The Museum of Jurassic Technology

I’m all about adventure and trying new things, but this museum didn’t really hit the mark for me. I knew it would be weird and had a lot of warning that it wasn’t any typical museum, but I wanted to check it out anyways.
It’s a dimly lit museum with the most RANDOM exhibits and displays. I couldn’t even pick up on a theme of the museum nor understand a lot of things that were being displayed. Maybe I didn’t want to exercise my critical thinking on my off-​day but I didn’t really understand anything.
What really saved my experience for this museum was their upper outdoor tea room/​courtyard. From the outside, it looks boring and bland but when you finally get to the top, it opens up to a great courtyard and there are pigeons everywhere resting with a peaceful water fountain in the middle. I definitely could see myself hanging out here and reading a great book.
The cover charge is only $ 5 – 10, so it’s not horrible. If you’re willing to try something new it’s worth checking out but don’t expect too much out of it.

It’s a pretty small museum, but worth a visit. They have all sorts of bizarre displays, like a collection of miniature trailers (as in trailer parks.) When we were there, they had strange throat singing playing in the tea room upstairs.

This is probably one of the weirdest and most unique places I’ve ever been to in LA. Dimly lit, wood-​paneled corridors separate all of the different exhibits. The place is arranged and decorated with such exquisite care that it is obvious the museum is as much about presentation as it is about the exhibits themselves. It was quite crowded on the Saturday afternoon that we came but we still found spaces and exhibits easy to navigate
Some of the exhibits have surprises best left to an in-​person experience that I won’t spoil here but one that really stood out was an immigrant doctor whose hobby was making microart, figures so small they could fit in the eye of a needle. We saw some of his micro-​collages that he had used taking stripped butterfly wings and blowing them into place on a slide under a microscope. The profundity of some of the exhibits here is simply incredible I could go on for pages but you should really just go see for yourself. There are a few videos that go on for a little longer than necessary and a couple boring exhibits but the majority of the stuff here is great.
Heading upstairs we came upon a cute little nook with several tables and a large Turkish (actually Georgian) teapot. The woman there poured us a cup of tea and we sat admiring the house-​dog who came over to say hello while we ate cookies. We went outside where there was a pretty courtyard adorned by white pillars and full of doves and plants. We spent about two hours total there but could have easily spent two more.

I tried really hard to like this place but I just don’t understand the hype. The museum was overcrowded, dark, dirty, had multiple audio exhibits broken, and seemed to fail at achieving its purpose in teaching us about jurassic technology. Now that I think about it, many exhibits weren’t even technology related. There was one room solely dedicated to pictures with descriptions of myths throughout history. Cool — but I came here to learn about technology. Maybe my expectations were too high, but bringing my friends was embarrassing as we felt like most displays could’ve been created for a middle school project. Not impressive at all.
The only highlights were on the top level where we enjoyed the intimate movie theater, and the garden overflowing with pigeons and tea.

Not quite sure how I feel about this place.
Upon walking in to the Museum, we were greeted by a man sitting behind a counter. He welcomed us as it was our first time and gave us the 4−1−1. We received the student discount for $ 5 admission. Off we went to start our self-​guided tour…
WEIRD vibe throughout the whole museum. I had the heebie jeebies our entire stay of roughly an hour and tried to get through the museum as quick as possible. Some areas were pretty dark, some areas played strange music (felt like I was in a scary movie), and other areas had a stench.
Upstairs is a tea room where cookies and tea is served. There is a door to go outside (few seats available) to sit and enjoy the sound of birds.
Parking was terrible. We drove around for roughly 15 – 20 minutes before getting lucky with street parking in a residential area. Not worth the drive or hassle of parking!

This was the creepiest yet most interesting museum I have ever been too.
Luckily I was able to get the student discount so $ 10 for two tickets wasnt a bad way to kill sometime.
There were some interesting exhibits such as the artwork one created in the eye of needles. Other things on display were just plain… awkward…such as random artificats collected from people’s mobile homes.

This was a really fun little museum! Lots of humbug mixed in with sprinkles of science, folklore and myths. They have a nice tea room and a rooftop garden with doves. You will see some really weard stuff that you just won’t see anywhere else. Some of the audio does not work so one star off for that. But overall, I highly recommend you visit the Museum of Jurassic Technology.

