Chumash Indian Museum

Beautiful museum! Before you even enter the museum, the grounds are beautiful and educational. The exhibits inside the museum are excellent and extremely interesting.

I said it was open on Saturday, and there was no reminder. I took my children for two hours to visit, but told us that there was a wedding event that was closed! It's unreasonable, and the staff are unfriendly and mean to children.

A hidden valley secret gem that details the life of the Chumash tribe in the California area. It's a wonderful experience for all ages! Great family outing.

I've never been to this Museum I feel kind of guilty living so close to it but never checking it out I love history and especially Native American information. I'll be visiting this place In this dry, somewhat secluded spot so close to Los Angeles it's amazing that there is a lake. Imagine thousands of years ago living and traveling around here...If there's an abundent source of water, you better stay alert..big predatory animals will make a meal of you if you don't watch out. That still is true today 30 miles to the S/E of here! (Los Angeles)

I’ve taken a group on a field trip here with only a glance around inside. I saw historical lifestyle references and could see a working knowledge of those who inhabited this land long ago! After returning back to the Thousand Oaks area, I decided to stop by and get a better look. Unfortunate for me that the museum was closed just before I arrived! The Chumash Indian Museum is now open on Saturday and Sunday, 11:00am - 3:00pm. Not to be deterred, I continued around the grounds, noticing the native art and village. There’s outdoor class seating with an indigenous native style of huts. Beyond that point, trails meander through an oak tree forrest. As part of the Oakbrook Regional Park, visitors are welcome to hike, jog or bike inside the gates, beyond the museum. The gates are closed at sundown, so better to allow enough time to enjoy it, without rushing back to get out before then!

Fine little museum with outdoor area with multiple native plant gardens. Unfortunately, the village is still damaged from the fire years ago.

Small but informative exhibit on the Chumash Indian Reservation. The staff is knowledgeable and friendly, and they do a great job of promoting upcoming events. It's always sad to learn about the impact of European colonialism on other cultures, but this exhibit is a valuable reminder of the Chumash people's rich history and resilience.

Awesome museum. Wish the tours would resume. Even has a modern day pictograph panel of what they believe it looks like.

This museum is only open to the public on weekends, so I came on a Sunday to check it out. Not a large facility, but really interesting content. If you have any interest on the local native American population, this is a great place to load up on information. One of the best things about this place is that it is located near the site of an actual native American village! You can take a 1/4 mile walk behind the museum to a replica of a village, currently being rebuilt after storm damage, but you get the idea how they built their homes. Really neat to be in a place where Native Americans actually lived, so much more than just a building. I recommend stopping by to see for yourself some weekend.

What a wonderful museum! If you want to learn a little about Chumash history and culture, this is the place. I learned that Chumash territory extended from Malibu to Morro Bay, covering some 7,000 square miles, and included the four northernmost Channel Islands. The Chumash believed their ancestors came from these islands in the far distant past. Inside the museum you can view a staggering number of authentic artifacts, giving you an idea of the technological sophistication of the Chumash people. Some artifacts as old as 9,000 BC One can get a sense of how resourceful the Chumash people were, particularly in how they used plants and how they manufactured implements and tools to address their daily needs. On view are talismans used by Medicine Men, tomols (canoes) used for transportation and trade, as well as arrowheads and spear tips used for hunting and war. Very interesting to me were the many gambling artifacts. Dice games, marbles, ring toss, so many different games! Equally interesting were the musical instruments. I saw terrific examples of whistles, rattles, and clapper sticks. I spent an inordinate amount of time inside the museum, examining every display. But as fascinating as all that was, for me the most interesting part was the recreation of a Chumash Village in the beautiful hills behind the museum. Kind of odd, I suppose, that the recreated part captured my imagination even more than the authentic part. But the recreated village was just what I needed to see to be able to imagine how all the artifacts fit together. I was keen to see the recreation of the type of shelters the Chumash people lived in. The structures, called "'Aps" were made with tule and cattail reeds attached to a framework of wooden poles. Some smaller 'Aps were for single families, others, much larger, could house as many as 50 people. They featured a central fire pit, with an opening directly above to vent smoke. Villages were typically built on high ground, near a source of water. The chief's 'Ap was always the largest. Some things never change, lol. Near the chief's 'Ap there was usually another 'Ap to hold a supply of extra food for entertaining visitors or distribution to the people in times of need. Villages also typically included a sweat lodge. I was surprised to learn that the sweat lodges weren't only for men. Sometimes women and children used them for ceremonies and in healing rituals. The museum location is perfect. As you walk the ground it truly feels like stepping back in time. Few reminders of the outside world intrude in this idyllic setting. I found out about this great museum because it is part of the Passport2History program. If you are at all interested in the history of Southern California you should check into the Passport2History. I've been to many of the participating museums and each one has been very worth a visit. For information on the Passport2History program, go here: https://www.leonisadobemuseum.org/passport-2-history Mikey C says: thanks to my friend Victor G up in Hayward for reminding me that November is Native American Heritage Month

