FANHS Museum

Filipino American National Historical Society, in case you were wondering like I was. Didn't know this place existed, until we were lunching next door at Papa Urbs, and strolled past the unassuming dark windows. They did have a sandwich board outside advertising that they were here and they were open. A nice older lady opened the door (we were still standing around in front deciding if we should go in) and motioned for us to come in. "Welcome!!!" She informed us that they had their opening ceremony in October last year. It's a small space, but filled with lots of wall panels and pictures depicting the life of Filipino immigrants living in California's Central Valley and beyond. There was a nice exhibit of Filipino bikers, which somehow blew my mind. People don't usually associate a motorcycle club with Filipinos ("Sons of Adobo"???). Just kidding, it's real, interesting and was put together by the founding father, "Manong Ernie." One of the docents (museum is 100% volunteer-ran) came out and gave us a presentation of the museum itself and a little history lesson of the Stockton Filipino community. It was nice to have stumbled onto this literal hidden gem in the heart of downtown Stockton. Stop by and learn about Filipino culture and history. It's not all lumpia and pancit!

This is a small museum about Filipino American history. First off, the museum is entirely volunteer-run and the staff there are incredibly warm and welcoming. The museum is small, very clean, and filled with information. Most of the exhibits are panels of information about Filipino American history, mainly in California. The exhibits are very text-heavy, so its intended audience must have a lot of patience. I learned about Filipino-American migration, the types of jobs Filipino immigrants did, and the role of Filipino-Americans in WWII. They had some traditional outfits on display as well. They sell some cool merchandise and books as well. Overall, this museum is awesome because of the niche type of information that would be hard to find anywhere else. The people running it are super friendly. Note: this is not really a kid-friendly type of museum because it is mostly text-based and not very interactive.