A small, sweet and informative community nature museum, focused on children. Exhibits are all at…read morekid-level for easy viewing. Focus is on animals, birds, insects and rocks found in the Napa area. Although animals and birds are stuffed (road kill) they give kids a very complete picture of the wildlife found in the Napa area. displays are simple but the animals are all in great condition (not a dozens of years old like in some museums). There are also several hands-on exhibits such as pelts of a raccoon, bear, deer, etc for kids to touch; coloring sheets for young kids; and other activities. There is a small library and rug area for class visits and presentations. There are also ongoing programs on the weekends for local kids, A small gift counter sells pencils, books, bookmarks, inexpensive earrings and other items. This nature center is staffed lovingly by volunteers. Not a destination place exactly, but if you're going to Copia with kids 10 and under, worth a stop. NOTE: There is no parking directly in front of the museum, but plenty of parking in the park adjacent to it. Hours are Sat and Sun 1-4pm; other hours for class visits during the week. Call ahead since museum is run by volunteers.

The Carolyn Parr Nature Museum recently reopened after the Aug. 24, 2014 quake. It's housed in a…read moresmall temporary building. It's kid and family-friendly, with helpful volunteers. The dioramas exhibit the different Napa Valley habitats- woodland, riparian, chaparral. Like Pt. Reyes NS, they have tons of creepy taxidermy- some which can be held, like a barn owl or a bear's claw (the bear claws at Buttercream Bakery are less intimidating) An enormous bear greets visitors, with a mountain lion beside it. One gets the sense that at one time, these animals were very much alive. They have a little library, as well as a small display on local geology- which, unfortunately, leaves out the nearby West Napa Fault. The Carolyn Parr Nature Museum has a pleasant little gift shop, as well as an overgrown California native plant garden outside. A fun outing.

Florence Avenue is a three block metal art sculpture walk in Sebastopol. It has unique metal…read moresculptures on both sides of the street so there is a lot to look at. Sebastopol is an artsy area that has a hippie vibe to it. For this reason, you will find metal art sculptures throughout the city as well. I love that you can walk this for free so it's something that is accessible to all.

I was so curious about all of these metal sculptures around town so a friend and I parked on one…read moreend of Florence Avenue and casually walked up and down the street. What imagination and creativity! I loved photographing each one. There was one house with tons of artwork. The entire front yard is adorned with them and I wondered if this is where the artist lives. Sure enough there were pamphlets near the sidewalk and that's when I learned that the artist is Patrick Amiot. His spouse, Brigitte Laurent, paints his works of art. He calls his creations Urban Folk Art. Some are quite huge but all are very unique and original. What an entertaining way to reuse metal. For feathers and scales, we noticed he layers flat jar lids and they look amazing after they've been painted. My favorite was (Buster) Posey and the two owls but there were so many we both loved. I drive up this street regularly but it is definitely worth it to park and take a closer look. Florence Avenue is like the artist's outdoor studio. It's a manageable and worthwhile leisurely stroll. You will see other metal sculptures around town by this artist and I happened to know that Mom's Apple Pie on Gravenstein Highway has one now too so I included a photo of it. Such fun whimsical creations!

Hubby & I drove over after we left Luther Burbank's home and gardens in Santa Rosa…read more The experiment farm is where he executed many of his botanical experiments. Nowadays it's been reduced to a very small area. They've got plants for sale. Hubby purchased a Peruvian lily plant for $10.00. What caught my eye was a tree invaded by mistletoe. Currently volunteers are restoring a couple benches using the same materials as the original. Follow the signs to the Farm. There's a very small visitor parking lot. Pro tip: there are no public restrictions.

This 3-acre space has a couple of trails meandering by apple and other fruit trees. I like how they…read moreare labeled so you know what things are. The trails go up to a cemetery which you can also explore. I love flowers and they had sunflowers, dahlias, poppies, among many others. The sunflowers got quite tall. Plants were for sale in the front and payment was through Venmo or check on the honor system. There's a cottage that's open Wednesdays 9am-1pm. There are 3 Luther Burbank Establishments in Santa Rosa/Sebastopol: The Luther Burbank Home and Gardens- located in downtown Santa Rosa close to the freeway and the mall. It's very convenient to get to. This one has his old house which has tours and the gardens around. The Luther Burbank Art and Garden Center-This is more inland in Santa Rosa has a small rose and Iris garden but it's mainly a private events space.

