Bowers Museum

Recently went to see the Terracotta Warriors exhibit. Well curated and not too crowded. We went on a day where there was a separate festival in the courtyard. The permanent exhibits are also enjoyable. Parking can be tricky, especially on weekends where there are other activities going on; however, there were other additional overflow lots and street parking. Street parking may be free or metered and may be less than the on-site parking fees. Ate at the Tabata restaurant and the food was good. The hostess did a great job accommodating our large party as a walk-in request.

The newest exhibit, "Global Threads, India's Textile Revolution" at the Bower's Museum is fantastic! I have always loved sewing and fabrics, and this exhibit taught me so much about how Chintz fabric was traded, the political side of it, along with the international economies. They are true artists, and I highly recommend everyone to go check it out.

Went to fantastic public talk on developing a Clear Mind by a young and personable Buddhist nun named Gen Demo. Also, a fantastic Buddhist thangka collection of Vajrasattva and the 4 Kings. Really exceptional. There is also a California Western Mexico collection of paintings and work dating back to 200 BCE, including a pottery of a woman chanting and meditating

My family and I went here for the Terracotta Warrior exhibit. It was my first time at this beautiful museum. It's small but we spent about 2 hours exploring it. The Terracotta Warrior exhibit was excellent. We spent a lot of time there reading and talking to a very knowledgeable docent. After that we checked out the other exhibits in the museum. They were all great. I really like the Chinese and South Pacific artifacts as well. The exhibits on Pico were also very interesting.

Great ambience. Interesting artifacts (I was especially fascinated by the Oceania exhibit). The crown jewel was without a doubt the teracotta warriors special exhibit, and there were free guided tours. One can easily spend three or more hours there.

I’ve visited the bowers twice now. They have amazing Hindu art, and indigenous Taiwanese style works. I loved the American Impressionism as well. The second time we had gone for the terracotta warriors in china. It seems that the bowers receives some rare exhibits every now and then so it’s worth checking in multiple times especially if you are local to the area.

What an amazing collection this museum has. I was not aware of it until the I vote for an after hours event landed in my email. I highly recommend giving them several hours of your day to have a chance to see everything. I will be back.

Took the family here during the Terracotta Warriors exhibit. After exploring that, we checked out the other parts. We were there for six hours and still haven't seen everything. It's definitely a place to come back to over and over. Staff was friendly and professional. The facility was clean and modern. Highly recommended for visitors of all ages.

Bowers Museum is a jewel in Santa Ana, our county seat. It was built with money and land donated in the late 1920s from the Bowers who were citrus growers to display local art. The history of Orange County is still told through art in the original edifice. They have permanent and visiting exhibits. My favorite exhibit, so far, is the California plein-air paintings. Many are of undeveloped Laguna Beach; a bit of a throwback to a simpler time before it became a tourist destination. Bowers has a collaboration of some sort with ARCE (American Research Center in Egypt). The museum provides financial support and benefits from monthly lectures on a range of ancient Egyptian history and culture by visiting Egyptologists, archaeologists and scholars. The monthly lectures are included in membership. As is parking. Membership is $70 for one person or $80 for two.

I have been to this museum several times now and am always surprised by the wonderful experience. I am not a museum person, but the exhibits they have are always interesting. The China Terracotta Warriors was an incredible experience. You see it on TV but to stand in front of one of the warriors was truly incredible. There was a Video experience room which was interesting as well. There were also tools, decor, irrigation, and weapon exhibits which give you so much insight into these ancient yet advanced civilizations. There was also an interactive 'design your warrior' area where you could assign paint colors to parts of the uniform. This is just one example of an exhibit. But the museum always does a great job of blending thoughtful placards and interactive experiences. Great job!

I was really hoping to see the Terracotta Warriors, but unfortunately I missed that exhibit by a few weeks. The museum itself is still pretty cool, though I wouldn't say it's fully worth the price. It's much smaller than I expected--I was able to go through everything in under an hour. That said, they do have some really interesting exhibits from Asia, which were super impressive. For me, it's definitely a one-and-done visit unless a really special exhibit comes up. Parking: They have plenty of spots, but it's $6.99 for all-day parking.

Absolutely love Bowers Museum. They always have relevant, cool, cultural experiences and pieces for patrons to check out! The recent exhibition of the Terra Cotta Warriors is excellent. The docents are so knowledgeable, I appreciate them so much and always pick their brains with my questions! The Bowers permanent exhibit is good too and great source of local history, so don't skip out on that during your next visit! My parents used to have annual passes, that's how I was introduced to the museum. Now, I come on my own to enjoy all that this wonderful museum has to offer!