I love this place — it’s one of my favourite places on this good earth. Parts of it are falling apart, exhibits are broken, it’s dark and hard to read some of the plaques. It’s just perfect! Anyone who is conceited and pretentious enough to imagine themselves a Renaissance Man (like me) will get this museum, and why it is so important that it exists.
«We, amnesiacs all, condemned to live in an eternally fleeting present, have created the most elaborate of human constructions, memory, to buffer ourselves against the intolerable knowledge of the irreversible passage of time and the irretrieveability of its moments and events.» — Geoffrey Sonnabend (The Delani/​Sonnabend Halls)
It’s a time capsule, a Memory Palace of the Western psyche, Anno Domini. It’s like diving feet first into your oversaturated subconscious. It’s also a wonderful antedote to the McExhibitions and Ken-​Burnsian dumbing-​down and derogation of our culture and history. All it needed was Francis Bacon’s codpiece to be complete.
There’s also a great selection of books in the shop — and their catalogue is an absolute treasure for your bookshelf (to put beside «In Praise of Folly.»)

I really wanted to like this place… I really tried… and so did my kids. My 16 year old was a good sport like me and even my 10 year old was a trooper. The only good parts were the tea with box cookies and the rooftop ‘garden’ with the doves.
I guess I had to tell my kids that it was supposed to be a type of museum about failed technology that inspired actual technology… but then, we heard people in that place claiming that not all of it was ‘real’? So, I guess that puts this place best in the «Modern Art» category? So, if it’s modern art, and not all is real, then why the copious amounts of information for each exhibit? Why would I read about something that didn’t happen? And why are SO many of the exhibits broken?
We tried… most of the pictures were not even visible because it was so dark. I give my kids 5 stars for going with me and simply TRYING to ‘get it’, but this place will not receive that many stars.

Boy, where do you possibly start with this place?
I was really tempted to do 5 stars simply for the wonderful oddity that is the «MJT» (as one reviewer dubbed it). But I do have to take off 1 star for the multiple broken displays as another reviewer mentioned… and for the overly descriptive verbose narrations that are meant to describe the various collections. Take me into your world more MJT!!! I am craving to comprehend what I am looking at when I see a beetle on a needle and I pick up the retro wall phone and hear this buzzing sound in my ear. Their attempt to explain these various things to me is lacking or seems to be written by an overly intellectualized scientist with a 160 IQ (good for him, but I need to be in your world and understand what I’m looking at!!!) That’s’ where this place could really shine. Either add to or dumb down the narration displays for the lament museum goer who truly wants to understand this place!
Onto the wonderfulness that is MJT :) The upstairs is a thing of beauty and wonder. An intimate, cozy theater off to the side plays eclectic art films. The tea room serves tea and cookies by an etheral European woman surrounded by dogs while being serenaded by an eerie violin player that is playing in a dove garden around the corner which is the most hauntingly beautiful space that will leave a lasting impression.
The building itself is part of the experience. I am in love with all of the nooks like the little library and its vast collection of scholarly books.
As for the one star reviews, it saddens me because it shows a lack of trying to appreciate this place for what it is instead of fitting it into a box that is 100% comprehendable. We live in a society of instant gratification and where information is being fed to us on 6 second vines. MJT is trying to take us into a world where experiences were unveiled slowly and methodically; not the 2016 mentality of instant everything.
I could go on and on about what was great about this place and not so great about this place, but you have to experience it for yourself. Go in with an open mentality and just maybe a door of creativity and inspiration in your mind that was lying dead and dormant will be opened by the Museum of Jurrasic Technology.

I went into this place after reading many reviews and was still surprised. I went by myself, which I think added to the experience, but it was also creepy at times. I had to use the light on my phone in a couple areas on the first floor because I was scared and it’s so damn dark! As someone who has always been interested in museology, this place is amazing. It really makes you think, and it’s nice to kind of escape normal life for a while, in a way.
The second floor has a beautiful open roof area and is generally less creepy. There’s one room on the first floor that I barely walked into because I was like, «Nope, there 100% are ghosts in there.» (The long room with photos on the wall and a dress at the end?) I definitely plan on coming back here before I leave LA for good, whenever that may be.