Oh my goodness literally one of the most amazing experience gems in Petaluma. If you have a child…read moreand are looking for a wonderful way to spend quality time for a couple to several hours on a Saturday, you simply need to go visit the Petaluma Wildlife Museum. This beautiful space is run by high school students who are in animal husbandry or communications-type classes and each, and almost every one, of them are wonderfully informative, kind, engaging, and helpful. Whoever is training these students is doing an outstanding job! The minute you walk through the door they are there to guide you through this fun Petaluma experience. They have thousands of dollars (likely hundreds of thousands) in quality and unique taxidermy animals that are thoughtfully displayed, and where the children can get up close and personal with creatures from all over the planet. We particularly love the room that focuses on the national parks (as our favorite states are represented)! We have taken our grandson here three times at six months intervals and every time he discovered something new. They have a fabulous dinosaur room as well and the students we've encountered are highly educated and love to share tidbits of information. They also have a charming compact outdoor area where kids love to roam and they also have an arts space where kids can draw and explore. It's $5 per person as of 2026 (and I want to say that our almost 3 year-old grandson was free each time). GO! Check out this phenomenal community asset on any given Saturday and you'll be so glad you did! Five giant stars!

This is such a wonderful place to visit on Saturdays! It's donated by a local business man and the…read morehigh school students volunteer on Saturdays to help visitors understand the wild life displayed in the museum. Every high school student volunteers have extensive knowledge of the wild life. We were amazed by all the stories and information told. They even let us touch some of the animals there. It's not just for kids. Adults will definitely enjoy it too.

Happened to be in sonoma during the harvest fest weekend at sonoma garden park. Great event with…read morelive music , food truck vendors and different exhibitors. Great place to walk around the expansive community garden. Hidden gem minutes from Sonoma plaza

I came here today as part of my birthday Sonoma Tour and it was really fun. Really charming cute…read moregardens spread out over acres and tons of pretty Zinnias and other old fashioned flowers. Lots and lots of tomato plants and sunflower plants. Lots of bees. As soon as you get there, there's a small red barn. We went straight to the barn and picked up some garden vegetables, Chinese long purple beans for 3 dollars and two eggplants and one green apple. A volunteer weighs the produce and you pay with a credit card. They had some zinnias and sunflowers for sale but an older woman got there upon opening and bought two buckets of it for 62 dollars and there were no more flowers to buy. I was there for an hour admiring the flowers and different varieties of gourds and vegetables growing. You can rent a private plot for 200 dollars and lots of elderly people were tending to their plants happily and chatted with us as we walked around. A lovely community garden beloved by the old and young. Definitely recommend a trip here and especially on Saturdays when you can get some super fresh garden produce. Cute place.

I had seen this beautiful church and I needed to stop and take a few pictures. I'm a little bummed…read moreout that we could not go inside, but according to somebody that was walking by it hasn't been open for a very long time. It's in a beautiful area and the church itself is gorgeous. I love the stained glass windows the color the architecture of it. It's pretty amazing. I wish I could find out more information about it.

What? No one has ever YELP! -ed this museum?…read more This place is a hold over from yesteryear. A gallery of long forgotten oddities. Presented in a style that really went out of style in the 1960's. See photos of 2 headed snakes. Read a story about a farmer who had his arthritis magically cured when he was run over by his own tractor. The building was built from the lumber of a single redwood tree. A hoot for an hour of fun. If your tastes are tame and you appreciate old timey atmosphere, you'll enjoy a visit.

The name should be changed to a gallery or collection or something.. the best things were the…read morestructures outside. The collection is disorganized and not very informative. The taxidermy is sad and the barbies dresses up as native people were weird. The park is nice...

This is a very small but, excellent Museum. It's in a nondescript stucco two story building…read moretowards the Novato Blvd. entrance and parking. Every time I have explored it, I've been impressed. There are I've local items and also rotating visiting exhibits. Last time I was there, there were beautiful Indian clothing from several different tribes within the U.S.

Came to see what it was all about on their monthly volunteer day (1st Saturday of every month rain…read moreor shine) & let me tell you, this is seriously incredible! I got no work done the 1st half of the day because I couldn't stop looking at everything. It's like an Antique shop but everything works! I'm so used to seeing really cool old things but they don't work. Everything works! Then you walk the property & see the train (which works!) & Tractors, old cars, Concord Grape vines from the 30's, giant compressors... It's like Steve got real sized versions of all the toys he ever loved. Come by to see the place, stay to help out & make sure to check out the Upstairs of the barn where there is an old Chevy Truck (which Steve learned how to drive in & took his license test in).

This place is a true gem. This is the type of place that can only be found in an out of the way…read morelittle town in the middle of nowhere...and lucky for us, we have just such a back-woods hamlet in our beloved Penngrove. This "museum" has just about every type of motor/engine you can think of but unlike a good number of museums, most of the exhibits at this one are still in working order. From old tractors to working vintage printing presses to one of the actual engines from Howard Hughes' famous Spruce Goose. And get this...there is a mini train (but big enough to ride on) that runs around the property!!!! They usually have one or two days a year that they are open to the public so keep your ear to the railroad tracks because you won't want to miss it. Usually there is an open house during the summer sometime. Along with the Petaluma Military Museum (300 Petaluma Blvd N) this is one of my favorite places to spend an afternoon soaking up some of the marvels from our country's industrial past.