Wonderful place for kids and adults! I learned so many things I never knew! I would definitely come…read moreback! It's worth it to get the private tour. I wish they played music in there because it's dead quiet. Ocean music with chirping birds would be fitting!

This museum is amazing for those who want to learn about birds, Rene is great with the tours and…read moregetting the kids interested by making jokes and listing amazing facts! I worked here for a while and Linnea is so sweet, she really focuses on giving students a place to learn and grow while also doing many restoration projects all over the Santa Monica Mountains! It's unassuming at first but inside is endless stories about how the collection came to be, the collectors, and all of the different types of species from around the world! The largest egg collection in the world is no easy feat but it is amazing to see the diversity! Great for your value! Stop by! :)

I'd argue that the "Commemorative Air Force museum" is a better representative of "Air" exhibits…read morethan the Smithsonian's " "Air and Space" museum. Sure the Smithsonian has some of the most historically significant airplane in aviation history but everything is so far away. All the exhibits here including the airplanes are within reach...one can experience there size and in many cases your able to look, touch, and walk into some (historic ) airplanes. One of personal life thrills is being able to sit inside a real MIG 29 cockpit which I did at this museum. Also in this visit we were within feet of one of the only flying B29 super-fortresses left. Our entire family was in awe of the planes and the stories the (wonderful ) docent regaled us with during our visit. It's not fancy...you are in fact inside a hanger with planes that do fly vs the Smithsonian but no less an opportunity to see historical planes and learn about the history of flight and the US Air Force ! Everyone associated with the museum is wonderful and friendly. We were told that the exhibits do change so visiting at least once a year will provide an opportunity to learn and see something new.

Had an amazing time and learned so much on the guided tour with Dave! Will definitely be back!read more

We absolutely love this small museum. It was right next to the Ventura county naval base. Plenty of…read moreparking at the back. This museum is free of charge. It talked about the history of the Seabees, the navy engineer in the recent history. It was divided into different part. From WWI, WWII, Korean War, Vietnam war, gulf war, 911 and war on terrorists and so on. A lot of great information and pictures. Perfect for any kids or teens that have a STEM mind. We find that they are fascinating. A must visit if you or your families are interested in STEM and mechanics.

Free Museum alert! There are not many free museums left plus free parking as well. This Navy museum…read moreis located in Port Hueneme (Oxnard if this helps) in Ventura County. 3201 S. Ventura Road, Building 100, Port Hueneme which is on the base. Opened daily 10a-4pm but closed on Sundays. No reservations needed. Kid friendly location. This museum opened in 1947 which is also the 2nd oldest Navy museum in the US. You can easily spend about 2 hours here because they carry so much actually memorials from the actually event. There are a couple of screening rooms to sit and watch. Vintage heavy machinery like war tanks. Learning about the history with the collections, preserves, and exhibits artifacts related to the history of the United States Navy Engineer Corps. We can learn about Seabees (Navy military) also perform global humanitarian missions such as well-drilling and disaster relief. Established in 1941, they served as the construction force for the Navy during World War II. The Seabees' "Can Do" attitude made them legendary within the Armed Forces, and their character epitomized the resilience of that generation. The "Can Do" attitude still drives today's Seabees. If you are lucky you might even see a few Navy members walking from the base. After your tour you can take the scenic route home on the coast of PCH. Thank you Naval History and Heritage Command for preserving our history. We appreciate all your hard work for US history.

This museum is beautifully located on the harbor and contains a large collection of paintings and…read moremodel ships. We were fortunate enough to have a tour led by one of the many docents that work at the museum. Admission is very low priced and you can also become a member. We learned a lot of fascinating stories of battles and how ships were built. Highly recommend.

A sweet gym, located at the Channel Islands Harbor! We took the kids here a long time ago on a…read morefield trip, so it's been a while since I've been here. It's really cool to learn some history of Port Hueneme. I had no idea that we have the largest commercial port here between LA and San Francisco. Theres a lot of fascinating nautical artwork but my favorite is the models of the historical sailing ships! Highly recommend checking it out!

Stagecoach Inn Museum is a charming museum and venue filled with rich history. This is such a cute…read morevenue for weddings, fundraisers, and entertainment. I had no idea until recently that stagecoach inn museum offered their lawn and space to accommodate events. Sweet location, but parking can be tight if you do consider having an event here. There's a park with public parking next door, but once that lot is filled, good luck finding parking within convenient walking distance. Highly recommend checking out the museum doing business hours.