Really underwhelming experience during my visit to see the terracotta warriors at Bowers Museum. Parking spaces are tight and limited. It's also not free or close to the entrance. The inside the museum is not well air conditioned and overran by screaming children and absent minded parents. I found it inescapable and they were insufferable. Imagine a kid running right into your leg and shrieking at you while reading the descriptions of an artifact. Not just once, but several times in different rooms I have entered to view the exhibition just to get away. And the exhibit itself for the actual terracotta warriors were pathetic. There were maybe about a half a dozen of them on cased display and that was it! And once you exited the warrior area exhibit, you can't re-enter! For a $60 entrance fee plus paid parking, I expected much more and better viewing experience than this. So totally not worth the money spent or effort made to visit. I really wish I had visited during the weekday or something when it wasn't perhaps going to be so crowded. You have been warned!

I came here as a chaperone for my son's 5th grade field trip to see the terracotta warriors exhibit. I was very impressed by our docent Kelly who was very patient with crazy 10 yo kids and she was very thorough explaining the history of these terra-cotta warriors. Our students also got to make their own clay terracotta warriors as part of the field trip. This museum is very neat and definitely worth a visit!

As soon as I saw that the Terracotta Warriors were on exhibit at the Bowers Museum, I had to come that same day and wow, it did not disappoint. Seeing these incredible figures in person is truly unbelievable. Of course, I still hope to visit Xi'an someday to see the full excavation site, but having a handful of warriors here in Santa Ana is such a rare and special opportunity. My brain can hardly wrap around the fact that these were created by human hands over two thousand years ago..jaw dropping artistry and history. Like what am I even doing with my life? I can barely walk without tripping over my own two feet over here. The exhibit itself is beautifully curated, and the experience doesn't stop there. The colorful Nepalese art lining the entrance hall is stunning, and I also loved exploring the Polynesia exhibit, which is filled with fascinating artifacts. It's such a treat to see so many cultures and histories under one roof. Highly recommend catching the Terracotta Warriors exhibit before it ends! And don't miss the AI photo booth on your way out, it's a fun way to snap some "Terracotta-style" photos of yourself.

It was a good day for us to visit the museum. Got there in time for a short lecture of European history and a visit to the China history exhibition of 2300 BCE - 2000BCE . Much of the artifacts displayed this time were discovered from 2009 thru 2023. Fairly recent in historical time - lol. We gained a bit more knowledge of ancient history. We had toured China & visited the X'ian site in 2002 & 2005. This exhibition allows a closer view of very interesting items

Stopped by on a random weekday to check it out and it was a cool museum! Really pretty outdoor and courtyard area. Parking is close by across the street to entrance with a flat fee. I paid for an admission ticket online prior to coming. When I came, there was an extra exhibition of the terracotta warriors that was nice to see. The museum is two stories and took me approximately 2 hours to get through all of it. I liked the wing that talked about the history of California and art pieces surrounding the history. There's a lot of cool cultural things here including both art and history across different regions and cultures.

My family and I went here for the Terracotta Warrior exhibit. It was my first time at this beautiful museum. It's small but we spent about 2 hours exploring it. The Terracotta Warrior exhibit was excellent. We spent a lot of time there reading and talking to a very knowledgeable docent. After that we checked out the other exhibits in the museum. They were all great. I really like the Chinese and South Pacific artifacts as well. The exhibits on Pico were also very interesting.

This is a beautiful museum with a very solid permanent collection and rotating exhibits. The permanent exhibits include artifacts from ancient China to Polynesia/Micronesia cultures to relatively modern California missions. The current rotating collection is the terracotta warriors, which were shipped from Xi'an. The area is clean, the staff are kind. The actual museum itself is also beautiful, with weddings and quinceañeras frequently being held here. A gem of Orange County -- would recommend!

I haven't been to this museum since elementary field trip and I came back here (last min plan) and it was really cool. The staff is really nice too

Great local museum. Nice variety of displays that change out. There is a lot of local heritage on display. Staff is very knowledgeable and friendly. Worth the time to look around and spend some time.

Came here for the lunar year family festival and loved it! There were complimentary egg rolls, craft stations and lion dances. Keep an eye on their website for their family festivals. It's usually the first Sunday of the month. Go early and get a parking spot.

