Suppose you’re looking for a day’s worth of activities in one convenient location. In that case, Exposition Park, located in University Park across the street from the University of Southern California, is a place you should visit.
Exposition Park’s spacious 160 acres houses three museums, three sporting venues, an IMAX theater, a school, a beautiful rose garden, and a farmer’s market.
- Natural History Museum
- California Science Center
- African American Museum
- Exposition Park Rose Garden
Natural History Museum Exposition Park
The park’s centerpiece is the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. Visitors can explore and learn about dinosaurs, rare giant gems, Old West history, and insects while meandering through three-dimensional habitat dioramas.
There is also a Dino Lab, where visitors can get a close-up view of real-life archeologists in action, examining the pieces of dinosaur bones and reconstructing full-size prehistoric skeletons.
However, if you venture downstairs to the Discovery Center, you will find a place where kids can have their archeological dig with a brush in hand and rubber bark to shift around and find bones.
The Center also shows various habitat critters, whether terrariums for snakes and other reptiles or insects and aquariums. They have a story-reading center and drawing and writing corners too.
Getting around Exposition Park is easy. If you follow one of the color-coded arrows from the Natural History Museum, you will find your way straight to the California Science Center.
California Science Center
The California Science Center is accessible, and many things are inside touch. Interactive games that teach visitors about animals and an outdoor aquarium where you can get up close and personal with various sea creatures.
Displays like earthquakes can provide a good shaking time, and Ecosystems thrust guests into remote and hostile environments such as rainforests, deserts, and even present-day urban ecosystems.
During your visit to the Science Center, two things not to miss are the Air and Space exhibits with their unique collection of artifacts and hands-on activities, the IMAX Theater, and the Space Shuttle.
Hands down, the best IMAX experience ever, with its steep stadium seating pressed against a massive IMAX screen that surrounds and envelops viewers right into the movie. Guests become even more part of the action with its captivating 3D showings.
The California Science Center also has special traveling exhibitions from time to time and can be viewed at an additional charge.
California African American Museum
Adjacent to the Science Center is the California African American Museum which covers the history of African migration to the US through African American cultural and political roles in current times.
This museum is geared more toward adults and showcases five themed walks through galleries that feature various African-American artifacts, including sculptures, paintings, and other antiquities.
Exposition Park Rose Garden
The rose garden is directly behind the Natural History Museum. A huge water fountain in the Center of the park is surrounded by rose flowers of every shape and color. The garden entrance is free, making it the perfect spot to rest in between visiting the museums. The rose garden is open daily 8:30 am – 5:30 pm.
Finally, don’t forget to check out the Expo Park Farmers Market, 11 am – 4 pm Saturdays, on the south lawn of the Natural History Museum. It’s a great place to purchase fresh, organic produce at a fraction of supermarket costs.
There are dozens of vendors, from local bakeries to BBQs to jewelry and floral merchants. There is even a petting zoo with pony rides for the kids.
Getting to Exposition Park Los Angeles
Free parking can be challenging if you plan to visit Exposition Park on the weekend. However, there are plenty of paid parking spaces. So if you are looking for an economical place to take the entire family, you should take a day trip to Exposition Park. Address: 700 Exposition Park Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90037