Visited 7/9/26. It's a cool museum with tons of history and relics in a beautiful setting. I…read morelearned so much! The guide manning the museum was very knowledgeable and eager to share interesting facts and stories. Definitely recommend!

Cute little museum located on a scenic riverside patch of grass. I'm not sure I'd go super far out…read moreof my way to come here, but was a nice little stop.

Military Museum [Hawthorne NV]…read more First, thank you to the thousands of Military, Civil Service and Civilian Corporate Personnel that have made significant, and even the ultimate sacrifice serving our country. During one of our road trips we took a little detour in the small town of Hawthorne to stretch our legs. We stopped at the museum on a Friday morning with no intention of staying long but ended up staying for about an hour. There was so much to see! Outside alone we spent 15 mins visiting the outdoor display. Inside, the museum featured many vintage and classic military uniforms, photographs, memorabilia, newspaper clippings from significant dates in history... and, of course, displays and exhibits of a range of ammunition dating back to the early part of the 20th century. Volunteer veterans were happy to answer questions from guests. We had a Marine Vet give us a little history about the world's largest ammunition depot. What a rare opportunity for us to get up close and personal and see the ammunition displays. Btw, Yelp didn't allow me to post some of the inert missiles, bombs, rockets and nuclear weapons collections. FREE Admission but accepts donation. The museum is a dream come true for fans of military history and veterans. They have a souvenir gift shop - Cash only. Review #3520

The Hawthorne museum is the most thorough ordnance museum we've ever been to! It's literally packed…read morefull of every single type of ordnance you can imagine. Both my husband and I are Navy Veterans that worked in the ordnance field so seeing it all in one place was definitely right up our alley! The staff was very friendly and welcoming and the displays are well thought out and easy to follow. The local history displayed was perhaps the greatest history lesson of all! We never knew Hawthorne held the secrets it holds!

If you're interested in the history of mineral's & mining then this is the place!…read more Boasting California's official mineral collection containing over 13,000 objects from California and around the world. While taking a tour you will find many gems, mineral specimens, crystalline gold, mining artifacts and a mine tunnel you may walk through. This collection has been in Mariposa since 1983. Prior to that, San Francisco was its home for over 100 years. We spent most of the morning & afternoon exploring this spectacular place. Very informative about each specimen and the history surrounding it. The two rangers hosting this site are full of information and colorful stories. A must see! My only caveat is they don't allow anyone to take photographs inside for security reasons. I sure would have loved a close up picture or two... No worries, I still had fun. https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=588

Thought it was a ghost town at first because the lot was empty but a couple of cars pulled in so we…read moredecided to check it out! The kids loved it and were so excited that they incorporated Minecraft into it. They got their first junior ranger badges ever!

On our last full day at Yosemite last week, we decided to venture out and do some sightseeing. We…read moretook a bus ride to Yosemite Village and loved checking out the Yosemite Museum. It's free and just a quick adventure. I loved seeing all of the Native American artifacts from headdresses to bows and arrows to woven bowls to even dancing capes. They also had a section where you could also touch items and there was even an employee demonstrating how to extract seeds from pinecones that my daughter got to participate in. They also have a trail out back that takes you to an area where there are teepees. Staff were friendly and we also checked out their gift shop where my friend bought us matching bracelets. The gift shop also sold arrowheads, handmade earrings, and soaps. We will definitely be back next time we are in Yosemite! Check them out!

I had expected a little more than we found there. The basket displays are remarkable, the dispaly…read morethat allows visitors to feel is interesting. The hand-made costumes are beautiful, but not typical of the region. The best thing was the live display of a man mKing rope from the natural fibers found in the park. He explained to onlookers as he worked. The space is quite close with little room to move around.

Small museum (3 rooms), charming and quaint history of the region 1800-1900s + Native American…read moreartifacts.

Bridgeport has a really interesting history and as you spend time here you get the sense that this…read moretown hasn't really grown much or changed all THAT much in its history. A lot of the land was bought up by other counties or is BLM/NF land and or rangeland. What is there, the people here want to conserve and talk about. This museum had more than I thought it would and if you like history, especially CA history than it's worth a stop in this sleepy little town. The curators are super kind and lovely to talk with. We played tennis at the park, and walked around town too. A fun and laid back stop on our vacation. I recommend!

