Five Very Interesting Museums in Oxnard and Camarillo

There are over 50 museums highlighted here on Conejo Valley Guide and each and every one of them has interesting features. Here are some additional highlights from a handful of these museums located in the Oxnard / Camarillo area.

The Mullin Automotive Museum is a 47,000 square foot amazingly pristine facility in Oxnard housing over 50 French art deco cars from the 1930s and 1940s. Mullin is open to the public only a few times a month. You will be awestruck by some of the most beautiful cars you've ever seen!

Unfortunately, on January 17, 2024, the Mullin Automotive Museum announced it will be closing its doors on Saturday, February 10th, in light of the passing of Peter Mullin in September 2023. More information at THIS LINK.

The Western Foundation of Vertebrate Zoology, known as the Camarillo Bird Museum, is a 22,000 square foot facility in a Camarillo industrial park that contains one of the largest collections of bird, bird egg and bird nest specimens in the entire world. It is open to the public only about 10 times a year.

(The Woolworth Museum items are still here, but access to the public is generally not available)

There is a vintage 1950 Woolworth building in Downtown Oxnard that has been redeveloped and now houses a restaurant and office space. But the 1st floor lobby of this 16,800 sq ft building contains a very small museum chock full of Woolworth nostalgia. This Woolworth Museum isn't large and fancy but will certainly bring back memories for you geezers out there. There is no charge to enter.

For World War II Air Force history, memorabilia and functioning aircraft, visit the Commemorative Air Force Aviation Museum located at the Camarillo Airport.  You will be treated to detailed information and history led by knowledgeable docents. You may also have an opportunity to step outside to see the aircraft directly adjacent to the runway. 

Located at the Channel Islands Harbor, the Channel Islands Maritime Museum is home to a large collection of maritime art, models and historical items. If you or your kids enjoy model ships, you will not find a better place to go than here. And the well-trained docents will be sure to impart information that is quite interesting.

Since the Woolworth Museum noted above appears to be closed, a nice addition to this list is the Pleasant Valley Historical Society Museum and Botanical Garden on Las Posas Road in Camarillo. Open only on weekends from noon to 4pm, the museum displays an assortment of vintage items and curios from the local area going back to the turn of the 20th century.

The Seabee Museum at Naval Base Ventura County in Port Hueneme is a Local Must-See

The U.S. Navy Seabee Museum at 1001 Addor Street, Port Hueneme is a state-of-the-art, free of charge must-see for local residents and visitors alike. One of the U.S. Navy's 11 official museums, the Seabee Museum displays historical material relating to the history of the Naval Construction Force, better known as the Seabees, and the U.S. Navy Civil Engineer Corps.

The 38,000 sq ft museum was recently renovated and features modern exhibit spaces, memorial garden, theater, education room and well-stocked gift shop. Well worth a visit with the kids. Additionally, the STEM Center at the Museum is a hidden gem!

The second oldest of the official Navy museums, the Seabee Museum was established in 1947 in Port Hueneme, which today is part of Naval Base Ventura County.

The museum is open Monday to Saturday from 9 am to 4 pm. Closed Sundays and all Federal holidays. Admission and parking are free. Learn more at www.usnavyseabeemuseum.com or call 805.982.5165.

Blue Star Museums Program Free Admission to Active Duty Military at 1,800+ Museums

Blue Star Museums is a collaboration among the National Endowment for the Arts, Blue Star Families, the Department of Defense, and more than 2,000 museums across America to offer free admission to all active duty military personnel and their families from Memorial Day through Labor Day each year.

Free admission is available to any bearer of a Geneva Convention common access card (CAC), a DD Form 1173 ID card, or a DD Form 1173-1 ID card, which includes active duty U.S. military  - Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, as well as members of the National Guard and Reserve, U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, NOAA Commissioned Corps - and up to five family members.

Local area museums in Ventura County, Santa Barbara and nearby areas that are participating

• Carnegie Art Museum in Oxnard
• Santa Barbara Botanic Garden
• Santa Barbara Museum of Art
• Museum of Ventura County in Ventura

For a complete list of museums participating in the Blue Star Museums program, visit www.arts.gov/national/blue-star-museums.

Vintage Sign From The Lang Ranch on Display at Chumash Indian Museum in Thousand Oaks

Lang Ranch gate photo by Herb Noseworthy, 1967. (From the Thousand Oaks Library Special Collections "Conejo Through the Lens" collection.)

The nearly 2,600 acre Lang Ranch in the northeast section of Thousand Oaks was annexed into the city in 1968.  It is now home to open space, plenty of homes and the Chumash Indian Museum.

The Lang Ranch sign seen in the photo from approximately 1967 shown above is on display at the museum. 

The museum is open Saturdays from 10am to 4pm. Admission price as of August 2017 is $5.00 for adults, $3.00 for seniors 65+ and children under 12. There is no charge to walk the trails in the park.

Titanic Exhibit at the Reagan Library May 27, 2017 to January 7, 2018

Original deck chair from the Titanic

Titanic at the Reagan Library is a fascinating look at Titanic, combining real artifacts with the real stories of the people on board the ill-fated ship. This new exhibit tells the story of the unsinkable ship in a way no museum has done before. Artifacts from passengers, dispersed over time, will be reunited in this exhibit for the first time in over 100 years.