This place is odd. It’s not for everyone and that’s why I’m not giving it more stars.
I enjoyed spending 90 minutes there but that was definitely enough.
Yes, it’s dark and creepy but there were some laugh-​out-​loud hilarious items. Don’t be afraid to read items to find the humor. I believe the entire museum is some sort of satire or artistic statement. Some of the visitors in the tea room may have even been part of the exhibit itself.
A one of a kind unique place that defies description. Definitely worth $ 8 to kill a couple of hours if you like the bizarre and absurd.

Honestly, lots of repairs needed. Tons of things were broken and we were unable to experience all of the pieces.
Of the pieces we did witness nothing stood out at all. The best thing was the garden. This place could also be called The House of Oddities and Random ish. People who compare it to a freak show have obviously never been to one before. If it were more than $ 8 and I didn’t live on the west side I would have been miffed to have taken the time to visit.

What the heck are people giving this place 5 stars for?
Oddball history, creepy exhibits and. I don’t get it. We walked through slowly and I read a lot of random things. My favorite exhibit was the one with all of the myths carried on through history. My least favorite exhibit was the crazy science in the dark room with the noisy bell/​chandelier detailing a mans life who discovered and developed beliefs I don’t quite get. Honestly, everything I looked at was at least interesting but we just didn’t expect what we were getting into and we have zero interest in returning.
I wouldn’t recommend this museum because I don’t think the history is all that valuable, interesting, but that’s about it. More like an art museum with historical references.

Very nearly gave this place five stars, but can’t quite give it a universal recommendation.
Those to whom I WOULD recommend MJT (because if LACMA gets its own acronym, then, dammit, so does MJT!), I do so heartily.
My first visit was with a first date, and it seems MJT inspires the kind of love-​it-​or-​hate-​it visceral reaction that you’d want to test in a new person.
It comes on strong and odd right off the bat — a weird growling led us around a dark corner where a display case prominently featured a snarling… dingo? Some kind of feral animal? Head among other odds and ends. As if this weren’t bizarre enough on its own, the museum-​goer was invited to look through a set of lenses affixed to a metal arm just beyond the case. Doing so treated you to an illusion of a man sitting inside the beast’s head courtesy of a few cleverly placed mirrors. Aside from a vaguely worded panel, there was little explanation as to why this was here or what we were looking at, and this sets the tone for much of the museum.
More than anything, MJT seems to house an abundance of curiosities. It has the hushed, dim reverence of a museum with just a dash of sideshow spectacle, all while touching on topics that are so odd and metaphysical that what «standard» exhibits they do have gain a more fanciful air from their neighbors.
Others have already gone into some detail on the exhibits available, but I’d recommend just going in blind and being taken off-​guard by the complete randomness of it. My date and I both agreed that, were we to meet the curator, our first and most important question would just be: «why?»
Finally, the open air tea room on the top is awesome. I can’t say whether it’s a typical addition, but a violin/​some-​other-​weird-​stringed-​instrument duo serenaded us while we enjoyed complimentary tea and cookies and watched the birds fly around.
After all of this, it might sound odd that I didn’t push for that last star, but I did hear one patron say «that’s one hour of my life I’ll never get back» as she left in a huff. If any of what I’ve said sounds interesting/​fun, you’re sure to enjoy yourself. If you’re overly stodgy or academic, perhaps give it a miss.

