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13 Museums to Explore on the Peninsula

If you're craving culture but don't want to brave the parking nightmare and expense of San Francisco--check out these museums on the Peninsula.

 

Belmont Historical Society Museum

Located in the historic Mansion Building in Twin Pines Park, the museum has limited hours. Call (650) 595-7441 or go to www.belmont.gov for information.

Burlingame Museum of Pez Memorabilia and Classic Toy Museum

A museum dedicated to the history of Pez candy dispensers and timeless and favorite toys. Colorful exhibits feature toys of the past 50 years including Tinker Toys, Erector Sets, Lincoln Logs, Mr. Potato Head, View-Masters and Colorforms. There are 280 Pez candy dispensers from the 1950s to the present on display. An interactive exhibit explores Pez in the media and as a pop culture icon.

$1-$3; free children ages 3 and under. Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-6
p.m. 214 California Drive, Burlingame. (650) 347-2301,
www.burlingamepezmuseum.com.


Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University

The center's permanent collection spans ancient to contemporary art with important holdings of ancient Greek, Roman and Egyptian arts and artifacts; arts of Africa, Asia, Europe, Oceania and Native America; European and American paintings, drawings, prints and sculpture; and an outstanding collection of Rodin sculptures.

Free. Open Wednesday and Friday-Sunday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.; Thursday, 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Palm Drive and Museum Way, Stanford University. (650) 723-4177, www.stanford.edu/dept/SUMA.

For docent-led tours, call  (650) 725-8352.
          
Coastal Arts League Museum (ongoing)

The museum showcases the work of coast-side and San Francisco Bay Area artists and art groups.

Free. Thursday-Monday, noon-6 p.m. 300 Main St., Suites 3 and 6,
Half Moon Bay. (650) 726-6335, www.coastalartsleague.com.

Computer History Museum

The museum's permanent collection houses thousands of artifacts from the early days of computing.

Ongoing exhibit: "Mastering the Game: A History of Computer Chess,'' ongoing. A 1,000-squarefoot exhibit detailing the theoretical foundations developed by
computer pioneers such as Alan Turing and Claude Shannon; the development of PC chess software; and the story of IBM's chess playing supercomputer Deep
Blue. Visitors will also be able to explore important software.

Free; photo ID required. Open for public tours Wednesday, 1:30 p.m.; Friday, 1 p.m.; first and third Saturday, 1 and 2 p.m. 1401 N. Shoreline Blvd., Mountain View. (650) 810-1010, www.computerhistory.org.

Curiodyssey

CuriOdyssey, formerly The Coyote Point Museum for Environmental Education, was founded in 1954, and welcomes more than 80,000visitors every year with a variety of hands-on programs, science exhibits, wildlife encounters, gardens and more.

$4-$8; children under 2 free. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue.-Sat.; noon-5
p.m. Sun. 1651 Coyote Point Dr., San Mateo. (650) 342-7755,
www.CuriOdyssey.org.

Hiller Aviation Museum

This museum covers the history of airplanes in Northern California from an 1869 unmanned plane to today's jets and also looks ahead to possible future designs. The museum features full-sized models, a restoration shop where new museum acquisitions are being repaired and preserved for later display, hands-on displays, and an aviation library.
          
$6-$9; free children ages 4 and under, with a paid adult. Daily,
10 a.m.-5 p.m. San Carlos Airport, 601 Skyway Road, San Carlos. (650)
654-0200, www.hiller.org.

Moffett Field Museum

The museum is dedicated to planes and other memorabilia of the military and its history at Moffett Field. The museum consists of a series of rooms
designed to display artifacts, memorabilia, photographs, and model aircraft.
There are five display areas and a large library.         

Free; photo ID required to visit. Wednesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Moffett Field, Building 126, Moffett Boulevard, off state Highway 101,
Mountain View. (650) 603-9827, www.moffettfieldmuseum.org.


Museum of American Heritage

The museum, located in the historic Williams House, preserves and presents the evolution of American invention and technology by collecting, conserving and exhibiting the electrical and mechanical devices developed over the last two centuries.

Free. Friday-Sunday, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. 351 Homer Ave., Palo Alto.
(650) 321-1004, www.moah.org.

Palo Alto Junior Museum and Zoo

At this museum and zoo, children are encouraged to think, create and play.