The CHUMASH Indian Museum is a small historical museum and a living history center. They are dedicated to restoring and preserving an awareness of the Chumash tribe along with their historical, cultural, material and present day influence. This museum has Chumash artifacts and description of their way of life. Furthermore, they have a replica of Chumash "aps" homes which is a 10 minute walk on an easy trail. Along the path, visitors will find numbered Oak trees and native plants used by the Chumash people. The Chumash are a Native American people of the central and southern coastal regions of California to date there are only 5,000 of them in the country. Visitors can spend less than an hour to see the entire museum. The general museum admission cost $8 bucks. Staff (Zac & Nicholas) were professional and affable. Free wifi. Free parking lot. Overall, I like learning everything about the Chumash tribe. I recommend this tiny museum if you're in the area.

So disappointing and a murky representation of what I am sure is a much richer and vibrant culture. A good portion of the artifacts are missing so it's better to remove the empty cases than to pretend that there's something there to look at. Not enough descriptions or information to truly learn significant knowledge about the Chumash. How big was their territory? What was their population then (pick a significant milestone) vs now? What were some of their beliefs? Impart some of their wisdom. The pamphlet displays an old oak tree but when you go outside, it's a stump. There are price stickers everywhere. It's not an art gallery... it's a museum. We're here to learn, not to purchase home decor. Put those items in a space where it makes sense. They sell native style jewelry but tell me more about the Chumash creativity and symbols. You can access the grounds for free but it's highlighted as part of your ticket purchase. The so called village is nothing but and needs to be fixed. We must do better. This museum is not honoring the people that it aims to highlight.

I love to discover places, hidden gems, everything about History, curiosity about California. I found the Gardens in Thousand Oaks , and I made more research in the area. I found this museum about Chumash Tribe. It is really culturally important to show to your children. I have learned a little bit more about another tribe which lived here. The museum charges $8 per adult, less for children and seniors. The village is being repaired.

My daughter had her 13th birthday at this amazing place! We had Mike as our tour guide and I highly recommend having him educate everyone about the area and the Chumash people. He was so great! The Museum was really nice and the grounds are beautiful. The staff here is really amazing .

This was a cute little museum we checked out before our hike. The workers were very informative and kind. You can walk around the grounds near the museum too. Fun for young kids for a little while but they will get bored quickly. There is a park across the street to have a picnic and a playground too.

Maybe you've heard friends returning from Europe commenting on how "everything is so old there"? Yes, it's true, the USA itself is a young country and the architecture in our cities is not as old as much of the architecture in Europe. But we have archaeological treasures right here in Southern California that go back more than 10,000 years. Those of us of European, Asian and African ancestry are relative newcomers to this continent. Native American indigenous rock art and archaeological sites are here, you just have to look for them. The Chumash Indian Museum is located at one of these ancient sites, the Chumash village of Sap'wi in Thousand Oaks. There are about twenty caves located on the site, some of which have pictographs and can be visited on a docent-led tours. Archaeological dating methods indicate that this Chumash village was inhabited 10,000 years ago. The museum itself offers educational exhibits about the history of the Chumash, as well as artifacts including baskets and tools. A trail leads from the museum building to a re-creation of a Chumash village site. The location is stunning, among the oak trees, and makes for a lovely stroll. There is also a small gift shop with books on local history and other items. Admission is currently $5 for adults and $3 for children/seniors over age 65. Free parking in the lot. The museum was closed for much of the pandemic but is currently open Saturdays and Sundays from 11 am to 3 pm. More information and updated hours can be found here: chumashmuseum.org

It look me a whopping 23 years to finally step foot onto the Chumash Indian grounds that were literally only 0.4 miles from where I previously lived when I first moved to Thousand Oaks. I drove passed it several times over the years when going to the neighborhood park. I jogged right by the entrance on countless occasions as I went on my morning runs, and I even hiked the trails that surround the area many times throughout the time I was living down the street, yet I never thought once to stop in even though I had heard it was a very peaceful place. Recently, my sister was in town visiting our mom and we decided to do our morning walk somewhere other than around the park where I live now. We hopped in the car and headed a few miles down the road to the Chumash Indian Museum. My sister and mom had been here on other occasions so they led the way as we hiked onto the property. My first thoughts were about the beautiful scenery. The sounds of the birds chirping and the quietness that the morning brings as a new day begins. It was so quiet, peaceful and we were completely surrounded by nature. Even though I knew we were in Thousand Oaks which has many parts that are very rustic and outdoorsy, it felt like we were stepping back in time to a much simpler way of life when the Chumash and other Native Americans inhabited our lands. Although we were there before the museum opened for the day, we were greeted by one of the educators on site who shared a little bit about what she does. As we hiked the trails on the property, we all imagined what life was like back in those times and were grateful to experience the way the Chumash people lived in the past. We witnessed the ingenuity, resourcefulness and sense of community as we learned about how they lived and survived so many years ago. Now that I have visited this wonderful cultural experience, I will definitely return soon and spend some more time learning about such a great place that is literally in my own backyard. Great for young kids, teens and adults who love the outdoors or learning about culture and/or history.

