Fresno Metropolitan Museum - Fresno, California

The goal of the Fresno Metropolitan Museum is to educate and enlighten people about art, science and history. The museum is the result of a vision by Fresno residents and leaders in 1978, and the museum opened its doors in April of 1984 in an historic downtown building known as the Fresno Bee building. The museum has a wonderful balance of stationary exhibits and traveling exhibits that come to the Fresno Metropolitan Museum as part of the desire to expand the horizons of everyone who comes to the museum. The museum has been the recipient of many awards over the years.

The Fresno Metropolitan Museum is located at 1515 Van Ness Avenue in Fresno, California. It is open Tuesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday nights are special nights that offer two for one admission from 5-8 p.m. The Met is closed on most national holidays. The admission fees are $8 for adults, $5 for senior citizens and students with identification, $3 for children ages 3-12 and children under three are admitted to the museum at no charge. Museum members are admitted for free, as well. The Fresno city ArtHop program also offers free admission on the first Thursday of the month from 5-8 p.m. and this is generously provided by the Met’s business and professional partners.

The museum is hosting many events. During the spring and summer of 2006, an exhibit on the science of baseball showing and discussing the many aspects of this great American sport will be one of their programs. The museum also hosts a summer camp for kids from June 19-August 4. Kids can try their hands at many things, including drawing, acting, painting and various other opportunities to explore a variety of subjects. The museum’s Off-site program is an innovative way to take art beyond the typical art gallery and into the various areas of Fresno in hopes that artists and audiences can interact in a different venue. The Reeves ASK science center is another facet of the museum, and is filled with interactive exhibits that teach people about science in new and exciting ways.

The permanent collection of the Fresno Metropolitan Museum has over 3,000 pieces of artifacts and art in its collection. These pieces have been collected from various cultures and the history of more than 400 years. These include a wide variety of works from fascinating French trompe l’oeil paintings, puzzles, photographs by such notables as Ansel Adams and Fresno’s own William Saroyan. There are also many decorative arts and crafts from various cultures from Native American to Asian cultures.

The Fresno Metropolitan Museum offers everyone an opportunity to view and interact with many different pieces and types of art. The permanent collection is wonderful to see and the many traveling exhibits that are brought to Fresno make certain that residents and visitors are exposed to a wide variety of world art. 

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