Museums aren’t just about ancient history. The San Jose area has a surprising variety of museums that feature exhibits ranging from prehistoric fauna to modern art and technology. We’ve compiled this short list of our favorites to help you plan your day on the town.
The Tech Museum of Innovation
Visit The Tech Museum of Innovation to learn about modern science and technology in a hands-on, family-friendly manner. The organization’s interactive exhibits will give you the chance to glimpse the frontier of cutting-edge science.
For example, the BIO Design Studio allows visitors to experiment with the “building blocks of life” by applying the principles of bioengineering. The Social Robots exhibit involves designing and building your very own robot utilizing sensors, controllers, and actuators. Computer-savvy guests are likely to enjoy the Cyber Detectives exhibit, which demonstrates the strides that cybersecurity professionals have made in recent years. If you prefer a more passive experience, the museum also has an IMAX theater.
San Jose Museum of Art
Modern and contemporary art is the focus of this museum, which receives about 100,000 visitors per year. The organization strives for inclusivity by representing the work of artists from many cultures and backgrounds. The museum also makes contributions to art history scholarships and programs.
Visit during the spring and summer of 2018 to see paintings of California landscapes by Raimonds Staprans, as well as a collection of American lithographs and wood engravings gathered from early 21st-century history. Another must-see exhibit is The Propeller Group’s examination of global culture, presented through video footage and staged reenactments. The Propeller Group represents a cooperation between artists based in both Los Angeles and Vietnam.
Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose
If you have children, you won’t want to miss this unusually interactive museum experience. The Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose places emphasis on allowing its guests to get hands-on with all of its exhibits. Guests won’t be constrained to just looking at an art gallery; they’ll also have the opportunity to create their own artwork.
Scientifically-inclined children are sure to be drawn to the Mammoth Discovery exhibit, where they can see a mammoth skeleton and practice fossil excavation in the museum’s special dig pits. The museum even caters to the youngest children, who can climb artificial trees and crawl through tunnels in the Bill’s Backyard exhibit.
Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum
Featuring the largest collection of Egyptian artifacts in western North America, the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum is a great example of a classic ancient history museum. A visit to this museum will reward you with fascinating information about this culture’s burial practices and mummification. There are exhibits focused on Ancient Egypt’s gods, religion, and belief in an afterlife. But some of the more mundane artifacts are even more interesting, as they provide visitors with a look into the daily life of regular Egyptian citizens.
Visiting a museum is usually an educational experience, but that doesn’t mean it has to be dry or boring. Any one of these San Jose museums will give you an experience that’s both engaging and interactive.
Photo by donjd2 | Licensed under cc by 2.0
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