You are here: Home / Archives for Museums

Marconi Automotive Museum: Drive Hard

September 3, 2013 by

After amassing a glut of amazing motor vehicles, car enthusiast and Marconi Automotive Museum founder Dick Marconi wanted to give back to his community. In order to do so he also created the Marconi Foundation for Kids. Every visit to the museum costs a $5 donation to the Foundation, which then disseminates at least a million dollars a year to other local charities for at-risk children.  The $30 million collection itself is very impressive, more than worth the price of admission, with everything from a Roadster Coupe to a Ferrari F50 in its collection. The staff here is knowledgeable and more than willing to help in a visitor’s perusal of the collection, and the cars and motorcycles are not roped off, which means you can approach them and look inside at your leisure. The museum rents its space out for events running the gamut from mitzvahs to weddings, as well, with net proceeds from these going to charities too.

Marconi Automotive Museum
1302 Industrial Drive
Tustin, CA 92780
(714) 258-3001
http://www.yelp.com/biz/marconi-automotive-museum-tustin

Filed Under: Things To Do Tagged With: , , ,

Discovery Science Center: Plug In and Play Around

March 6, 2013 by

If a trip to Disneyland has left you thirsty for a more intellectually stimulating experience, take a day trip from Coventry Court Apartments to Santa Ana's Discovery Science Center and recharge your mental batteries in this top-notch facility. Opened in 1998, this is one of the largest science museums on the West Coast, with over a hundred amazing hands-on exhibits to entertain and educate. A massive ten-story solar array cube provides power for the structure in an environmentally responsible way while also providing a striking local landmark. Once inside, kids will flock to the cloud ring generator, rock climbing wall, hurricane tube, and other awesome nature-related exhibits on the first floor. Upstairs there’s a tremendous assortment of construction toys and tools to let kids work out their own ideas. This is a place where it’s very easy to blink and find a day’s gone by, so set aside lots of time for your little ones to explore.

Discovery Science Center
2500 North Main Street
Santa Ana, CA 92705
(714) 542-2823
www.discoverycube.org

Filed Under: Things To Do Tagged With: , , ,

Bowers Museum: One of SoCal’s Finest Collections

January 9, 2013 by

Santa Ana’s Bowers Museum has been in operation for almost 80 years, upholding its longstanding reputation as one of Southern California’s finest museums. Featuring exquisite art exhibits from all over the world, the museums permanent exhibitions include everything from 5,000-year-old Chinese and early Native American (specifically, early Californian) works to a collection of over 30,000 objects from Orange County's own colorful history. The Bowers Museum also features a variety of rotating exhibits that have covered interesting topics such as Evita: Up Close and Personal and an entire showcase on Egyptian Mummies borrowed from the British Museum. The museum also holds frequent lectures and family festivals, so there's something for every art-inclined family. In 1994, in fact, Bowers opened its “Kidseum,” an arts-and-culture experience in which children’s creativity is encouraged. 

The Bowers Museum is open Tuesday – Sunday from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., and tickets are $12 for adults and $6 for children (children under 6 can visit for free). It might just be one of the best museums near Coventry Court Apartments.

Bowers Museum
2002 N. Main Street
Santa Ana, CA 92706
(714) 567-3600
bowers.org

Filed Under: Things To Do Tagged With: , , , ,

Lyon Air Museum: History of the Skies

November 6, 2012 by

A hidden gem near Coventry Court Apartments, the Lyon Air Museum offers aviation exhibits to amaze even the most begrudging museum visitors (your children). While it may look small, the museum can take over two hours to fully peruse — it's a deal for the $12 adult admission price. Centered primarily around World War II, the museum’s collection is an impressive array of airplanes, automobiles, motorbikes, and related memorabilia that create a unique tour through the United States’s history. You’ll feel like you’re walking through a hanger when walking through the vast collection of immense military planes, from the Boeing ‘Flying Fortress’ to the historically important B-52s. There are also fully operational military vehicles and motorcycles, alongside civilian automobiles. Take a docent tour to learn more fun facts and interesting trivia. Then end the day with watching modern airplanes take off from neighboring John Wayne Airport!

Lyon Air Museum
19300 Ike Jones Road
Santa Ana, CA 92707
(714) 210-4585

Filed Under: Things To Do Tagged With: , , ,

The Olde Ship: A Voyage to London

September 11, 2012 by

To be transported to Britain, hop aboard The Olde Ship. While not technically an actually ship, the pub replicates the haul of an old-timey boat with dark wooden beams criss-crossing the ceiling; long, sleek tables; and antique decorations. Run by a British couple, The Olde Ship offers pleasingly authentic pub fare and ale for lunch and dinner. Many locals enjoy stopping in the friendly atmosphere for a bottle of British brew, including Boddingtons, Smithwicks, Abbott Ale, and Blackthorn Cider. The bartender is happy to guide newcomers through the delicious creamy beers. The daily menu offers up hearty options like fish and chips, lamb shank, roast beef and Yorkshire pudding, and steak and kidney pie (for the daring). Stick around for raucous viewings of live soccer games and live jazz on the weekends.

The Olde Ship
1120 W. 17th Street
Santa Ana, CA 92706
(714) 550-6700

Filed Under: Things To Do Tagged With: , , ,

Orange County Museum of Art: Masters of Modern Art

June 5, 2012 by

The Orange County Museum of Art is Southern California’s premier visual arts organization outside Los Angeles. The collection holds nearly 2,500 objects, with an emphasis on California art from the early 20th century to the present. Critically acclaimed exhibitions such as Picasso to Pollock: Modern Masterpieces from the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art; Mary Heilmann: To Be Someone; and Birth of the Cool: Art, Design, and Culture at Midcentury, draw more than 40,000 visitors annually, and in the last decade have traveled to over 20 museums in America and abroad. Since 1984, OCMA has been at the forefront of the art world by hosting the California Biennial, which is the largest exhibition for emerging artists in the state. The museum’s award-winning education programs keep art alive throughout the region, serving some 15,000 children and adults.

Orange County Museum of Art
850 San Clemente Drive
Newport Beach, CA 92660
(949) 759-1122
www.ocma.net

Filed Under: Things To Do Tagged With: , , , ,

Muzeo: An Unusual Museum to Explore

May 2, 2012 by

Most museums and cultural institutions pay lip service to the communities that host them, but Anaheim’s Muzeo is a little different. It’s totally dedicated to celebrating the unique blend of cultures that characterize Southern California, from the early influence of Native Americans to the impact of immigrants from all over the world. Opened in the fall of 1997, the museum has already begun to attract a diverse clientele from all over the region, hosting three traveling exhibitions a year plus a wide variety of local artists, events, and programs. The 25,000 square foot space swallowed up the Carnegie Library—which is still operational on the grounds—and several galleries. The exhibitions that have been scheduled so far have been nothing but eclectic—live displays of exotic, colorful frogs shared floorspace with biographical tales of Delta blues legends—but visitors have all raved about the high quality of the place. Support this kind of inventiveness and pay them a visit today.

Muzeo
241 S. Anaheim Boulevard
Anaheim, CA 92805
(714) 956-8936
www.muzeo.org/home.php

Filed Under: Things To Do Tagged With: , , ,

Pin It on Pinterest