My guess is that there are plenty of Cal Students who spend their 4 years here and walk right past…read morethis place without giving it a second thought. I first noticed this Museum on the way to class a few weeks back and had some time recently to take a look. And I'm glad I did! The Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology was founded in 1901. The original goal of the museum was to support systematic collecting efforts by archaeologists and ethnologists to support a department of Anthropology at the University of California. The Museum was originally located in San Francisco from 1903-1935, when it moved to the UC campus. On the Berkeley campus, the Museum was located in the former Civil Engineering Building until 1959, when it was moved to the newly built Kroeber Hall. This museum was also the final residence of Ishi, who lived there from 1911 until his death in 1916. The Museum houses an estimated 3.8 million objects plus extensive documentation that includes field notes, photographs, and sound/film recordings. Major collections include: - Approximately 9,000 California Indian baskets, representing almost every tribe in California and all of the region's basketry techniques. - A broad collection of approximately 20,000 ancient Egyptian artifacts. . - A large Peruvian collection, especially strong in pottery and textiles. - Approximately 16,000 African artifacts - An important collection of Oceanic objects, including collections from the Trobriand Islands and from excavations in Fiji and New Caledonia. It's all free (with a suggested voluntary donation) and well worth your time, including an extended look or even study.

11.2 afternoon. It is an exhibition about poison, prescription, prayer and pleasure: the world of…read moremind altering substances. It is a small museum. I spent 20 minutes to see it. I saw many stone carving, cups and bottles of China. The building is quiet at weekends. There are only two visitors. There ate sofas and chairs to sit on.

Still hands down our favorite science museum in the country. There is just so much to see. We used…read moreour ASTC reciprocal and needed to come back over two days and still only saw about a third of the museum. (ASTC allows 2 people to enter regardless of the home membership) Our favorite discovery this visit was the space exhibit (lots of interesting hands exhibits) and the AI portion - very cool live generated AI images based on found objects and generated music and artwork based on your own drawings.

While visiting the Bay Area this summer, we were told that this is some place we HAD to visit. Like…read morethe Bay Area Discovery Museum (which was ADORED), we could have gotten in with a reciprocal membership we have from LA, but I wasn't aware. I was just dropping money left and right for kids museums that were free for us. Sigh. Lesson of the trip: check your memberships! A lot of the exhibits were broken or not working, which was a bummer, but there was plenty of stuff for us to look at, and we didn't even see it all. Some highlights for the kids were the interactive laser table, the room where everything has no color unless you use a white light flashlight (they were in there FOREVER), and the cow eye dissection (which also left us all a little queasy...). We took too long getting brunch at the Ferry Building, so we didn't have enough time to explore it all, but I'm sure we'll return when we come up again.

Fantastic interactive train exhibit going on currently. It's so cool with even ceiling things going…read morearound.

This is a cute little museum. We came here specifically for the train exhibit, which is only on…read moredisplay for a few weeks in the summer. The train exhibit was really impressive. There's the main display, with several trains continuously running. The details were incredible. There's also a small table with wooden train tracks and little train cars for young kids to play with. Then there's a smaller running train display with several motorized scenes, like log cutting and a moving crane. Our little guy (2 years old) didn't want to leave. And of course, there's a small gift shop you pass through upon entering and leaving. Overall, lots of fun for little kids. The place is pretty small though, so it does get a little cramped on weekends.

Legion of Honor is a beautiful museum inside and out. The grand entrance is a precedent to all the…read morewonderful artwork you'll see inside. I went on a Saturday where it is free for residents of Bay Area counties. I'm not sure if you can get the ticket the day of in person, but I got mine online a few days prior since these tickets are limited. I might even recommend to get them a week ahead. The pieces inside range from 2D art to houseware to statues and settings. Everything was so impressive. We also made sure we grabbed seats 20 min prior to the organ show as the seats fill up very quickly. Though there is a ton of standing room if you aren't able to grab a seat.

We visited the Legion of Honor to see the exhibit called "The Etruscans: From the Heart of Ancient…read moreItaly." The Legion of Honor is located in Lincoln Park and is a component of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, which also administers the de Young Museum. The Legion of honor is not as big as the de Young Museum, but has a beautiful and exquisite collection of art. We enjoyed seeing the special exhibit of Ancient Italy. The lower level of the museum was the perfect fit for this amazing collection of the Etruscans civilization. There were around 200 examples of bronze and terracotta sculpture, gold jewelry, ceramics, and architectural features, as well as the longest-surviving piece of Etruscan writing. We really enjoyed this exhibit as well as other featured paintings and sculptures, on the main level. There is even a porcelain gallery with pieces from England and Europe, which we enjoyed seeing. They have a really nice gift shop and a cafe. We browsed the gift shop and had lunch at their cafe, which was very good. We would definitely come back to visit again for their next exhibit.