Free; donations accepted. Museum and Zoo: Tuesday-Saturday, 10
a.m.-5 p.m.; Sunday, 1-4 p.m. 1451 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto. (650)
329-2111.

Peninsula Museum of Art

A regional art museum focusing on artists from the Peninsula and San Francisco area that redefine art. It is housed in the Twin Pines Art Center. The Art Reference Library holds a collection of art historical surveys and books on well-known artists as well as special collections on women artists, Asian art, the business of art, and instruction books for studio artists. Library is for on-site reading only. (Monday through Wednesday and Friday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.; Sunday, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.)

Free. Wednesday-Friday, noon-4 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 1 p.m.-4
p.m. 10 Twin Pines Lane, Belmont. (650) 654-4068, www.peninsulamuseum.org.

San Carlos History Museum

533 Laurel St., San Carlos. (650) 802-4354.

San Mateo County History Museum

"Honoring Steve Jobs,'' ongoing. A new addition to the museum's
permanent exhibits honors the late Steve Jobs with displays featuring an
original 1988 NeXT computer, part of the company that Jobs founded in Redwood City when he left Apple in the 1980s for a time. A variety of other objects, including books, brochures and more are also on display.
          
$3-$5; free children ages 5 and under. Tuesday-Sunday, 10 a.m.-4
p.m. 2200 Broadway, Redwood City. (650) 299-0141, (650) 359-1462,
www.historysmc.org.

--Bay City News

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Jon DeLong May 18, 2013 at 06:45 pm
With so many good Mexican restaurants in the area, why bother?
Cid May 17, 2013 at 06:14 pm
I enjoy an occasional Taco Bell, but in the same shopping center as Happy Taco with far better,Read More authentic LOCAL Mexican food! Nah! I do enjoy the Combo locations that have KFC & TACO BELL. (Face it, Americans like to have choices!). With no drive-through, perhaps it will be better than the average suburban stores along the El Camino. As for another chain restaurant in Half Moon Bay...What did you expect? Demographics will continue to dictate that we can still expect to keep our "Fast-Food-Free-Zone" between Linda Mar and HMB while "City Councils or Planning Departments in the Cities will attract them....for their tax base.
Dee May 15, 2013 at 08:07 pm
Seriously? Taco Bell? Next to New Leaf? How did this happen? Not happy about this addition and notRead More looking forward to seeing Taco Bell trash all over the place. Not sure about KFC ... we already have a fast food chicken place at Popeyes so we certainly don't need another. The high school students will probably frequent Taco Bell the most and keep it in business but I will not be going there that's for sure.
Carol Wexler May 18, 2013 at 02:42 pm
I would consider volunteering at the California State Parks but dogs are not allowed and I wouldRead More need to bring my dog.
pae May 18, 2013 at 11:22 pm
Misha, I understand where you're coming from, but that's what we don't want to do. One reason thatRead More all dog owners are being discriminated against is those few who don't follow the rules. It doesn't matter that there are bicyclists and horseback riders who don't follow rules, they're "OK," it's the dog owners who pay the price. We want an area where our dogs can exercise freely and legally, where we won't be bothered by people who are afraid of dogs or dislike them, and where they're not at risk from horses who spook. For those of us who live surrounded by Rancho land especially, we don't want to have to drive miles to a small, fenced lot with crowds of others seeking to exercise their dogs in the same small area. We're paying for this open space with our tax dollars, and we want to have access to it. There's plenty of room for everyone.
Misha Flores May 17, 2013 at 09:35 am
To be honest I would probably just let my dog run around without a leash anyway, except there's soRead More much darned poison oak around these hills. I don't want her to get contaminated and then I hug her and trouble ensues.
Anne Martin May 16, 2013 at 04:29 pm
I don't own a dog now but empathize with the dog owners who have been deprived of the right toRead More allow their dogs to run free in the national recreation area that we as taxpayers own. As a taxpayer, I want to know the rationale for this policy. If it is to protect horses from being frightened by dogs what is the basis for that? How many horses use the open space? It appears that dozens of people who have been able to enjoy walking with their dogs in the open space adjoining their neighborhood are now being grossly inconvenienced because some faceless bureaucrats are creating rules that may have no basis in reality.