Came here to see the terracotta warriors since I don't know that I would ever make it to China to see it in person. It was amazing to see a small part of this collection and learn about how this was uncovered. Seeing this exhibit only makes me want to see more! There were other interesting exhibits available to walk through here as well and we enjoyed exploring the museum for a few hours. A great local museum in Orange County. If you were ever interested in seeing the terracotta warriors I highly recommend seeing this exhibit before it leaves town. I only wish there was more of it as it is somewhat of a tease! Makes you want to book a trip to China to see the entire grand collection. It's amazing to learn about what and how they uncovered this amazing find. I'm glad I was able to see it!

The courtyard does function as a nice space for a wedding reception. Having two parking lots is also a convenient asset, just like the QR code that needs to be scanned in order to pay for parking. Most of the museum was closed during the wedding reception but I did like the terracotta warriors display and the netsuke dolls. The restrooms are clean and easily accessible.

Bowers Museum puts on some of the best family events in OC! We went for their Pacific Islander-themed festival and were blown away by the energy -- the live performances were incredible and the creative activities were super fun for all ages. It's such a thoughtful way to celebrate culture and community. A great way to spend a weekend afternoon with the fam.

We just visited Bowers Museum this past weekend as they have the world of Terra cotta warriors exhibition until October. Amazing artifacts of Chinese culture and artifacts dated back to 10,000 BEC. Great features of a small collection of local artist of oils painting as well as a gallery of Polynesian art and cultures. Worth visiting if you are in the area.

This was our first time here and it was a lovely experience. The entire museum is nice and clean. It was well laid out and the parking for the whole time was only $6.99. The staff were nice and friendly. The entry was free but a few exhibits are a fee. The children enjoyed the scavenger hunt. It wasn't too challenging and even my 4 year old loved finding the artifacts.

My BF loves museums, so I got online and saw Bowers had good reviews. They have artifacts from all over the world, from California, China and south Pacific, with mostly an Asian focus. Currently they have the terracotta warriors, which is rarely shown in CA and definitely worth the premium admission price. They do have a museum restaurant, if you get hungry, though I cannot rate because I didnt try it. Finding a parking spot was not a problem, but you have to scan a QR code, which was a pain, like why can't you just get a parking permit from th parking attendant.

I'm SoCal born and raised and I had never heard of Bowers Museum but glad I finally went! After a last minute decision to go, I was super excited to see the World of the Terracotta Warriors exhibit. Never in a million years did I think I would be able to see Terracotta anything outside of a book or a documentary but this Orange County gem is currently hosting these Chinese master pieces. Outside of this temporary exhibit, I did enjoy the permanent featured work as well, especially the early California art. The museum itself is spacious and has beautiful architecture. I found employees to be nice and helpful but there was one supervisor who seemed to be a little rude and dismissive to her employees and she was a little too assertive with me as well. When I received my sticker that granted me access to the Terracotta exhibit, which did cost extra, I was only a few steps away from where I paid and in the process of putting the admission sticker on my shirt and she was very quick to tell me to put it on. "Mam, take a breath, it's definitely going on." But one mean supervisor didn't deter me from having a very positive experience, definitely recommend visiting while the Terracotta exhibit is still there!

That Museum was great to see all the historical item and views how people lived things that I haven't seen in my life time but open my eyes to many different countries

We love it here! It's a great way to spend the day and the entire property is beautiful. We like to have lunch here too when we have time.

目之所及，皆是回憶，心之所想，才是未來，曾經的都是故事，往後的才是人生～ 第一次參加花展，好開心呀，學長學姊們， 花也插的太漂亮了吧， 在Bowers Museum 展出， 寺裡也在這浴佛， 小孩子的表演， 超級成功的一次活動

Spent a fun afternoon at Bowers Museum with the family to see the Asian Comics exhibit. Lots of interesting comics from different Asian countries and timeframes. I recognized some from my youth. We also checked out their permanent exhibits, Miao (masters of silver) and Pacific islands exhibits, as well as the China exhibit. The museum was very clean and spacious. Everything was very organized. The staff was friendly.

Love the Bowers Museum! Not too large, so it's perfect for an afternoon. They currently have a Terracotta Warriors exhibit, definitely check it out when you get a chance! They also have some great programs and events, which you can find on their website.

