I have never known anyone to be interested in neon artwork, but I guess there are a lot of you out there in cyberspace who are because there is a museum for neon art in Los Angeles. For those of you who are not so much into the whole neon thing and are more interested in natural history then there is the Natural History Museum of LA County. Both one of these is a great choice to visit and you learn so much!
The Museum of Neon Art
The Museum of Neon Art is located 501 West Olympic Boulevard. The phone number is 213-489-9918 and the website is www.neonmona.org. The museum is open Wednesday through Saturday from 11:00am to 5:00 pm, Sunday noon to 5:00pm, the second Thursday of the month from 11:00am to 8:00pm. The museum is closed on Monday’s, Tuesday’s and major holiday’s. Admission to the Museum if neon Art is free for children 12 and under, parking is free in the Renaissance Tower.
The Museum of Neon Art is truly for those who have a nostalgic love for neon art and neon sign-age! There is a huge glowing collection of electronic media in the museum. The artwork at the Museum of Neon Art spans from the era of the vintage to contemporary times. So, this is something that grandparents and kids can enjoy together. Children can learn about the artwork of the past and older people can learn about where art is now and where it is going.
The Museum of Neon Art is currently looking for a new home. With all the new work that is being produced all the time, the museum is rapidly running out of space for their exhibits. They are currently searching for a building that is dark (meaning no natural light that comes in); they are looking for 16″ ceilings and a building that is 10,000 square feet or more.
Right now the Museum of Neon Art offer Los Angeles a permanent collection of nostalgic neon sign-age and other forms of neon art. There are also more modern pieces of artwork that they change out on a regular basis. They keep at least 50 signs up regularly, in fact the exhibits change out the pieces every six months. There is a new collection of Kinetic Neon Artwork that they change out every six months as well.
The Museum of Neon Art is not just for show either. The Museum of Neon Art is all about education. They do not want to see this art form die out so they provide various workshops for everyday people like you and I to participate in. The workshops begin at a very basic level and move all the way up to the university level!
The Natural History Museum of LA County
The Natural History Museum of LA County is located at 900 Exposition Boulevard, Exposition Park. The phone number is 213-763-DINO. To view their website you can go to www.nhm.org. The museum is open Monday through Friday from 9:30am to 5:00pm, Saturday and Sunday 10:00am to 5:00pm, closed on major holidays. Children who are five years of age and younger get in for free! The first Tuesday of every month admission is free for everyone.
The kids will love the dinosaur replicas, the animal habitat dioramas and the insect zoo. There are many hands on exhibits that your kids can experience. There is an exhibit that is totally dedicated to the Native American’s, birds, gems and minerals and marine life. There is an exhibit called the Discovery Center Interactive where you and your kids get to touch and learn about the subjects listed above.
Every first Friday of the month they stay open late and you can have dinner, listen to music or participate in a discussion. This fist Friday of the month event is more for adults than it is for kids!
