Great California Museums

Today I have a very special writer visiting us from Metropolitan Money Pit is Melanie! I love reading her blog because of all the places she visits in SoCal that are fun and at the same time are budget friendly. So without further ado here is Melanie sharing her favorite places in California, with a great museum that my family and I plan on visiting soon in San Francisco. 

Hi all! My name is Melanie and I blog over at Metropolitan Money Pit where I share tips on fun and inexpensive things to do in Southern California. I'm so excited that Maribel asked me to visit and share a post today. She and I share a love of museums so I'm going to go ahead and tell you about my five favorites here in the great state of California!

Los Angeles County Museum of Art {LACMA} I'm an art history major and therefore am partial to the art museum. Thanks to endless reports in my college days I've hit every major institution in Southern California multiple times. LACMA is definitely my favorite. They've got tons of works from all eras and you'd be hard pressed to find an artist that's not represented here. On top of that they've got excellent rotating exhibits. Just last year I was able to see a Tim Burton retrospection and a tribute to California mid century design. My favorite current exhibit is Metropolis II - a miniature city like no other.

The Walt Disney Family Museum  I grew up in Orange County and spent much of my formative years at Disneyland. It'll always be a special place to me as it played such a large part in my growing up. So a couple of years ago when the Walt Disney Family Museum opened up in San Francisco I knew I had to go. Now, it's not the cheapest museum - an adult ticket will set you back $20 - but it is worth it. The museum presents the history of Disney - the man and the company - in a beautiful and entertaining way. I don't want to spoil it for you; you just have to go see it. Suffice it to say, when I went I was completely blown away and that rarely happens for me.

Autry National Center  This museum, named after Gene Autry, concentrates on the the history of the West. Native Americans, cowboys, and many others are given their due in this fun museum. I first visited The Autry when I was in high school and loved it. I recently visited it again and still loved it. True care and effort was made into how the exhibits are displayed. For instance, the history of the Western film is displayed on a recreation of a Western backlot. Fun! And it's a great place to take little ones as many of the displays are interactive. You won't find any bored kiddos here! 

Musee Mecanique  This one's another great San Francisco spot. Located on Pier 45 it contains one of the largest private collections of antique coin operated machines. There's no admission fee but bring a big bag of quarters because these machines are operational! Yup, this is a place where you are encouraged to touch the items on display. It's also the kind of place you can get lost in for hours and drop more change than you would in Vegas!

Flight Path Learning Center  A true hidden gem. This museum is actually located at LAX and is treasure trove of aviation history. Here you'll find artifacts from commercial airlines, military airlines, and so much more. And they have a real life DC-3 that you can explore.It's a super fun place and there's no admission fee. What more could you ask for?

I hope you enjoyed reading about these five amazing Museums to visit in California as much as I did. They are going to be added to our bucket list of Museums to visit for sure. Have you visited any Museums lately? Which one was your favorite and why?