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Museums in Los Angeles and Southern California

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• Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art at Pepperdine University. "Since it was founded in 1992, the Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art has gradually been building a collection of works by contemporary artists from California and throughout America. This overview focuses on a group of fascinating artists who have been overlooked and are underappreciated. Also featured is a mini-survey of paintings by Los Angeles artist Ed Moses and many other aesthetic surprises.
  
  Major exhibitions are held in the Gregg G. Juarez Gallery and the Ron Wilson-Designer Gallery in the Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art, with exceptions noted. Funding for all exhibitions is provided by the Frederick R. Weisman Art Foundation, and additional donors, as noted."

• Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens. "The Huntington is a research and educational center set amidst 150 acres of breathtaking gardens. Three art galleries and a library showcase magnificent collections of paintings, sculptures, rare books, manuscripts, and decorative arts. The botanical collection features over 14,000 different species of plants.
  
  A private, nonprofit institution, The Huntington was founded in 1919 by railroad and real estate developer Henry Edwards Huntington and opened to the public in 1928.
  
  Highlights of the collection include the Ellesmere manuscript of Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales (c.1410), a Gutenberg Bible (c.1455), Thomas Gainsborough's masterpiece The Blue Boy (c. 1770), Sir Thomas Lawrence's Pinkie (1794), Edward Hopper's The Long Leg, Rogier van der Weyden's Madonna and Child (15th century), the spectacular 12-acre desert garden, the serenely beautiful Japanese garden, the camellia gardens, and much more. English tea in the Rose Garden Tea Room is a popular highlight to a day spent enjoying the cultural treasures of The Huntington."   

• Japanese American National Museum. "The Japanese American National Museum, the only private nonprofit national institution dedicated to preserving and telling the story of Americans of Japanese ancestry as an integral part of U.S. history, is headquartered in Downtown Los Angeles’ Little Tokyo Historic District, a National Historic Landmark as declared by the Department of the Interior. The Museum is housed in an 85,000-square-foot Pavilion designed by Gyo Obata, architect of the National Air and Space Museum at the Smithsonian, with whom the institution is affiliated. Besides artifacts, art and fascinating computer-enhanced home movies from the 1920s and 1930s, the Museum has the added bonus of volunteers who lived through key periods of Japanese American history. These volunteers are willing to share their experiences with visitors."

• Laguna Beach Art Museum. "Laguna Art Museum represents the core California art scene. It places the aesthetics of the west coast within a national and international context and develops scholarship on the art history of California. Laguna Art Museum works from a tradition going back to the founding of the Laguna Beach Art Association nearly ninety years ago.
  
  The Museum's mix of historical and contemporary exhibitions are augmented by a smattering of "pop culture" shows dealing with areas such as surfing, car, and tattooing. The Museum is located right on one of the busiest streets of any coast town and is about 300 feet from the ocean making it one of the most spectacular and impressive locations of any museum in the world."   

• Los Angeles County Art Museum (LACMA).

• Los Angeles Holocaust Monument.

• Los Angeles Maritime Museum. " The Museum is located in San Pedro (Berth 84 in the Port of Los Angeles), at the foot of 6th Street in John S. Gibson Park. The park includes monuments to the US Navy heavy cruiser LOS ANGELES, and the American Merchant Marine Veterans Memorial. The Pacific Electric Red Car is Back! And it stops in front of the Museum!" 

• Municipal Art Gallery. Barnsdall Art Park.

• Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA). " The Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles is home to one of the country's finest collections of American and European art created since 1940. MOCA currently holds approximately 5,000 objects in all visual media, ranging from masterpieces of abstract expressionism and pop art to recent works by young and emerging artists. Selections from the permanent collection are on view in MOCA's galleries throughout the year."

• Museum of Neon Art. "The Museum of Neon Art (MONA) is a non-profit, cultural and educational organization which exhibits, documents and preserves contemporary fine art in electric media and outstanding examples of neon signs. Founded in 1981, MONA is the only permanent institution of its kind in the world.
  From 1981 through 1992, MONA was located in the loft district adjacent to Little Tokyo in downtown Los Angeles. Since 1993, MONA has maintained an exhibition of signs from its permanent historic collection on the exteriors of the buildings at City Walk in Universal City, California." 

