Maturango Museum of Indian Wells Valley

We enjoyed this small local museum very much! The price is minimal and the docents are friendly and knowledgeable. This is a great place to get a quick understanding of the history and industry of this desert community. There are lots of pamphlets and flyers for the area available including the use of BLM land. The bookstore and gift shop are very nice also.

The scenario: 2 angry toddlers, 2 agonizing hours in stopped traffic, 110 degree heat … MUST FIND SOMETHING FUN TO DO BEFORE WE EXPLODE! Luckily for me, I was just passing Ridgecrest and my Unilocal app steered me right to the Maturango Museum. It’s easy to find, directly on the main drag in Ridegcrest, and it’s air conditioned! There’s several interesting (and very Instagram worthy) exhibits out front of the museum including an old timey bell for the kids to ring, a rock maze, and a built-​to-​scale solar system. I’m sure I would have enjoyed these things more if it wasn’t 110 out that day, but I digress …
There’s a $ 5 fee to enter the museum and it’s rather small, just 1 long room actually, and though it’s filled with some interesting stuff, I think $ 5 is way too much. The long room features a sh*t ton of scary taxidermy, my favorite being the bloodied vulture on the birds of pray wall, and a bunch of ancient arrowheads/​artifacts that were found in the area. There’s also a pretty extensive kids play area for the little ones to get their wiggles out. The gift shop has some neat stuff and is almost as much fun as the museum. Overall this is a great road trip stop, but the $ 5 fee makes it less appealing.

This is such a great little museum. Have enjoyed going here and have taken family and friends here as well.

One of the nicest and clean museums it’s great for kids. Their favorite was the saber tooth hologram.

Packed full of interesting exhibits and extensive info on nearby petroglyphs, this small museum recently enlarged its gift shop. Other new additions include a garden area as well as a sculpture garden.
During the Petroglyph festival this November, an arrowhead maker was on hand. The museum also sponsors docent led hikes on China Lake Naval base to see an extensive collection of ancient petroglyphs spread along Little petroglyph trail, 1.5 miles of non stop native American rock art down a dry creek bed. You need to be in pretty good shape to manage the rocky trail and go through a fairly extensive security check to gain access and early sign up is required, but we all agreed the hike was worth it. The docents at the museum are very helpful and run a movie on the petroglyphs on request.

The museum expansion is still underway, but the book/​sales store has moved into it’s new area and sure is filled with tons of books, clothing, hats, décor, games and of course, information about the museum and surrounding area. Just stop by and the docents & staff will take care of your shopping and information needs!

Very small place but they said they were moving to a bigger building soon. They have a quite a bit of stuff for sale but the items are kind of expensive. The Petroglyphs tour meets here. The outside is pretty interesting because somebody made steel structures of some of the petroglyphs.

The museum was incredibly small. Offering only a few stuffed animal displays and signs about the region’s geology. The last thing I want to do on a road trip is read.
Still, there are a ton of fun brochures next to the entrance and because this seems to be the only thing to do in Ridgecrest, it is worth having a look.

It’s a quaint museum that tells you about the geologic, biologic, and military history of the area.
There are two exhibit rooms. The first is a gallery of paintings by local artists, and the second is your standard museum floor with rocks, taxidermied animals, prehistoric animal bones, photos and articles, Native American artifacts, a video on the mining industry, and a section on the nearby weapons base with a Sidewinder missile on display.
A portion of that latter room is a children’s play area with boxes of things to touch and a wall of yellowed optical illusion posters.
The displays are rather dated, but you have to keep in mind that it’s a small town and a small museum. From the looks of the outside, they may be adding on to it in the back, as there’s a new foundation laid over there. I think the most tragic thing about the museum is the rather poorly taxidermied mountain lion resting on the center console — head shrunk, plastic eyes bugging out. Several of the stuffed animals on display look a bit ratty, which is probably due to age.
Anyway, a rack of photocopied handouts of hikes and local attractions is available near the entrance to that second room. Take what you will, but leave them some change to offset printing costs. There are brochures and pamphlets for other sights on the way out.
It costs $ 5 for adults and $ 3 for students/​seniors to get into this museum, but it seems to be on the honor system, with what looks like a donations box on the way into that art gallery.
Outside there’s a few things to see: rusted mining equipment, plants labeled with their names and uses, some artwork inspired by Native American symbols, and a tufa rock labyrinth meant to stimulate meditation as one slowly walks through it.

I’m glad there’s a museum in Ridgecrest that shows the indigenous history of the region. I remember when I was a kid, I came here alone and was expecting a lot more. But now when I come back, I realize that this museum has plenty of information. It’s worth visiting.