One of my professions is that of a Medieval English Historian having worked in contract with the…read moreHistoric Royal Palaces foundation in England. Even though my expertise is in Medieval, Renaissance and Restoration Europe; I am passionate about much of history. Basically, I am saying I am a history buff both academically/professionally and leisurely. California is rich in history from the indigenous people of Mexico to Missionaries to the Gold Rush to motion pictures to everything in between. One piece of this history sits locally in the Los Angeles/Southern California area where proprietors from all parts of the country made the trek to the 'Wild Wild West' frontier. You can re-live this history in the Stagecoach Inn Museum in Newbury Park. Let's give a quick history lesson... In the late 1800s, before Newbury Park was even called Newbury Park, the Grand Union Hotel was built as a stopping point for travelers from Santa Barbara and beyond to Los Angeles south. This area was purchased by the Newbury family (you get it now?)  who named it after themselves and the wooded area. The Newbury family initially tried to strike it rich with using the land for crops but after years of crop failure due to little rain; they had to find another way to survive and opened the first post office in the area (which was initially a tent!). The Grand Union Hotel was moved to make way for the burgeoning 101 freeway and ended by burning down by fire (no one knows the exact cause of the fire).  To celebrate this Conejo Valley history, Newbury Park constructed a replica of the Grand Union Hotel about a block or so away from where it originally stood currently at South Ventu Park Road (free parking lot or street parking available). The compound consists of the hotel replica, The Timber School which is an accurate imitation of a one room school house that served the area, a blacksmith shop, a Chumash "village" (basically a yurt), a Spanish Adobe home, and Newbury Pioneer House and thus showcases all eras of peoples/history that once stood in the area.  Some "hiking" paths around the property are also available. This sounds fantastic... in theory. Unfortunately, in execution it is quite cheesy and maybe better suited for very young children. The pioneer house is sort of 'cool' as you can walk through this 'Little House on the Prairie" - style cabin and transported back into what it would feel like to live in such accommodations as a docent explains the history. The Chumash Village is nothing more than a yurt and an awning that takes .2 seconds to traverse while the Spanish Adobe House seems inaccurate in construction materials but what do I know. The blacksmith shop wasn't attended during my visit so I didn't get to experience it fully; but it does contain actual proper tools. This part of the compound simply feels a bit "half-assed", so to speak. The Grand Union hotel replica - the actual Stagecoach Inn in this case - is two floors (plus small gift shop) that you can walk through the rooms some of which are set up to exemplify their actual functions like kitchen, dining room, bedrooms, etc; while others hold permanent or temporary exhibits like art made from real hair that was popular during the Victorian era (VERY weird), a room full of clothing irons from various timeline periods, a room filled with gramophones (I loved this because I have a tattoo of one), etc. The weird thing about the Stagecoach Inn is that it jumps back-and-forth between history versus staying true to the California late 1800s as far ahead as WWII as docents explained that the dishware in the dining room came from Germany during WWII (so, stolen from the Jews --- why is this here in a frontier replica?!). Some of this place simply does not make sense and being a historian - I take historical inaccuracy personally. Also awkward are the overuse of very creepy mannequins in each room including the 800 dolls in the children's bedroom that I was just waiting to attack me via a horror film. Both corny and cheesy; I could have done without.  It doesn't take long to walk through the museum and it is just a little unappetizing. My favorite part of the Stagecoach Inn Museum grounds was the Timber School. It is the least creepy and best in terms of historical merit with school desks, chalkboard, books, a wood burning stove, a working school bell tower, etc. It looks exactly like all the photos of one room school houses. I have to give a shout-out to the docents at Stagecoach Inn Museum. These are all unpaid volunteers and yet I have never seen such enthusiastic, happy museum employees. They are almost aggressive in their zeal to share the history of the area/buildings and because of this: you will truly retain the information they pass. The Stagecoach Inn Museum isn't terrible; don't misunderstand. It is just cheesy and a stretch calling it a 'museum'. I would say it is more of a history center and best suited for school field trips for the locals versus adults.

I joined this club in hopes to help preserve Camarillo History. What a mistake I made. The people…read moreare rude members and they have meeting at 4:00 p.m. many cannot attend. The President wanted to change a zoning law to allow a Pet Cementary in Camarillo at the new owners of Ivy Lawn Morturary off Daily. Without researching the project the President spoke at a Public Camarillo City Council Meeting and said the group was for this! Well many members might not want this. I have a close friend who's business in next door. She would be totally impacted by the change of zoning. My advice before you go to a City Council meeting read and research what you plan on speaking about. I am glad the City of Camarillo Planning and City Council did not allow this stupid plan of a Pet Cementary by Ivy Lawn.

