Museum of Ventura County — Hot Fun in the Summertime

by Community Contributor • August 8, 2023 • Comments Off

COMMUNITY EVENTS

Honey Bee Day

Saturday, August 19

11:00 am – 2:00 pm

@Agriculture Museum

926 Railroad Ave., Santa Paula

Join us to celebrate Honey Bee Day! This family-friendly event offers an interactive bee demo, beeswax products for sale, honey tasting, crafts, story time, artist demo, pollinator class by UC Master Gardeners of Ventura County, and more. Buzz by and learn how to help protect these invaluable, tiny friends. Limited space, register for free HERE.

Exhibit Spotlight: Ventura County Land Use Panel Discussion

Thursday, August 24

6:00 pm – 7:30 pm

@Museum of Ventura County

100 E. Main St., Ventura

In connection to the contentious issues highlighted in our new exhibit, The Murder of Tom More: A True Crime Story, MVC will host a panel discussion on past and current land use in Ventura County. Moderated by Maureen McGuire, CEO of the Farm Bureau of Ventura County, representatives from agriculture, economic development, land conservation, and the Chumash will discuss the past, present, and future of Ventura County’s land. Register for free HERE.

Playdate in the Children’s Garden

Thursday, August 31

2:00 pm – 4:00 pm

@Museum of Ventura County

100 E. Main St., Ventura

Join the Ventura Fish and Wildlife Office for an afternoon learning about pollinators and the life cycle of a monarch butterfly! We will learn about different native plants and how they benefit pollinators, and take home some native seeds to plant at home to help pollinators thrive! Elementary school children of all ages welcome. Free admission, no registration needed. Parent supervision is required.

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MVC NEWS & ANNOUNCEMENTS

Have an Older Working TV?

Donate it to MVC

The Museum is in need of TWENTY-FIVE TELEVISIONS for our upcoming exhibit titled, Ventura County, The Place We Call Home.

If, by any chance, you are teetering on the precipice of a new television purchase, consider donating your old one with us. TV’s must have fully functioning screens, though surface cosmetic damage is fine. Other requirements are: minimum resolution of 1080p (4K preferred), HDMI port, two USB ports preferred, and remote control preferred. Please send us a note HERE if you have a donation. Thank you so much!

Your Photos Could be in MVC’s Newest Exhibit!

The upcoming exhibit: Ventura County, The Place We Call Home will open October 21 at the Agriculture Museum in Santa Paula. The exhibit will be a multimedia experience and we invite you to be part of its creation.

What you can do: choose a few photos that depict what home means to you and submit them to VC150 Memories using THIS FORM.

*not all photos will be used in the upcoming exhibition

NHPRC Grant Completion

New Digital Exhibit

The Museum of Ventura County is delighted to announce the successful completion of a grant project dedicated to cataloging and digitizing the Martin and Associates Civil Engineering Collection.

Thanks to a $95,000 grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission, a part of the National Archives, the museum has cataloged an impressive 413 cubic feet of materials, including maps, drawings, and other valuable documents. In addition, the project has resulted in the digitization of 1,000 pages of maps and drawings, making them easily accessible to the public.

Thanks to the Museum of Ventura County’s dedicated efforts, the Martin and Associates Civil Engineering Collection is now readily available to researchers, history enthusiasts, and anyone interested in exploring the rich history of civil engineering in Ventura County. The comprehensive finding aid for this collection is now accessible on the Online Archive of California, ensuring widespread discoverability and facilitating scholarly research. View the exhibit HERE.

150th CELEBRATION ANNOUNCEMENTS

Save the Dates!

October 21, 2023 – The History of Ventura County 150th Anniversary Exhibit Opening at the Agriculture Museum

October 21, 2023 – Mountains to Sea Jubilee – Family Fair and Music Festival at the Agriculture Museum

November 2, 2023 – 150th State of the County at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library

Online Games & Interactives Introduced Monthly

Pop-Up Festivals: Strathearn Historical Park on Sept. 16 • Port Hueneme Banana Festival on Sept. 30 • Thousand Oaks Performing Arts Center on Nov. 11

There is much more to be planned – stay tuned!

Click to view 150th event flyers in SPANISH and ENGLISH.

