Museum sights in California
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A
Architecture + Design Museum
A + D = the Architecture + Design Museum , a small Getty-sponsored space that keeps the finger on the pulse of emerging trends, people and products in the design and architecture community, both locally and beyond.
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Siskiyou County Museum
Sever blocks south of the courthouse, the exceptionally well-curated Siskiyou County Museum brings together pioneer and Native American history. An outdoor section has several historic buildings brought from around the county.
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El Dorado County Historical Museum
El Dorado County Historical Museum, on the El Dorado County Fairgrounds west of downtown (exit north on Placerville Drive from Hwy 50), is an extensive complex of restored buildings, mining equipment and re-created businesses.
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B
El Molino Viejo
While in the San Marino area, make a quick detour to El Molino Viejo, a brick and adobe structure that houses Southern California's first water-powered grist mill, built in 1816 for the San Gabriel Mission.
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C
Museum of San Diego History
The previously blah-ish Museum of San Diego History has sexed itself up a bit, most notably with a cool interactive walk-on map of San Diego. The city's history is also displayed through thousands of historical costumes.
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D
Petersen Automotive Museum
A four-story ode to the auto, the museum exhibits shiny vintage cars galore, plus a fun LA streetscape showing how the city's growth has been shaped by the automobile. Parking is $8.
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San Diego Automotive Museum
Buildings around Pan-American Plaza in the park's southern section date from the 1935 Pacific-California Exposition. It's all about polished chrome and cool tailfins at this museum.
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California Museum
The attractive, modern California Museum is home to the California Hall Of Fame – perhaps the only place to simultaneously encounter Cesar Chavez, Mark Zuckerburg and Amelia Earhart. The newly opened exhibit California Indians: Making A Difference is the state's best view of the traditions and culture of California's first residents, past and present.
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E
San Diego Museum of Art
Gets accolades for its European old masters and good collections of American and Asian art.
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F
Lake Tahoe Historical Society Museum
The well-meaning Lake Tahoe Historical Society Museum offers a glimpse into Tahoe's pioneer past. The modest exhibits include some fine early photographs, Washoe Indian baskets and a 150-year-old pipe organ.
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Regional Indian Museum
Adjacent to the rock are several impressive replica Miwok structures and the Regional Indian Museum, which has interesting displays about northern Miwok culture and organizes tours of the park on weekends.
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G
Hollywood Museum
The slightly musty museum is a 35,000-sq-ft shrine to the stars, crammed with kitsch, costumes, knickknacks and props from Charlie Chaplin to Glee.
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H
San Luis Obispo County Historical Museum
For a comprehensive survey of local history, check out the San Luis Obispo County Historical Museum, just southwest of the mission. It's housed in the 1905 Carnegie Library, an imposing stone structure.
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Nevada County Historical Society Museum
Housed in Nevada City's original 1861 firehouse, the Nevada County Historical Society Museum has an extensive collection from the Chinese laborers who provided so much of mining's back-breaking work.
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I
California State Railroad Museum
A must-stop for train-lovers, allows visitors to board dozens of meticulously restored beasts of steam and diesel; ride a steam train (adult/child $10/5) at summer weekends. The museum is in Old Sacramento, at the river.
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J
Mojave River Valley Museum
Near the Desert Discovery Center, off I-15 at the Barstow Rd exit, the Mojave River Valley Museum focuses on local history, culture and natural science. Its bookstore is easily best in the region.
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K
California Science Center
A simulated earthquake, hatching baby chicks and a giant techno-doll named Tess bring out the kid in all of us at this great hands-on science museum. As we went to press, the museum was preparing to become the permanent home of the Space Shuttle Endeavour. The IMAX theater caps off an action-filled day.
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L
Guinness World Of Records Museum
You know the drill: the Guinness is all about the fastest, tallest, biggest, fattest and other superlatives. Combination tickets with the Hollywood Wax Museum are available.
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M
Old Plaza Firehouse
South of El Pueblo's plaza is the 1884 Old Plaza Firehouse, the city's oldest fire station and now a one-room museum of dusty old fire-fighting equipment and photographs.
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N
Contemporary Jewish Museum
In 2008 architect Daniel Liebskind reshaped San Francisco's 1881 power plant with a blue steel extension to form the Hebrew word l'chaim ('to life'). Inside this architectural statement are lively shows, ranging from a retrospective of modern art instigator and Bay Area native Gertrude Stein to Linda Ellia's Our Struggle: Artists Respond to Mein Kampf, for which 600 artists from 17 countries were invited to alter one page of Hitler's book.
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JJ Jackson Memorial Museum & Trinity County Historical Park
The JJ Jackson Memorial Museum & Trinity County Historical Park has gold-mining and cultural exhibits, plus vintage machinery, amazing memorabilia and an old miner's cabin outside.
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Tuolumne County Museum
Housed in the former 1857 Tuolumne County Jail, the Tuolumne County Museum, two blocks west of Washington St, is an interesting museum with around US$100000 worth of gold on display.
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O
Japanese American National Museum
Get an in-depth look at the Japanese immigrant experience, including the painful chapter of the WWII internment camps.
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Placer County Museum
The Placer County Museum, on the first floor of the monumental 1898 Placer County Courthouse, has Native American artifacts and displays of Auburn's transportation heritage.
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P
Lawrence Hall of Science
Lawrence Hall of Science educates and entertains with a huge collection of displays, from lasers to earthquakes to a climbable 60ft model of a DNA molecule.
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