This museum offers free admission, though the After Hours 21+ events charge a fee. We attended the…read moreApril Fools event this past weekend, which included 19th century medical "quackery", a beer & wine bar, and a cool poster giveaway. It's a fairly small space made up of multiple rooms filled with a variety of stations and interactive exhibits. We were able to explore displays including a timeline starting with ancient Egypt treating eye disease with medications made of plants and minerals as well as magic, different early eyeglasses and spectacles in Asia and Europe, color blindness test charts, the history of eye doctors and surgical equipment, evolving medical techniques and practices and the advancement of technology in eye treatment. Guests could engage in activities allowing them to become an opthalmology innovator, or to partake in retinal surgery using a 3D operating microscope (putting on 3D glasses to see like a surgeon), even a VR experience to learn about vision and the brain. There were also exhibits educating visitors about corneal disease, cataracts, and glaucoma, with descriptions of how famous musicians were impacted by impairment. I'm not really into the science of it all, but I do like learning about history on a wide range of topics. I think the presentation of everything here was well done, and worth checking out at least once since it's such a unique museum.

A quick pit stop if you're walking around San Francisco…read more Admission was free and there was a greeter sitting at the front desk. The entire museum was easily completed in 20 minutes. I wished there were more figures, recreations, and models to demonstrate such interesting pathologies. My favorite room was filled with optical illusions. I would have liked a more linear, or at least cohesive, pathway through the museum. There wasn't a clear way to examine the eye at baseline before transitioning into different conditions and diseases. The historical context for some of the diseases was especially interesting, although I felt the information was bunched together and ironically displayed in small print. The room containing brief descriptions of modern-day optometrists and ophthalmologists also felt limited and didn't give these professions their flowers. I would have liked to see the gradual changes in eye care through time, with actual examples rather than just a few sentences. I was also surprised by the lack of demonstrations of modern-day techniques such as LASIK, PRK, and SMILE. 3.5 stars, but bumped it up given the potential and free entry.

Great little museum. Lots of models and displays about Naval Aviation, especially at Alameda NAS…read more I was pleasantly surprised by the huge Battleship Yamato and USS Enterprise CV-65 models. There's also a small area about PanAm flying boats that used to fly out of Alameda. Upstairs there's a model train layout with a couple operating trains. There's also a static train layout. They hope to get a couple other train layouts done. If you're in the area I think it's worth the visit. I hope to drop by again.

I first heard of the Alameda Naval Air Museum at, of all places, the Gatsby Weekend, that Art Deco…read morewing-ding that is held every August at the Dunsmuir Manor. One of the volunteers there was a very nice fellow who drove a 1940s taxi for attendees and, during the course of a ride he gave my wife and I, he ended up inviting us to come visit the ANAM. Since the Museum is very close to the Alameda Flea Market (which we always attend), we kept intending to visit the Museum afterwards, but too often found ourselves too tired to do so. Then last week when we were leaving the Flea, we decided we still had enough energy to stop into the Museum. I have to admit that, from the outside, it doesn't look like much; just a utilitarian concrete building from the '40s, in the early stages of decay, on the edge of the Naval Air Station. But entering the museum, we were warmly greeted by three nice older folks who immediately engaged us in conversation. One of them, a fellow named Bill, offered to show us around. We paid our $5 each and tagged along. Bill was quite a character, and part of a vanishing breed of authentic Americana that we're all poorer for losing more of every day. When the Japanese military bombed Pearl Harbor, Bill enlisted in the Navy and spent the War serving on big ships deep in the Pacific Theater. I don't care how much of a peacenik you might be, to serve your country in a time of international crisis is brave and honorable, and Bill exemplifies the best of his generation. He also reminded me quite a bit of both my late father and my father-in-law, who also served on a ship in the Pacific during the War. Bill guided us from exhibit to exhibit, showing us the Museum's countless installations, models, photos and memorabilia, and enriching our experience immeasurably with personal anecdotes and a ready sense of humor. At the drop of a proverbial hat, he would recite poetry from memory that he had written about the War, military life, lost love and other topics; all of it quite moving. The Museum's collection may not be as slick and "Hollywood" as some Museums but it makes up for it with the personal involvement of dozens of enthusiastic volunteers. And some of the exhibits were downright fascinating, such as a wall with three "bombsights" that you can peer through and see a recreation of the Battle of Midway from the perspective of a pilot; all accomplished with a huge turntable, model ships and lots of cotton-wool! You have to see it to believe it. Bill took us on a special tour of the second floor and even up to the third floor, which is not normally accessible to visitors. But since my father had been a docent at Castle Air Museum and was ex-service, Bill volunteered to show us the Museum's amazing library up there that will (hopefully) soon be open to visitors. We also got to meet "Chief" Parry, the man who helps run the Museum and is a veteran of two wars, an amazing model builder, and another good old-fashioned American, like they're not making anymore. Is the Museum for everyone? No. If you're someone who finds the very idea of men and women answering their nation's call to fight and defend it from invasion, do everyone a favor and stay home. If you believe that museums must have Disneyland-level audiovisual sophistication, you'll probably be disappointed. But if you have an interest in Bay Area history, if you admire Americans who served their country during WWII, and if you enjoy the company of those who actually were there, the ANAM is a unique and irreplaceable resource. I doubt very much that you'd regret the visit and it may be for you, as it was for us, a richly rewarding experience. It would also be the perfect combination with visiting the nearby USS Hornet.

