Francisco. The museums operate on an annual budget funded by membership dues, ticket sales, donations and purchases in its stores.

The McDonald's #1 Store Museum was housed in a replica of the former McDonald's restaurant in Des Plaines, Illinois, opened by Ray Kroc in April 1955. Inside the museum is more than 80 years of artifacts. Everything ranging from the original BBQ-era to the current Happy Meal toy. Today, the original McDonalds location is still there, but now it's home to the Unofficial McDonald’s Museum. Emphasis on “Unofficial,” according to assistant curator Ezra Cabral.

This is the only Museum in the world dedicated to United States Marine Corps aviation, with the largest and most complete collection of vintage aircraft flown by Marine pilots in the world. The museum contains exhibits and artifacts relating to the history and legacy of United States Marine Corps Aviation. The outdoor exhibits include 31 historical aircraft, multiple military vehicles and equipment.

The Getty Research Institute , located at the Getty Center in Los Angeles, California, is "dedicated to furthering knowledge and advancing understanding of the visual arts". This centre features works of art dating from the eighth through the twenty-first century, showcased against a backdrop of dramatic architecture, tranquil gardens, and breathtaking views of Los Angeles. The collection includes European paintings, drawings, sculpture, illuminated manuscripts and so more.

This is a train station building in Goleta, California constructed by the Southern Pacific Railroad in 1901. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and the California Register of Historical Resources and is the centerpiece of the South Coast Railroad Museum.

This is an interactive space where all aspects of music are experienced, explored, and celebrated. We break down the barrier between artist and audience, telling stories of how music has shaped our collective identity and cultural understanding.The Museum has interactive touch-screens, videos, recording booths, and a collection of historical music artifacts including costumes and instruments from the Grammy Awards, hand-written lyrics, records, and audio/video recordings.

This is an art environment, located in Simi Valley, California. It was created by Tressa "Grandma" Prisbrey from the 1950s to the 1970s. Prisbey built a "village" of shrines, walkways, sculptures, and buildings from recycled items and discards from the local landfill. It has been designated as a historical landmark by the City of Simi Valley.

An art museum and cultural center known for its artist-centric and progressive array of exhibitions and public programs. Particularly important among the museum's critically acclaimed exhibitions are presentations of both historically over-looked and emerging contemporary artists.