A Wonderful Step Back in Time at Laws Railroad Museum…read more We absolutely loved our visit to the Laws Railroad Museum & Historic Site in Bishop, California! From the moment we arrived, everyone was incredibly welcoming, friendly, and accommodating. There was so much to see and explore that we could have spent hours there. The museum is like stepping into an entire little town from another era. There's an old schoolhouse, a library, historic buildings, station agent family home, doctor's office, firehouse and fascinating pieces of everyday life -- including old Maytag appliances. Every building seemed to have something interesting to discover. One of the highlights was riding the Brill train, which was such a fun experience and especially exciting for our 9 year old son, who absolutely loves trains. Another memorable part of our visit was meeting Makenzie, who was working on and cleaning the historic No. 9 4-6-0 Baldwin steam locomotive. Makenzie took the time to talk with us and shared some fascinating information about the train and its history. That personal interaction really made our visit special. It's really wonderful to meet a community of train enthusiasts. You can tell how much care, dedication, and passion goes into preserving this incredible piece of California history. It's truly a hidden gem and a wonderful place for families, history lovers, and, of course, train spotters! We highly recommend Laws Railroad Museum and can't wait to visit again!

We visited on a Saturday with our nine year old son and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. The Brill car…read morebuilt in 1927 was a great ride and the docents explain history of the train and area. The little town has movie set quality buildings full of antiques of how people lived from the 1883 building of the trains station through the 1960's when the train stopped coming through. Not to mention antique cars and wagons. Be sure to check out their 4-6-0 Baldwin steam locomotive in restoration. We learned Morris Code and sent messages on the Telegraph. You'll be pleasantly surprised and although we spent two and a half hours there, we could have stayed longer.

The Mariposa Museum and History Center is a gem of a place--and a great way to stave off the…read morepost-meal slumber after lunch at 1850! There is SO much information available, and it's stunningly coordinated and handpainted; an art installation on it's own. We learned so much about the local history and area, and it was neat to see it presented in a way that really brought the history to life. The staff were all very warm and welcoming. I would DEFINITELY come back because there's just no way to read everything in an hour. I highly recommend.

The Mariposa Museum & History Center was founded in 1957 and filled with exhibits featuring Native…read moreAmericans, Spanish settlements, the Gold Rush, Yosemite, and Mariposa history. I admired the cool artifacts outside. Inside were stories and more artifacts from the old days. Great place to learn about Mariposa's past.

So glad we stopped for a visit. They have a great collection that is informative and well…read moredisplayed. It sparked my kids' imagination and interest in learning more.

Excellent cultural center! It was really interesting to see the various exhibits that show how the…read morePaiute lived, gathered food, cooked, dressed, and planted (including a garden outside which explains the different plants and how they were used). The exhibit really goes into detail both in the examples and the text. The person working there when we visited was very helpful in explaining everything as well. Be sure to check out the board which tells about many of the events happening around the cultural center. I'm definitely looking forward to going back, especially if there's going to be an event!

This is a really cool place to spend the day with kids. The staff was very kind and helpful. They…read moreplayed a short film for us that explained how the fossils were found in the area. There are many fossils and replica of fossils. You guide yourself on a tour, they give you a booklet to use to guide yourself. Each station has information on the fossils, history,etc. There is an outdoor area with replicas of the homes of the native Yokuts tribe that was originally in the area. There is also an outdoor pond with plaques in front of each different plant that surrounds the pond. It was a really cool learning experience. You can pay a bit extra for fossil digging. There are 19 fossils to dig up, that can take about an hour. We spent about 3 hours there. They also have a cool little gifts shop area.

We've taken our dinosaur loving grandson there a couple of times and he is always delighted. They…read morecontinue to add sights and experiences as the exhibit grows and the excavation continues in the back 40. Go there and measure yourself next to the Wooly Mammoth and you'll be glad you didn't live when they roamed the Central Valley!