I had a nice day date with my mom here the other week! Upstairs is the permanent collection, which…read moreshowcases a lot of the city's history. Downstairs we're a collection of art pieces. In the courtyard that day, the artists were actually present! What a nice place, with free admission!

If someone would've told me 20 years ago that I'd ever have an interest in history I'd have…read morescoffed, so certain was I that "History", as presented in grades 1 through 12 could ever be fascinating to anyone. But if you're lucky, life is long, you grow, you change, and things you once slept through are suddenly fascinating. Richmond Museum of History is suddenly fascinating. In a former Carnegie Library, circa 1910, the compact Richmond Museum is crammed full of fascinating finds. It helps that Richmond has an utterly compelling history: After the Gold Rush (1848-1850), the most dramatic migration to the Bay Area occurred in WWII, when high-paying shipyard jobs brought hundreds of thousands of people to the area. The most explosive growth happened in Richmond, home of the Kaiser shipyards. Within a three-year period beginning in 1940, Richmond's population quadrupled to a whopping 93,000+ residents. The Richmond Museum of History houses extensive photos and memorabilia about the town - and people - not just from this period but from the period preceding it as well. The sheer volume of interesting old photos they have is amazing and they only have room to display a fraction of their cache. The space is crowded and dusty and compelling. Combined with their changing exhibit (currently: Jews of Richmond), it took me upwards of two hours to make my way methodically through the place, then I spent a little longer before exiting. A make-shift gift shop near the entrance/exit has hand knit caps, mittens, and scarves priced so reasonably that you should make a trip here just to get yourself outfitted for the next storm. The Richmond Museum of History is a fascinating, under-the-radar, offbeat attraction that should be a must-see for anyone interested in that sort of thing and/or local history. They've been blessed with an exceptional amount of archival material and it deserves to be viewed. Tickets run $5 ($3 for seniors) but free tickets can be obtained in advance from your library's Discover & Go site. Ample street parking can be had out front. Go. It's really interesting.

I have actually been here before a few years ago, but when I found out that it finally reopened…read moreafter it had closed due to Covid, I decided to revisit it yesterday. This museum is not very big, but it has some very interesting exhibits of San Francisco's and California's historical past. There are exhibits about the 1906 Earthquake, the Gold Rush, the 1915 and 1939 World Expositions. Downstairs is the Hinckle Vault, where the gold reserves used to be kept when this place used to be the Subtreasury, the first U.S. Branch Mint, before the Old Mint was built. There is also a theater where you can view documentaries about historical events, people, and other subject matter. I would recommend this place if ever you are in the Chinatown or North Beach District areas and the admission is also free.

Went to the Pacific Heritage Museum on Fri 11/19/10 since I had a day off. They don't have any…read moreartwork here now until Feb 2011 because the new owner doesn't want to pay for insurance on artwork. Walls are Bare right now. You can see the historical part of the Building & use the bathroom. That's it right now. Pacific Heritage Museum 608 Commercial St (across from the Transamerica Building) SF CA 94111 415-399-1124 Hours: Tues-Sat 10am-4pm FREE Admission