A Most Unusual Museum – Visiting the Museum of Jurassic Technology

Hmmm….how to describe The Museum of Jurassic Technology? Umm…well…as my grandma used to say “it’s kooky.”

Having a very unassuming facade it’s easy to miss when driving down busy Venice Blvd. in Culver City.

In fact, when I first pulled up I thought it was closed. Sure there were a lot of people standing outside but they were all waiting for the bus (which happens to stop right in front of the museum’s door). And all the street parking was full so I decided to find their lot. Turns out they don’t have one. Hmmm.

Since there was no parking I decided to go grab some eats instead. Sitting, eating my ice cream sandwich (betcha thought I meant something more wholesome when I said “eats”) I thought “Yelp says they’re open. Let me give it another try.”So I drove back to Venice Blvd. The bus had come and now there was no one in front but there was a free meter a few feet away. I parked, walked to the door and…IT OPENED! The museum was indeed open. And to my even greater surprise, pretty crowded (I have NO idea where everyone parked).

I paid my $5 entry fee and walked into one of the most unusual exhibitions I have ever seen.

First of all, it was dim – very dim. And no flash photos were allowed so I don’t really have any interior pics to share. This is the best one I could muster –

And as you can see it’s pretty crappy. It’s actually of an exhibit about the Hungarian opera singer Madalena Delani. Never heard of her? Neither had I. Other exhibits included a portrait gallery of Soviet space dogs, a collection of trailer park treasures, microscopic mosaics made out of butterfly wings (really beautiful), sculptures made in the eye of a needle, and a whole room devoted to superstitions. Kooky, right?

But, as odd as it was, it was very interesting. It was clear that the museum is no joke and is simply devoted to the unusualities (I think I just coined a new word) in life. And although it appeared small from the outside, it was surprisingly large inside. I spent over an hour wandering around.

Oh, and I did find a lovely terrace on the roof where I could take a few pics.