Maturango Museum Of Indian Wells Valley

Packed full of interesting exhibits and extensive info on nearby petroglyphs, this small museum recently enlarged its gift shop. Other new additions include a garden area as well as a sculpture garden. During the Petroglyph festival this November, an arrowhead maker was on hand. The museum also sponsors docent led hikes on China Lake Naval base to see an extensive collection of ancient petroglyphs spread along Little petroglyph trail, 1.5 miles of non stop native American rock art down a dry creek bed. You need to be in pretty good shape to manage the rocky trail and go through a fairly extensive security check to gain access and early sign up is required, but we all agreed the hike was worth it. The docents at the museum are very helpful and run a movie on the petroglyphs on request.

Staying in Ridgecrest to hit up Death Valley but also wanted to see some things around the town. We stopped by this cute little museum and its a nice little spot to walk around. The reason why im giving 5 stars is because the beautiful ladies working there were so helpful! Nora provided maps around the area and up to Death Valley, she also made some awesome recommendations for other stops along our way! Really helpful, we appreciate all the suggestions and good atmospheres!

The employees and volunteers here are awesome.On my first visit, I came for the tourist information. They were eager to help and loaded me up with all sorts of information about Death Valley and beyond. They suggested that the Rademacher Hills Trail would be a good, quick visit for someone new to town.I happened to be there the day before there was a guided trip with a naturalist to Death Valley. This was awesome because I wanted to visit the area and having someone who had scientific knowledge was as important as someone who knew the better places on the map. $30 for this trip (cheaper for members) was inexpensive, although it did not include admissions and passes.A couple of days later, I actually visited the museum for the museum, and they have quite a variety of artifacts and informative displays about minerals, the naval base, and the origins of people in the area. I got my second senior discount ever, which was both pleasant and unnerving.If you look at the old stove out in the yard, you'll think "who would ever use that?" When I had moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1988, I was looking for an apartment and someone had converted the upstairs of their house to an apartment. There was one of those stoves, apparently from the 1930s.

The museum was incredibly small. Offering only a few stuffed animal displays and signs about the region's geology. The last thing I want to do on a road trip is read. Still, there are a ton of fun brochures next to the entrance and because this seems to be the only thing to do in Ridgecrest, it is worth having a look.

It's a quaint museum that tells you about the geologic, biologic, and military history of the area. There are two exhibit rooms. The first is a gallery of paintings by local artists, and the second is your standard museum floor with rocks, taxidermied animals, prehistoric animal bones, photos and articles, Native American artifacts, a video on the mining industry, and a section on the nearby weapons base with a Sidewinder missile on display. A portion of that latter room is a children's play area with boxes of things to touch and a wall of yellowed optical illusion posters. The displays are rather dated, but you have to keep in mind that it's a small town and a small museum. From the looks of the outside, they may be adding on to it in the back, as there's a new foundation laid over there. I think the most tragic thing about the museum is the rather poorly taxidermied mountain lion resting on the center console -- head shrunk, plastic eyes bugging out. Several of the stuffed animals on display look a bit ratty, which is probably due to age. Anyway, a rack of photocopied handouts of hikes and local attractions is available near the entrance to that second room. Take what you will, but leave them some change to offset printing costs. There are brochures and pamphlets for other sights on the way out. It costs $5 for adults and $3 for students/seniors to get into this museum, but it seems to be on the honor system, with what looks like a donations box on the way into that art gallery. Outside there's a few things to see: rusted mining equipment, plants labeled with their names and uses, some artwork inspired by Native American symbols, and a tufa rock labyrinth meant to stimulate meditation as one slowly walks through it.

This is a nice little museum in Ridgecrest. It is a visitor center for the high desert and a museum with history of the Mojave Desert. They are inexpensive and have some free days as well as children's free days

The scenario: 2 angry toddlers, 2 agonizing hours in stopped traffic, 110 degree heat ... MUST FIND SOMETHING FUN TO DO BEFORE WE EXPLODE! Luckily for me, I was just passing Ridgecrest and my yelp app steered me right to the Maturango Museum. It's easy to find, directly on the main drag in Ridegcrest, and it's air conditioned! There's several interesting (and very Instagram worthy) exhibits out front of the museum including an old timey bell for the kids to ring, a rock maze, and a built-to-scale solar system. I'm sure I would have enjoyed these things more if it wasn't 110 out that day, but I digress ...There's a $5 fee to enter the museum and it's rather small, just 1 long room actually, and though it's filled with some interesting stuff, I think $5 is way too much. The long room features a sh*t ton of scary taxidermy, my favorite being the bloodied vulture on the birds of pray wall, and a bunch of ancient arrowheads/artifacts that were found in the area. There's also a pretty extensive kids play area for the little ones to get their wiggles out. The gift shop has some neat stuff and is almost as much fun as the museum. Overall this is a great road trip stop, but the $5 fee makes it less appealing.

The Coso petroglyph tour was phenomenal. I first saw photos of the area 8 years ago, have been eager to sign up for the tour but was never good at 3-6 months advance planning necessary for this outing until this year. Early 6:30am meeting brings out pretty hardcore fans, many have had prior experience seeing petroglyphs. I don't think words can adequately describe the experience, so I'll provide the link to give you a preview:https://maturango.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/RockArt2016SpecialLectures.pdfFrom monthly lecture by the museum resident archeologist Sandy, compliments the tour perfectly.

Great Place. Full of Surprises.What a fascinating place to stop. The museum is small but well tended. It tries to cover a lot but everything it does it does pretty well.The people there were wonderful and full of ideas. A visit to this museum extended our stay a bit while we visited some of the places recommended by locals. It was an inexpensive town to stay in as well. We took the Coso Petrogylph Tour using their guides and once again it was a great experience. Special shout out to Craig. If you have a little extra time see if they are having tours to the greatest collection of First Peoples art in the Western Hemisphere. You need to reserve this and get a pass to go on the China Lake Naval Weapons Station but it was a once in a lifetime visit. Perhaps not the Smithsonian but it is as good as it gets. Go when it is cool.

Great place to stop with the kids if you're passing through. My family stopped here to stretch our legs during a road trip. My kids (4 and 8) enjoyed the little museum. They have a small kids area where they can touch everything. The exhibits are interesting inside the museum, but I enjoyed the exhibits outside the museum more. It was hot and sunny, so make sure to bring a hat and water. Outside the museum they have a rock maze in the dirt. There is also a sun dial and a large bell to ring. Adults are $5 and kids are free.