Where to begin? (Seriously, please wish me good luck as I try describing this place, which is a testament to how truly unique it is.) First of all, get ready to see some really weird exhibits (i.e. a gallery of oil paintings commemorating Russian space dogs, teeny tiny men painted onto the eyes of needles, etc.). The space itself is quite mysterious, and part of the fun is walking around with your fellow confused museum go-​ers (99% 20-​something white hipsters), as it feels like you are visiting an eccentric millionaire’s home that’s been frozen in time. The upstairs tea room and garden are really charming, and there are a bunch of peaceful, white pigeons roosting up there. They also have free cookies and mint tea in the afternoon. This museum is a bit strange, so it might not be for everyone, but if you have any predilection for quirky or old-​timey things, this is the place for you!

i went here one time with my girlfriend at the time and we looked at all of the stuff. It was really fun. And I loved the bat exhibit. There were tea and cookies upstairs that anyone can eat if you’re there at a certain time.
Then I tried to go on a date here like two weeks ago and the person that I tried to go with read my text wrong and went there before meeting up like we originally said and then she was so mad that she didn’t want to go anymore. We had to eat at this weird lunch place instead and it was a horrendous date. It also turned out it was just a friend meet up and not a date. Anyway hope everyone has a fun time here with someone they like.

I don’t really know what to say about this museum. Is it a museum? What is this place exactly? I came here with Stephanie P. on our museum/​cultural day and we walked in not knowing what to expect… and walked out even more confused. What had we seen? What is this place? I don’t really know.
First, the facts. They are open four days a week. Thursdays from 2−8PM, Fridays-​Sundays from 12−6PM. General admission is $ 8 but you can get a discount if you are a student or senior ($ 5 admission). And if you happen to be a child 12 years or younger, admission is completely free. There are some other discounts available as well (for unemployed, disabled, active service personnel, etc).
They do not provide any parking and street parking can be a pain to find in this area. I ended up parking a couple blocks away and walking over. Entrance is on Venice.
The entire museum is very dark and gives off a creepy vibe. Photography is not allowed and they ask that visitors do not use their mobiles at all inside the museum. Their collection is very random and a lot of rooms/​exhibits did not have a clear theme. What I found to be the oddest part of this «museum,» however, is the fact that the majority of their pieces had no labels on/​around them. What kind of museum does not label their items!!! As if I’m not confused enough by what the heck I’m looking at…
There are three floors total to this museum. Upstairs was an exhibit on Cat’s Cradle (remember that game?) and Space Dogs. Their Tula Tea Room is also upstairs, where they serve tea and cookies (we did not partake). They also screen films hourly in their Borzoi Kabinet Theater. Walking through the tea room area, you can go up another floor to where they keep birds. I think you can also enjoy your tea in this area? People were just sitting around talking when we went there.
Our favourite part of the museum was the exhibit on Henry Dalton and his beautiful micromosaics. He created intricate art from diatoms and the scales of butterfly wings. You can only see his work through a microscope, but they were truly beautiful and wonderful to look at. Apart from this exhibit, the museum was just meh. It remains a question mark in my head…

Strangest hour of my life.
Price is 8 $. Street parking. No AC (only upstairs has AC). Only a few fans set up. No mirror in bathroom. No paper towels. Only two hand towels, which I thought was a bit strange.
If you haven’t been here before I recommend you to check it out. It’s an interesting way to kill an hour or two.

Honestly, this museum feels like a total scam and for those of you who gave it 5 stars, do you NOT like learning anything at a museum?
First off, the «suggested» donation was actually mandatory. Not that I minded, but I honestly felt like it was a complete waste of money since I did not learn anything. This «museum» is basically a collection of random things that make you question, «is this even real? Or are they making these things up?» A lot of the sound on the displays were not working and there are cobbwebs everywhere. I also didn’t like that we were not allowed to take pictures. I got scolded for trying to take a picture outside in the patio area with the pigeons. Why are we not allowed to take pictures? I don’t get it.
Tea room: mediocre cookies with tea. The lady making tea did not smile once. I wouldn’t either if I was stuck in that creepy place all day.
My advice? Come in you are that curious but you are better off donating that money to another museum or establishment.

I grew up but an almond stone (?)‘s throw away from this old L.A. haunt. I feel like this has been hipster appropriated much in the same way taxidermy has. Now that I am old, I enjoy reading frustrated reviews by people who have not learned what IS Jurassic technology.
To them, I say, Jurassic technology is «guided along as it were a chain of flowers into the mysteries of life.» If you are feeling as if you are missing the message after puzzling over ancient cures in dark room echoing with far-​off thunder, perhaps it is time to sip some warm tea with some doves while soaking in some Los Angeles sun.
It’s that kind of magical place.