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July 2024 by Richard Chau Nguyen
My wife and I from VN and come hera in an autum day. The museum very nice and shows almost history about native people. So many things of they life, stone, art. Let's come and ẹnoy
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July 2024 by Linda Bentley (The Packed Bag)
EXPANSIVE AND IMPRESSIVE COLLECTIONS
Opening in 1936, it was devoted solely to the history of Orange County. After a six-times expansion in 1992, it’s been voted ‘Best Museum’ in Orange County for the past 30 years. Another expansion in 2007 added 2787m2 (30,000 sqft) allowing for nine permanent collection exhibitions and rotating exhibition spaces, thus becoming the largest museum in the OC.
I had a truly edifying time walking through, finding a Han Dynasty Tomb Warrior, South Pacific headhunters masks, a beautifully preserved coffered ceiling from a long-gone Spanish Mission and superb paintings depicting the county’s bounty.
There’s much more to see, all beautifully laid out inside this vast Mission Revival compound. It’s also an event space, where celebrations and weddings are a common sight.
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July 2024 by sofia avelino
31 years in Santa Ana, and it was my first time going. I was really excited for this trip. We went for the manga/anime exhibition. It was beautifully done! They had a lot of history to go with it.
The museum had other exhibits, from oil paintings, to historical artifacts The museum isn't super huge, however we did spend a good amount of time there. I would have loved spending more time, however, we had two little ones that were done for the day.
Very affordable trip too, and parking is 6 bucks flat rate. We did pay in person, however if you are a Santa Ana resident there are discounts.
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June 2024 by Chris Huezo
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.
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June 2024 by Augusta Forbes
One of the standout features of the Bowers Museum is its dedication to showcasing both permanent collections and rotating special exhibitions. During my visit, I was particularly captivated by the "Spirits and Headhunters: Art of the Pacific Islands" exhibit. The intricate carvings and fascinating artifacts provided a deep dive into the rich traditions of the Pacific Islander cultures.
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June 2024 by Teo
Beautiful music festival. Gorgeous courtyard. Nice inside museum
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June 2024 by Francis Lowe
Nestled in a beautiful setting, the museum's architecture itself is a sight to behold, blending modern elements with a touch of tradition.
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May 2024 by Melissa Gladstone
The Pacific Islander exhibit is really cool and if you're a fan of Manga or Anime, I would definitely check out the Asian comics exhibit. There's an 18+ section & it's hilarious. So weird! If you ask for a tour, they will give you the full explanation of the history of manga/anime coming to America. It's really cool.
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May 2024 by Richard
I really like this place. They had a great Cinco de Mayo experience.
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April 2024 by Marlene Leon
It is so beautiful, interesting, and cultural
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April 2024 by Maggie Sun
I was lucky enough to visit the Bowers Museum today ~ I was at a comic exhibition ~ I didn’t expect to see the comics I read when I was a kid, such as "Astro Boy", "Journey to the West", "Doraemon", etc. ? There are also natural mineral powders made in Nepal The various paintings have impressed me deeply! I feel that cultures from all over the world are deeply understood by the United States. Indeed, the United States is a tolerant country. Whether it is people from different countries or cultures from different regions, it is great!
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April 2024 by Emma Palomino
First of all let me say from the outside its a very beautiful architecture . This big white building stands out ,the small garden outside with the fountain is manicured well kept peaceful and truly beautiful to look at . The museum itself is probably one of the smallest museum i ever visited compared to the ones in LA sqft wise . Its a few rooms and you walk through it pretty fast . Sadly for me the day i visited one part of the art was blocked by a private party so couldnt see a chunck of it , my enjoyment of the other rooms was quickly run by unruly kids screaming and running and mothers just laughing about it . This is a MUSEUM not a toddler playground. I went with a friend we and people around us were all wishpering trying to be considerate about others but it was impossible to hear anything with loud scream and feet thumping ecoing in the room. This kind of stuff wouldnt fly in LA but no one said anything in oc.nothing is being reinforced here it was a huge let down . Staff didnt care its really sad . A few people are ruining it for the majority in there . People go to museum for PEACE QUIET and educational prupose . Kind of hard to draw read debate or focus with hysterical kids running around. The second thing is 18$ + an extra 10$ for 1 room temporary expo / anime at the time i went) per person is kind of stiff.if you want to see everything thats almost 30$ per person for just 1 visit. I pay 20$ for parking ( not per person but per car) for the getty and get to see WAY MORE ! Art should be made more accessible. I understand this museum is non profit however by lowering the price people would be incline to come in more often ( it would benefit both people and the museum bringing more $$ in ) . Now for the art itself the chinese part with all the jewerly crown necklace and clothes was truly impressive . Same with the masks from the pacific island . The big red asian drum at the entrance was breath taking and surch a beautiful piece . So much craftmanship goes into it same with the dragon carving poles . The museum itself was clean well maintain and filled with beautiful art from other part of the word . While it is a beautiful museum with stunning and fascinating i probably wouldnt go back since i like to appreciate my art in peace . I will stick to LA ones instead .
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March 2024 by Andy Rodriguez Photography
I had the pleasure of capturing a wedding recently at Bowers Museum and absolutely loved this wedding venue. The location offers so many beautiful backdrops for your wedding photos and the staff was awesome.
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March 2024 by Sai Shree Ram
It's probably a 2hr visit, they have a really good collection of all the artifacts displayed in one end. The other side has oil paintings for most of the part. A little expensive for a museum this small compared to others. The outside is free to visit with a well maintained lawn and seating area.
The gift shop is nice though :)
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February 2024 by cc
We went there for the lunar new year event. I’m sorry to say it was not organized well. I didn’t get to see any activities listed in the ad. Way too many people there. Can’t get to anywhere without being in line for long time. The museum staff looked like overwhelmed and stressed out so they are not as nice as others I encountered before. We can’t get out of there fast enough.
That being said it does look like a high quality museum I’m sure there are many to be explored.
I probably come back on free museum day. Parking is $6 flat rate. There might be some parking on the nearby street. (20th street I saw cars parking there. )