The Chumash Indian Museum is actually located on the actual site of a Chumash village, high up in the hills of Thousand Oaks. The small informative museum is loaded with Chumash artifacts covering hundreds of years of habitation. I didn't realize what an extensive area the Chumash lived in: mountains, coastal, Islands and Inland. To get a deeper feel for what daily life for was like, visit the Demonstration Village. The staff was very helpful and informative. I wish the gift shop had more books directly about the Chumash.

I wanted to do something fun close to the house. This museum was very interesting, great artifacts, and great trails on the property. I recommend a day outing in thousands and the price is nothing compared to the knowledge you learn about the Chumash Indians history.

Excellent small museum. Low key. Informative museum docents. Not too crowded. Learned a lot about the Chumash First Peoples. Cute gift shop with nice gifts. Bring water and sunscreen as the hike in back of the museum is great. Nice for out of town relatives to see too. Would be nice for school trips. Enjoy!

We hiked in the grounds behind the museum to see the Chumash Indian huts. Fascinating to witness the homes created by the Indians of the past. Can't believe they lived here in Thousand Oaks many years ago. A fun journey and great way to spend an afternoon.

I was pleasantly surprised by this museum. Built on actual Chumash land, it offers an immersive experience into the life and culture of the Chumash Indians. This museum building may be small but it has a lot to offer with a number of interesting exhibits and displays. The highlight of the visit was the nature walk. Located in the rear of the museum is a 1/2 mile path that leads you to a replica Chumash village. Along the way you'll walk past by a number of large and majestic oak trees and some interesting rock formations. For $100 you can schedule a private 2-hour tour guided by a Chumash native. On the tour you'll get to visit a Chumash birthing cave located high on the side of a mountain. Within the cave you'll also get to view some authentic Chumash pictographs.

One of my favorite places in the Conejo Valley. It's a really small, unassuming little museum. It's probably only one room big, but it's packed full of artifacts and pictures depicting local history. On weekdays during the day it tends to be packed with loud elementary school kids on field trips, but during the later afternoons it's relatively quiet. The museum isn't the only part of center, though, there's also an adjacent park and hiking trail. I seriously love the hiking trail - by a creek and it's in a convenient location but it's pretty secluded in the trees so you don't realize it's by a road. At the end of the trail there's a recreation of an old village with a couple of small hut-like structures. You can hop on a tour as well - the guides are super knowledgable and you can tell they're super interested in what they do.

Small museum. Easy and free parking. Cool nature walk to the Chumash version of a tipi (more like a Navajo Hogan since I don't think these huts were mobile). $5 per adult and $3 per kid is fine to pay. High quality artifacts and exhibits. However, it is more geared towards children. It lacks the rigorous analysis I'm use to. It also doesn't explain the gory details on how the Spanish uprooted them from the lands. When you see the map of the 20+ Native American tribes covering every inch of CA you have to wonder where they all went... You could do this museum in less than an hour. I say it is worth visiting since no one talks about the Native Americans in CA. You all are too diverse here so the original folks tend to get forgotten.

The Chumash Indian Museum is a beautiful location for a wedding and the staff members are incredible. I would recommend this venue without hesitation to anyone interested in having an outdoor wedding (or to anyone who wants a new place to go hiking). We were forced to change our wedding venue two weeks before our wedding date due to a government shutdown (we had planned on having it at Paramount Ranch, which is a national park, but even the national parks were closed). When we started looking for a new venue, we expected that we had essentially lost any chance of having the wedding of our dreams. Were we ever wrong. As soon as my husband and I walked into the space where our ceremony would take place, we both got goosebumps. We knew right away that this was the right place for our wedding. The ceremony space is absolutely breathtaking, even better than our original venue. We got married in an oak grove behind the museum. We stood in between two old oak trees whose branches formed a beautiful backdrop behind us. Our reception took place about 40-50 feet away in an open space in front of a small stage. The museum, which was about 100 feet from our reception site, is a sleek modern building which adds to the beauty of the space rather than detracting from it. Our primary contact at the museum, Graywolf, was such a huge help before and on the day of our wedding. He met with us a number of times to answer our questions and show us around the facility. On the day of our wedding, he shuttled my husband and I around on a golf cart for photos, gave elderly guests and latecomers rides to and from their cars, and helped troubleshoot any problems that came up. In the end, thanks in large part to help from Graywolf and The Chumash Indian Museum, our wedding was perfect and even better than we imagined.