Exhibits

MUSEUM OF VENTURA COUNTY

Proximity to Water: Works from MVC’s Permanent Collection

Just in time for summer, come be inspired by the ever-changing coast captured by our regional artists.

From plein air painting to photography, the mutable coast provides an endless supply of inspiration. Art helps us admire, respect, and revere our region, reminding us of our own place in the natural world. Proximity means a closeness in space, time, or relationship. These artworks from the Museum’s permanent collection bring us closer to the water, both visually and in feeling.

This exhibit is made possible by the Esther and Thomas Wachtell Family Fund, the Paul and Anne Leavens Family Fund and the Bonita C. McFarland Fund

Spin Cycle: Unfolding the

Science of Laundry

Everybody’s clothes get dirty, so we all must deal with the dreaded laundry. Through the years people have tried different ways to clean their clothes, and now we have the science to explain why some of those methods actually work!

Using 19th and early 20th century laundry items from MVC’s historical collection, visitors will learn about the “how” and “who” behind everyone’s least favorite chore. Let’s explore how our everyday world works together.

This exhibit is made possible by the

Ventura County Credit Union

The Murder of Tom More:

A True Crime Story

In the early hours of March 24th 1877, a mob of angry settlers set fire to Thomas More’s barn and shot him at least 10 times. Motivated by a passionate battle over land ownership and water rights turned deadly, news of his murder rippled through California.

Amid the rubble of lies, perjuries, briberies, and omissions in the historical record, there are puzzles regarding his death that remain forever unsolved. His story stands today as a warning about the strong emotions unleashed over our limited natural resources.

This exhibit is made possible by

the John Hammer Family

Exhibits

AGRICULTURE MUSEUM

Exhibits From the

Smithsonian Gardens:

Pollination Investigation –

The Essential Role of Pollinators in the Natural World

Nearly 90% of flowering plants rely on approximately 200,000 species of pollinators for fertilization. Explore the essential role pollinators play in the natural world in the Smithsonian poster exhibition, Pollination Investigation.

Through “pollinator profiles” visitors can learn about different pollinators—from butterflies and hummingbirds to bats and the wind—and their favorite flowers based on floral characteristics like flower shape, color, scent, and more. The set of 14 posters is bilingual (Spanish and English) and designed to educate and inspire people to explore the natural world looking at flowers and insects. Learn more HERE.

Tomols to Trains:

County Transportation

through the 1900s

Tomols to Trains explores how transportation played a role in Ventura County’s history. Visit the communities that struggled with the changes brought about by new modes of transportation.

See how towns and cities changed, how suburbs grew, and how our farms became part of our economies. Learn more HERE.

Made possible by the

Heritage Fund at VCCF

The Farm to Market Children’s Hands-On Exhibit

An interactive exhibit promoting healthy lifestyles through role-play, the Ag Market is an immersive environment where children and families identify healthy food choices in a fun, market-like atmosphere.

Learn more about what the Agriculture Museum has to offer HERE.

Special thanks to

Santa Paula’s former mayor, Carlos Juarez for volunteering his time and

talent in building our fun-filled market

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Explore More Exclusive

MVC ONLINE CONTENT

In honor of the August 19

2023 Ventura County Pride Festival, get to know your local trans icon and trailblazer Lucy Hicks Anderson! Watch former MVC Library intern tell the story HERE.

Only a year younger than Ventura County, The Ventura County Fair began in 1874 and is still thrilling residents 149 years later. Check out a few historical digitized photosof this annual event!

Engage with us on social media, where you’ll find our latest news and incredible artifacts, reels, and art from our collections! Also – @museumofventuracountyFB, TikTok, Twitter

MVC RECOMMENDS

Free Webinar

George Meléndez Wright: The Fight for Wildlife and Wilderness in the National Parks

Tuesday August 22, 2023 5:30 pm PST

In this free webinar, conservationist and writer Jerry Emory discusses his recently published biography “George Meléndez Wright: The Fight for Wildlife and Wilderness in the National Parks.” Twenty-three-year-old George Meléndez Wright arrived in Yosemite National Park in 1927 to work as a ranger naturalist. He went on to become a visionary biologist who brought new ideas to his role at the National Park Service (NPS), organizing the first science-based wildlife survey of the western parks, and forever changing how the agency would manage public lands and natural resources. Register for this event HERE.