• Museum of Television and Radio. "This unique Museum collects programming—radio shows, television programs, and commercial advertisements in both media—and makes that programming available to the general public.
  
  In our library you choose a program from the collection. Then you go to watch or listen to it at a console—individually, or with up to four people at a family console.
  
  You can also drop in to a screening in one of the Museum’s theaters. Each day we screen a wide variety of programming from our collection, from David Bowie in performance or a look at the work of Jim Henson or the short films of Saturday Night Live. In our theaters you enjoy the communal experience of watching television together. All of the programming is also available for you to watch or listen to at an individual console.
  
  Throughout the year we offer numerous public programs that bring together writers, directors, producers, actors, critics, journalists, and artists from many disciplines to discuss everything from the creative process behind television and radio to the current trends in media and popular culture." 
• Museum of the American West. (Formally the Autry Museum). "You are invited to explore the rich cultural tapestry of the American West. Our wide-ranging exhibitions, collections, programs, and educational offerings connect the past to the present and showcase the history of the region west of the Mississippi River.
  
  People from many cultures and ethnic groups have played roles, large and small, in settling and shaping the American West. As we explore their stories, we learn more about ourselves. The West has historically been one of the most multicultural regions in the United States, and it is important for each of us to acknowledge the work and worth of everyone who has contributed to the creation of this marvelous whole.
  
  Please join us in a wonderful adventure of discovery of the American West."

• Norton Simon Museum. "The Norton Simon Museum of Art at Pasadena holds one of the world's finest and most prestigious collections of art. Reflecting the extraordinary effort and vision of its founder, it stands as a tribute to Human Civilization, the visual arts, and the nobility of individual accomplishment.
  
  The permanent collection consists of Western and Asian art from a period spanning more than 2,000 years, European and American masterpieces including paintings, sculptures, works on paper, and photography are complemented by stunning art works from India and Southeast Asia. The Museum holds an extensive print collection, which includes rare etchings by Rembrandt and Goya as well as a comprehensive collection of Picasso graphics. The collection also includes the Galka E. Scheyer Collection of works by the Blue Four artists: Feininger, Jawlensky, Kandinsky, and Klee..."  

• Otis College of Art + Design.

• Page Museum at the La Brea Tar Pits. "The Page Museum is located at the Rancho La Brea Tar Pits in the heart of Los Angeles. Rancho La Brea is one of the world’s most famous fossil localities, recognized for having the largest and most diverse assemblage of extinct Ice Age plants and animals in the world. Visitors can learn about Los Angeles as it was between 10,000 and 40,000 years ago, during the last Ice Age, when animals such as saber-toothed cats and mammoths roamed the Los Angeles Basin. Through windows at the Page Museum Laboratory, visitors can watch bones being cleaned and repaired. Outside the Museum, in Hancock Park, life-size replicas of several extinct mammals are featured."

• Petersen Automotive Museum. "On June 11, 1994, Robert E. Petersen and his wife, Margie, fulfilled a longtime dream when they became founding benefactors to start the Petersen Automotive Museum, donating $5 million to the Los Angeles County Natural History Museum. In April, 2000, the Petersens contributed an additional $24.8 million dollars to the Los Angeles County Natural History Museum to retire the bond debt and establish the Petersen Automotive Museum as an independent nonprofit organization. Overall, their gifts to the Petersen Automotive Museum total over $30 million, one of the largest gifts to any museum in the United States.
  
  The Petersen Automotive Museum, recognized internationally for its innovative design, is dedicated to the interpretive study of the automobile and its influence on our culture and lives. Encompassing more than 300,000 square feet, its exhibits and lifelike dioramas feature more than 150 rare and classic cars, trucks and motorcycles..."

• Southwest Museum of the American Indian. " The Southwest Museum holds one of the nation's most important museum, library, and archive collections related to the American Indian. In addition, it has extensive holdings of pre-Hispanic, Spanish colonial, Latino, and Western American art and artifacts. For nearly one hundred years it has supported research, publications, exhibitions, and other educational activities to advance the public's understanding and appreciation of the indigenous cultures of the Americas, with particular emphasis on the western United States and Mesoamerica. The Southwest Museum building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and the California Register due to its association with its founder, Charles Fletcher Lummis, as well as its unique architectural style, which has remained virtually unchanged since its construction in 1914.
  