Loved it. It was perfect for a group of kids to learn about the indigenous cultures found in California. The guide was funny and entertaining, providing useful information about the Chumash people. The museum itself although compact, offers up great displays. There is trail to hike and an actual village recreation. Take some kids or a school trip, about six bucks to get in.

Small but nice. Prior to my visit, the only time I had heard the word "chumash" was in a Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode. You can see the museum in about 20 minutes. I haven't tried the hiking trail yet but I've heard it's lovely. There are some great oak trees on the grounds. I remember that when we arrived, the staff had just had a pizza delivered and frankly they seemed surprised to have any visitors. We sort of had to beg for tickets. I actually wanted to buy annual memberships and that took some doing - I felt that the staff was very, very reluctant to allow me to purchase an annual membership. They wanted to get back to their pizza and I felt that we were inconveniencing them. I did finally get my membership. When it was time to browse the gift shop and make additional purchases, again, I felt it was only with great reluctance and difficulty that we were allowed to buy things. We did succeed in purchasing a few items and quite enjoyed our visit. I was surprised there was never any follow up and, although I would have instantly renewed my annual membership, I was never invited to do so and my membership has long since lapsed. We are planning another visit now that we have an exchange student living with us. I was surprised to find the place is closed three days a week and only open noon to five Thursday-Sunday. Looking forward to seeing what, if anything, has changed in the last couple years.

Nice small museum but a wealth of information. Take the short hike to visit the 1,000 year old Chumash painting in the cave.

I really love this place. Great collection of Chumash history, wonderful museum caretakers, and a great and peaceful hiking area in the back. Our kids love the gift shop, reasonable prices and fun. The people that work here put their hearts into this place probably at their own sacrifice, thanks to them for this gem of a place.

Cultural enrichment with a trail and village. Done very well. I am hoping one day LA will have something like this for the Tongva/Gabrielino. Only thing I'd like to see more of is local crafts in the gift shop.

Visited this museum for my sons native american tribe project. We loved it, small but provided us with lots of information needed for his project, great for Elementary aged kids. My son is in the 3rd grae and we couldn't have visited a more prefect museum which would have provided him will all the facts of the chumash tirbe, which was easy for him to understand and read the information. He was very interested and excited to learn more in person versus just getting information online. The entrance fee was reasonable and the Little hike up to the chumash village was just the cherry on top of our visit!! We loved it and never seen my son this happy and excited on collecting info/ researching for a school project .

This review is for this woman named Rabbit. My son's 3rd grade class went there for a visit, and this Rabbit was completely unprofessional. She clearly does not know how to handle kids who are just behaving as kids. I don't know why she's conducting school tours, but you're the worst fit possible, Rabbit. All the parents were complaining about her, and when she heard, she supposed couldn't handle it. She said something mean to a 3rd grade girl, and when a 3rd grade boy asked a question, she responded, "Do you want to come up here and conduct the tour?" Seriously, as an adult, there's no need to talk to 9-year old kids that way.

I absolutely love the tour I went on for our school's field trip. I learned so much by listening to the stories and rich history told by the docent. This place is a hidden gem. I'm coming back.

The Chumash Indian Museum is a real treasure hidden in Thousand Oaks. The dedicated staff have curated a wonderful museum and are always friendly. The massive park behind the museum is truly beautiful, and the guided tours are a window into the important history of the area. A true landmark of Native history and natural beauty.

Lovely small museum, where I learned a lot about the Chumash, the local native American tribe. I was fortunate, because I went in on a Saturday, early afternoon, and was able to amble slowly through the small building, before two families with small kids came in. The park adjacent to the building is absolutely fabulous, and a quiet place to walk.

Loved this museum, although small its highly educational. The curator Gave us a lot of facts about the Chumash I never knew. The kids(field trip) loved it. They played games explored Indian houses outside. Kids were bummed we ran out of time and didn't get to go into caves. I definitely will be bringing my other kids back to this museum.

While they are not a huge museum, they do have numerous artifacts that have been collected in the area. This is a good source of primary information about the pre-European inhabitants of this region and how they lived in harmony with local resources and other primitives of coastal California. If you know little about the Chumash, this would be a great starting point. It has a special appeal for youth.

this is a wonderful museum. all the staff are knowledgable and accurate about the history of thier people. i have visited this place and will come back again.

Growing up here I never bothered check out this museum. But when I joined my 3rd grade son's field trip I was impressed. Graywolf led the tour and truly engaged the kids and taught them a lot of information! I, myself, learned way more than I expected and I find myself trying to share this experience with the rest of the family. It is a small museum building but that's only half of the museum really, the other half is the outdoor hikes and the village. We are planning our hike to the Painted Caves and I can't wait to go back!