I'm not sure I have ever been so disappointed in a museum, ever. My friend recommended it, which is why I chose to go. For $18 admission, I was there an hour & 15 minutes, which is about half the time I usually spend at museums. In the gallery with "new acquisitions", they spend valuable wall space kissing the rears of the donors, not by thanking or acknowledging them, but by slapping a quote on the wall of why they chose to donate to Bowers. Cringe-worthy. The choice suggests, though, that they are desperate to expand their permanent collection, but can't compete with other institutions. Otherwise, the place is suffering from a POV problem, as in they don't know what it is. Some galleries displayed items from all over the world, rather than one geographical region, with no through-line indicated. The only consistency I saw was that they never once said that imperialism or its siblings injured the native populations whose physical culture was on display. Agree or disagree, it should be acknowledged. It seems that each gallery had a very different curatorial style, to the point that even the signage was wildly different. It wasn't often helpful, but sometimes it was too small to read and sometimes it was a big enough font in a strong contrast so you could read it without difficulty. One of the curators shocked me by flatly telling the viewer what to think about various portraits. I have visited a lot of museums and don't think I have ever seen such blatant comments before. An example is stating that one subject was "sad" when she looked annoyed or just piqued, which changes the interpretation of the painting and the artist. I wondered who forced that child to sit. Even the gift shops were a waste of time, with some issues of taste & only a few nice items. Overall, I am truly sorry I wasted an afternoon and $18 (I did not pay extra to see the special exhibit). (I did NOT park in their lot, btw, because there is abundant street parking. Glad I didn't because I would have been even more annoyed at the wasted.)

Great museum and it's nice that there is a parking lot for museum guests. We have seen several exhibitions and enjoy the lecture series too.

On a Saturday afternoon in August, my hubby and I came here to see evolution of Asian comics exhibition. It was fun to see the evolution of Asian comics from various countries. The staff are nice and not too overly crowded for exhibition. We also walked around the Chinese exhibit. It is a nice museum in the middle of Santa Ana. Parking is not free $6.99. By 3pm, the parking guy was gone.

An amazing museum with Staff that knows what they're doing. Engaging exhibits that make the trip worthwhile.

The Bowers museum has a great collection of Asian art amongst other things. It's not a gigantic museum and you can easily cover it in 2-3 hours depending on how fast you want to go. There are exhibits that are included in admission and special exhibits that you need to pay extra for. I only went to the standard exhibits but now I kind of want to go back to see the Asian Comics exhibit. There are multiple collections at this museum and I checked out the ancient arts of China, gemstone carvings, spirits and headhunters, California bounty and masters of silver. I'm amazed at all the artifacts the museum was able to curate. The flow of the museum was very nice and you didn't really need a map to see the whole museum. Parking is very easy and the cost is $6 but it's right across from the entrance. Bathrooms are plentiful and clean. There is an onsite restaurant called Tangata and a gift shop as well. You're allowed to take as many pictures as you like. It was raining when I went but it looked like there was a nice courtyard with sculptors there as well. A must see in the Orange County area!

Bowers Museum is an art museum located in the historic heart of Orange County. Their 8 permanent galleries includes more than 100,000 objects, and features notable strengths in the areas of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, Native American art, the art of Asia, and Oceania, and California plein-air painting. Currently they have 2 new featured exhibitions: The Power of Photography and Beyond the Great Wave. Both runs till January 2024. It's our first time in this museum and we're impressed by their galleries and the massive more than 100,000-square-feet space. Furthermore, the museum has a large garden and restaurant. Staff were amiable and professional. General Admission $18 fee was reasonable as well as their parking $6 fee. Moreover, any featured exhibits is an additional $10 fee. It took me almost 2 hr 30 min to see all galleries including the gift store shop. Overall, I really enjoyed their galleries. I highly recommend this art museum.

It is an interesting beautiful museum with a collection of early California historical oil paintings. Many of them from one artist. The Navajo and Mexican origins left me wanting for more information. The special exhibit on the Terracotta Warriors was more detailed and exciting being it is such a recent discovery and huge in stature. I don't know if Bowers offers one free admission day per month. Paid parking in an underutilized lot was sad. The double entrance fee to see the two exhibits was also a burden. I took my son and it was over $60 dollars. America was known for free access to all sorts of educational opportunities and now it seems it is precluding much of the population! Their board should reconsider how they can serve their community through affordable access.