  The collections of the Southwest Museum represent Native American cultures from Alaska to South America. The museum contains some of the finest examples of American Indian art and cultural material in the United States. Beyond this primary emphasis, the Southwest Museum holds important collections of Mesoamerican and South American pre-Columbian pottery and textiles, and Hispanic folk and decorative arts."

• UCR/California Museum of Photography. "UCR/California Museum of Photography provides a cultural presence, educational resource, community center and intellectual meeting ground for the university and the general public. The museum’s explorations of photographic media through exhibition, collection, publication, and the web examine the history of photography and showcase current practice in photography and related media. To serve an audience that is multicultural, young and old, general and specialized, the museum presents programs that recognize the variety and complexity of cultural experience and explore the relationship between traditional expression and contemporary practice. The museum is vitally concerned with the intersection of photography, new imaging media, and society. Located off campus in downtown Riverside, UCR/CMP is committed to bringing the most challenging art to the widest possible audience."

• William S. Hart Ranch and Museum. "A Member of the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, William S. Hart Park is less than an hour's drive from most areas of Los Angeles. It is the former home and ranch of William S. Hart, silent film cowboy star and director. The Museum sits atop a hill within a large park area. The Spanish colonial Revival style mansion contains original furnishings, an impressive collection of western art, mementos of early Hollywood and Native American artifacts. In addition, there is a furnished 1910 ranch house which is open for unguided tours."

Children's Museums

• Children's Museum at La Habra. "The Children's Museum at La Habra opened in December 1977 and is located in a historic 1923 Train Depot. It features 7 galleries and 14 different hands on exhibits, many of which remain unique to the field today. In addition to these exhibits, an outdoor dinosaur topiary and historic 1942 caboose, the Museum features an exhibit which changes 4 times a year. The Children's Museum at La Habra was the first children's museum to open west of the Rocky Mountains, and was one of only a few such museums to open on the West Coast during the 1970s. The Children's Museum welcomes local, national and international visitors. Children can ride a kid-size carousel, take a walk in T-Rex's footprints, pet an Arctic fox, pump gas, drive a bus, dress up and perform, and dig for fossils all in one afternoon!
  
  The Children's Museum at La Habra shows how important play is to learning. Through play, children develop skills, express creativity, discover the larger world and learn to work with others.
  
  We appreciate the commitment and support from the City of La Habra, Friends of the Children's Museum, Board of Directors, Museum Staff, Museum Guild, Advisory Board, Docents, Volunteers and Donors who work hard to help ensure the long-term continuity of the Children's Museum at La Habra."   

Motion Picture

• Sony Pictures Museum.

Natural History

• Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. "Human beings are connected -- to each other, to communities, to other species, and to the Earth. As humans increasingly influence natural systems, it is critical that we understand these relationships. This understanding, in the context of the history of the Earth and its inhabitants, guides our approach to investigation and interpretation. By integrating our global research and extensive collections with engaging learning experiences that reveal all aspects of our work, we provoke curiosity and deepen understanding of our natural and cultural worlds. This dynamic learning laboratory and forum for the exchange of ideas is a new model that sets the standard for museums of the future. We inspire the widest possible audience to enjoy, value and become stewards of the living Earth."

• Page Museum La Brea Tar Pits. The Page Museum is located at the Rancho La Brea Tar Pits in the heart of Los Angeles. Rancho La Brea is one of the world’s most famous fossil localities, recognized for having the largest and most diverse assemblage of extinct Ice Age plants and animals in the world. Visitors can learn about Los Angeles as it was between 10,000 and 40,000 years ago, during the last Ice Age, when animals such as saber-toothed cats and mammoths roamed the Los Angeles Basin. Through windows at the Page Museum Laboratory, visitors can watch bones being cleaned and repaired. Outside the Museum, in Hancock Park, life-size replicas of several extinct mammals are featured." 

Surfing

• International Surfing Museum.