This is an overdue review. On our ongoing quest to fill up the Passport 2 History book, we stopped…read morein at the Pleasant Valley Historical Society's site some months ago. A couple of docents were happy to show us around the indoor space, telling tales all the while. They have an amazing collection of vintage telephones, including some very early ones, rare samples, plus some whimsical collectible ones like Mickey Mouse and Snoopy. They were donated by a gentleman with a connection to the organization. He may have been on the board at one time. I've forgotten that detail, but not the sight of those phones. For today's kids that only know cell phones, these would be a revelation. The indoor space of the museum section is on the small side. They were recently extended a long lease for the property and are launching a building campaign to expand their facility, allowing for more historical items to be displayed for visitors. Following the inside part of our time on the property, we proceeded out to their botanical gardens. Anchored by a large gazebo, the grounds were a riot of seasonal color. This is a bit of a wild child of a garden design. I think they're trying to move from a more formal, water-intensive style to a drought tolerant landscape. It's evolving. Seems like they rely on volunteers to tend the gardens, or to make improvements. The end result felt a bit disjointed, but with great intentions. The father back in, the wilder it gets. Overall, this is a community gem and worth a visit. You could linger for an hour or so, especially if you find a seat in the garden to soak up the colors and textures of the plantings. In this 90th anniversary year of the St. Francis Dam disaster, various materials on the event were featured, also.

It says this place was open until 5 today but when I walked up no evidence of other people or being…read moreopen... no closed sign just empty. It is a beautiful old building and I hope it's going to stay that way and do something... Just know if you come here it may say open online and not be.

This placed is closed. Not art. Not open…read more When you get close to the place you can tell how run down and dilapidated it is. A real shame that this town has chosen other priorities (can't really tell what those priorities are cuz the whole of Oxnard is just a mess) over preserving a nice landmark such as this. Way to make Andrew proud, Oxnard.

I had my wedding here in February and can I just say that even in the dead of winter with not much…read moregreenery I'm so thankful we chose the farm park. It's so beautiful and rustic and the team working there are so knowledgeable and dedicated to this park. Not to forget they were so easy to work with! I don't live in the state anymore but I will absolutely make it a point to go back when I can and recommend it to everyone I know!

We've been wanting to visit the Oxnard Historic Farm Park for a while now, since it's part of the…read morePassport 2 History program. The limited hours of 9 to 12 on Saturday mornings hasn't worked for us in conjunction with other plans on the Oxnard Plain. I was glad to see that they were participating in Ventura County Farm Day, and staying open later than usual. We made it one of the definite stops we planned for the Farm Day activities. It was not what I expected. Good surprise! First, it's tucked into a neighborhood with green belts and a park, which gives a more spacious feeling than I was imagining. It's also not near any other farmland. What they do have is a number of vintage buildings, several plots where they're growing crops, some farm machinery, and more. There's a lot to take in visually. On Farm Day there was an added bonus that a gentleman was operating an old printing press, then giving away the bookmarks he made. They were literally "hot off the presses". He had a wry sense of humor, and it was fun visiting with him. We weren't able to pick up a stamp for the Passport 2 History program, as we never found the rep for the property. We were greeted by volunteers for the SEEAG group, the organization promoting Farm Day. Guess we'll have to go back to enjoy the surroundings one Saturday morning. I recommend this venue for families with kids, as there's lots to see, interesting backdrops for photos, and opportunities to talk about where food comes from, besides Ralph's!

Such a cool place and really underrated. The gift shop was really cool but it has been removed…read more Would be cool to see more resources going to a place like this.

Adventuring around town and came across this museum! What a fun place for children to explore and…read morelearn. They have interactive environments with a mock shopping area, bumble bee nest, outdoor garden, tractors and so much more. The guy at the front working was also so nice and informative when I asked alt of questions. Great place to go and learn a little about the history of agriculture! Has some great little items in the shop as well. Highly recommend for a family outing! Overall, 5/5 stars!

Very interesting museum. The kids love the play area. Take a look at all the different people that…read moreused to live in California. The bees where they best part.

This is a great little museum! Housed in the historic Union Oil Building, this museum offers a…read morewealth of information regarding the history of oil exploration in California, the many ways that petroleum products touch our lives daily (even aspirin!), with lots of displays featuring early tools and gas station equipment. It even talks about petroleum uses by the earliest inhabitants, like using tar to waterproof baskets. We we glad we made time to visit here!