Came here for the first time in years and stayed the entire afternoon. So glad we picked this museum out of the free museum day options this past weekend. Also got really lucky in finding street parking. The docent tours rock! We attended two, and the lady who led the Best of was so interesting the 1+ hr just flew by. It's a small 2-story museum with a store on a ground floor, fun outside area for kids to run around in, and a really nice restaurant as well. Enjoyed the temporary exhibit of Aka Chan - so beautiful and exquisite. Lovely galleries featuring both Realism and American Impressionism. My favorite painting in "Confirmation" which will be exhibited with the Masters. Should've brought a snack bag as there's plenty to view, especially for the first time, and other than the one restaurant there's nothing really nearby for a quick fix. Just note that you'll need to put away all food and drink. Will definitely want to come back for the Terracotta soldiers in a couple of months.

Great museum with wonderful exhibits. Bowers happened to be a few minutes from where we were staying, so we thought we'd check it out. It's not a huge museum, so we were able to see all the exhibits available. If you have an art museum membership in your hometown, check if it is part of NARM, as you will be able to have free admission using your membership card (they will require you to show the card at the ticket window). Parking was inexpensive and easy to pay (QR code or cash).

Another museum adventure with my boyfriend. While it is hot, we are taking advantage of date opportunities where we can enjoy AC. The Bowers Museum is located in Santa Ana, CA and their motto is "Bringing the World to You". They have a Paid Parking Lot ($6) and they also charge for Admission ($18/adult). We are not, but if you are a resident in the city of Santa Ana, you can visit on Sundays for Free! I think that's great, especially for the students. We were welcomed at the entrance and given a sticker as the admission ticket proof while exploring. They have public tours held daily with groups, online digital guides or an audio tour for you to explore on your own. We preferred to explore on our own. While we were walking around the museum had friendly staff who asked if we need questions or assistance and offering fun facts. The permanent collections they have are the Ceramics of Western Mexico, California Bounty, First Californians, California Legacies, Anthony W and Sharon D Thompson Foywe, Gemstone Carvings, Spirits and Headhunters and the Ancient Arts of China. During the time of our visit, they also have the 112th Annual Gold Medal Exhibition and Ubuhle Women Beadwork of Independence, and MIAO: Master of Silver. My favorite was definitely the Ancient arts of China collection. Being Buddhist, a memorable piece for me was this large elephant tusk with Buddha and the 18 Arhats. I don't support or condone elephants being hunted for ivory or anything, but this was a technically well crafted stunning piece of art. I also liked the Ubuhle Women Beadwork of independence where they sewn these tiny beads into big portraits... Cows were a reoccurring figure that are sacred to their people. It was stunning and you can tell it was extremely laborious. I also enjoyed the Gemstone Carvings and California related exhibits. The Spirits of the Headhunters were a bit too dark for me, but I'm really delicate. Considering we had to pay for parking and admission, I expected the museum to be better maintained. Some parts of the museum seem old and really in need of an upgrade. Even worse, there were some COBWEBS on the statue that was quite in the center of the room. I'm not sure how they missed that. Nevertheless still a nice visit and another fun cultural museum experience with my boyfriend.

Open Tuesdays -Sundays from 10am-4pm. It's small, but not as small as other OC museums. There are a few areas with different exhibits included with general admission, then there's one area that you need to pay extra to enter. I love the California art section. Today was free admission day, and it had been years and years since our last visit, so we thought "Why not." Parking is only $6, and they do accept cash. They have a restaurant on site, and a little gift shop with lots of unique items. On Sundays, Santa Ana peeps can enter for free with proof of residency. Pretty damn cool!

Our visit to the museum was great! The staff is very friendly and helped us plan out our visit. You can spend hours here amongst the art and exhibits. The Headhunters exhibit was very intriguing as we spent a lot of time seeing all it had to offer and reading all the information posted around the exhibit. We definitely recommend stopping by if you're in the area or have friends interested in art and history who are visiting.

STEPH JUDGEMENT: Kinda pricey but very nice museum. It had been decades since I've been here, and I was pretty impressed. Came for the Hokusai special exhibit, which cost a pretty penny at $28 ($10 on top of the $18 general adult admission). But the exhibit was really beautiful and worth it. I ended up getting the Teacher dual membership for $72, which included two special Exhibition tickets. The hubby and I would've been paying $56 anyway, so the extra $16 will get us in all year. I'm definitely planning on coming back, as we didn't get there until 1pm and the place closed at 4. We had plenty of time for Hokusai but not a whole lot else, and there's a lot else to see!