This brand-new 10,000 square foot exhibition, reuniting hundreds of Titanic artifacts that have not been together since the ship’s fateful night in 1912 with material and artifacts from the 1984-1985 discovery of the Titanic as well as with items from the 1997 movie, is a first-of-its-kind exhibition not seen anywhere else before. The exhibition was made possible through the generous support and assistance of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Cedar Bay Entertainment, parent company of The Titanic Museums of Pigeon Forge, TN and Branson, MO, and Lightstorm Entertainment/20th Century Fox.

Found in 1985 during President Reagan’s administration, the Titanic quickly became a dive site for many different companies and explorers trying to get a piece of her history.  To protect the historic site and preserve it for generations, President Reagan issued the 1986 RMS Titanic Memorial Act to designate the wreck as an international maritime memorial.

None of the artifacts displayed in this exhibition were salvaged from the wreck itself – a sacred final resting place.

A historic collection of real artifacts from the Titanic alongside items used in the discovery of the famed ship, Titanic at the Reagan Library combines real stories and real artifacts from the real people onboard the ship. Dramatically set with props, sets and costumes from the blockbuster movie about the RMS Titanic, it is a must-see collaboration of secrets, cinema and artifacts!

Highlights include:

• “Alvin” – the titanium submersible sphere that brought Dr. Bob Ballard down to the wreckage of Titanic; the first such submersible to do so
• Sheet music for “Narcissus” which was found on the body of Wallace Hartley, the Titanic’s bandleader who refused to stop playing, even as the ship began to sink
• A deck chair from the Titanic, one of only eight known to exist, as well as the only known “widow’s seat” deck chair from the Carpathia
• The only known complete set of boarding documents and tickets from the Titanic
• John Jacob Astor IV’s pocket watch, found on his body days after the Titanic sank, and his wife’s life vest she wore to her safety
• The claim form from Margaret Brown (otherwise known as “The Unsinkable Molly Brown”) and the Egyptian Talisman she carried off the ship
• Marion Wright Woolcott’s wool coat; the one she wore when she escaped in lifeboat 9, then later wore to her wedding; then later cut strips of fabric from to make Bible covers for her three sons as they served overseas
• Pocket watch and pocket knife recovered from the body of Oscar Woody, one of the five mail clerks onboard the Royal Mail Ship (RMS) Titanic
• Original film footage of the Titanic’s maiden voyage and the Mackay-Bennett’s recovery mission
• Movie sets, props and costumes from the blockbuster movie about the RMS Titanic, including a full-size life boat and Rose and Cal’s Suite
• And so much more

This is not a traveling exhibition.  To see the story of the Titanic told in such a unique way, visitors must come to the Reagan Library.  Whether you are a fan of genuine history or larger-than-life Hollywood, this is truly an once-in-a-lifetime exhibition that sheds light on the Titanic in a first-ever way no museum has attempted before!

Learn more at www.reaganfoundation.org.

The IKEA Museum Opened in Älmhult, Sweden in June 2016

Overview IKEA Museum. © Inter IKEA Systems B.V. 2016

As noted at this link, IKEA will be relocating early next month from its existing location in Burbank to a new location nearby that is nearly double the size.

There was a massive outpouring of excitement about this new store on the CVG Facebook Page and several folks hoped that the new store could perhaps travel 35 miles west to Thousand Oaks or Camarillo. IKEA does not share its expansion plans but with only 43 stores in the entire U.S. and the new Burbank store occupying the largest footprint of any U.S. store, I would venture to bet that we will not be seeing an IKEA store in nearby Ventura County for the foreseeable future.

IKEA was founded in Sweden in 1943 by 17 year old Ingvar Kamprad, who named the company after his initials, Elmtaryd (the farm he grew up on) and Agunnaryd (his hometown in southern Sweden). Kamprad turned 90 in 2016.

Now, for IKEA fans planning to be visiting Scandinavia in the future, you'll have to check out the IKEA Museum.

Opened in June 2016 this 75,000 sq ft museum is located in the original building that housed the very first IKEA store in Älmhult, Sweden in 1958. The museum features a main exhibition in three parts, a temporary exhibition, a gift shop and a restaurant.

IKEA Museum tells the story of IKEA and how an entrepreneur from the southern parts of Sweden, the province of Småland, together with his co-workers decided to create “a better everyday life for the many people."

Visitors are invited to explore the driving forces in society that shaped IKEA, the people behind it, the ideas and inspiration for the products – but also what IKEA may be tomorrow.

Learn more about the IKEA Museum at ikeamuseum.com/en.

Mosaic of smaller portraits of IKEA co-workers. © Inter IKEA Systems B.V. 2016

California Museum of Art Thousand Oaks Operations Center Located Next to Civic Arts Plaza

NOTE: CMATO moved to a new location at The Oaks mall in Thousand Oaks in November 2018.

The California Museum of Art Thousand Oaks (CMATO) will provide a world-class cultural experience for visitors and locals alike. Artists, educators, lovers of art, tourists, students and the general public will appreciate the world-class exhibitions of paintings, sculpture, photography, music, drama and dance. CMATO will be located at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza west of City Hall and the Performing Arts Center.

Earlier in 2015, CMATO moved into 1948 Thousand Oaks Boulevard, an interim museum space in what was formerly a Taco Bell location (and more recently a wine store).  The space is being remodeled to create a small multi-purpose gallery in the front portion of the building and office space area in the back. 

The space will provide a place to plan and gain support for the permanent CMATO, which over the next three to five years is in pre-construction phase of development.

CMATO is constantly seeking new members and donors to as they work towards bringing a world-class art venue to the Conejo Valley and the entire region. To learn more, visit www.cmato.org.