ARGH!!! I am so behind in this review and now I hear the Guo Pei: Art of Couture closes this Sunday, 5/14/23. SO! If you are looking for someplace to take Mom, or you're the kinda person who ADORES Couture, this exhibit is a MUST SEE! Guo Pei's story is as amazing as her creations. All are beautifully displayed with fabulous lighting to make ever sequin, jewel and crystal SPARKLE! The colors, the fabrics -- THE SHOES!!! I'm attaching just a sample (can't believe I managed to narrow it down to only 30 pics!) of what I saw because this really is an amazing installation and I'm an absolute marOOn for not posting my review last February. It's just taken me this long to catch my breath. Check out the Bowers museum for entry pricing and current additional fee for this extraordinary Guo Pei exhibit. Well worth the price of admission and parking. The rest of Bowers is also fantastic and the staff is welcoming, helpful and knowledgeable. My bestie and I spent 3-4 hours here, then went for an amazing hot pot dinner at Haidilao - please see my separate review for that. Cheers! "CC"

The Bowers Museum in Santa Ana. Looking for cultural enrichment? Visit Bowers Museum. The Museum first opened in 1936 and is the largest and one of the oldest Museums in Orange County. The museum is part of Santa Ana Register of Historical Properties. Socal Weekend Walkarounds definitely recommends! Bowers has been voted 'Best Museum' in Orange County for the past 29 years by OC Register Readers. https://www.bowers.org/index.php/about-us/mission-history Bowers offers free general admission to all Santa Ana residents on Sundays through a generous donation in memory of Dorothy Goerl and courtesy of the Lockhart Family. https://www.bowers.org/index.php/visit want a peek inside Bowers Museum? check out my IG Video... https://www.instagram.com/reel/CwypCduRmbC/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Very educational, the guys enjoyed all the displays. Interesting find not too far from home. Great place!

Think of this as a neighborhood only museum in 1hr you can easily go through all the standard exhibits and their specialty exhibit of the Terracotta Warrior. To be honest for the cost felt very disappointed with the museum as a whole. The climate in most locations was humid and musty not a place to beat the heat on a warm day and the exhibit presentation was minimal and lacking. When considering the cost of other museums (Getty free/$25 parking and mission San Juan Capistrano $18) a $29 admission and $7 parking it's not worth the cost.

This is a great museum. Went to see the Terra Cotta warriors. I would have given it 5 stars if it wasn't for the parking. Parking use to be free. Now it's something like $6 dollars. There's no sign with the cost. An attendant tells you how much it is and tells you to scan the board to pay. For that cost he should valet park the car. That's kinda high especially when you're only in the museum for 2 hours or less. Would be worth it if you're having lunch at the museum and they would validate for parking. There is street metered parking which is less.

Visited recently for the Terra cotta warriors exhibit. Our favorites were this exhibit and the Polynesia exhibit. It's been a while since I've visited but I remember parking was free then. It's $7 now so you can park down the street and take a short walk. We were surprised by the much higher entry fee for the Terra cotta warriors exhibit. Can you clearly show this on the landing page of your web site? I was prepared to pay $12 but it was much more.

I love the Bowers my family have been members for many years. But visiting the terracotta soldier exhibit had us miss the old curator Mr Keller. The last time the terracotta soldiers were at the Bowers the exhibit was a wonderful excellently curated exhibition. The present exhibit is a joke. A few soldiers behind glass, some interesting but not overly important trinkets and banal at best interactive scenes. Bowers was very lucky to have the tenure of Mr Keller and hopefully there will be a day a curator up for the job will be at Bowers again.

Lovely cafe' and courtyard! A very nice, small venue! Has several events that are held at the venue. Check their website. If you are a Senior, ask about special prices.

The Bowers has some interesting Asian exhibits like the Chinese terra cotta warriors. While the terra cotta warriors are interesting in and of themselves we found the history of the first emperor and artifacts really fascinating.

I visited this museum on free museum day (normal admission $18). It was really worth the trip. The museum has many interesting artifacts mainly from Asia. It has a large collection from China but also from other Southeast Asian countries plus items from South America, New Zealand and Australia. There is one room dedicated entirely to silver ornaments. All these exhibits are on the main floor. The 2nd floor galleries displayed mainly paintings. There is a gift shop with plenty of replicas of museum items and special book collections for various categories of the museum exhibits. An outdoor garden with stone sculptures is right next to the museum entrance. Too bad it was raining hard the day I was there and I didn't get to enjoy that part of the museum. I highly recommend this museum for both young and old. You can easily spent 2-3 hours looking at varies exhibits and learn something at the same time. There is a restaurant inside the museum in case you need refueling. Convenient parking in a lot next to the museum only cost $6.00!