Kern County Museum - Bakersfield, California

The Educational Experience of the Kern County Museum
Bakersfield, California

Whether you are a family looking for an educational experience, or a classroom looking for some hands-on learning the Kern County Museum in Bakersfield, California is the place to visit. Founded in 1941, 94,000 have walked through the museum’s sixteen acres each year. The mission of the museum, to teach children and adults an understanding and appreciation of their past, has led to the American Association of Museums including it as one of the 748 accredited museums in the country.

Of its many exhibits, the Kern County Museum counts “Black Gold: The Oil Experience” as an integral part of the success of the museum. At $4 million dollars, and six years in the making, the exhibit shows how oil has been created, discovered and extracted through the years. Included in the exhibit are a simulated dive under the sea learning how oil is formed, and an “old-timer” telling of asphaltum mining and its dangers. The museum saw this exhibit as a worthy cause, due to the fact that 64% of California’s oil comes from Kern County.

For lessons on how Native Americans lived, children in grades 3 and 4 can attend a lecture about tribal life. In this presentation, available twice on Tuesdays and Thursdays for an admittance of $5, students will learn about the Yokuts Indians, as they are local to the Kern County area. The students will see artifacts of the Native Americans, and will learn about acorn-grinding, and the religion and customs of the Yokuts Indians. Students in grades 3 through 6 are able to visit an exhibit on Frontier Life. Here they will see how Kern County residents from long ago churned butter, washed clothes, carded wool, etc. They may even be lucky enough to try one of these chores themselves. This exhibit is open on six select dates throughout the year, and costs $5.00 per student.

Children that are 8 and under aren’t left out. They can visit the Lori Block Children’s Discovery Center for their own hands-on experiences. Kid City allows kids to learn all the different parts of a typical city, such as bank, post office, restaurant, etc. Through role-playing the kids will then learn about different occupations. With a monster-size floor puzzle, kids can learn about the journey of Lewis and Clark across America. In Rope ‘Em, Ride ‘Em, while sitting inside a covered wagon just their size, children can imagine life from that genre. In Art Safari children can sit inside a hut that is surrounded by sculptures of giraffes and zebras, and are encouraged to draw pictures of the animals they see.

The Kern County Museum is located at 3801 Chester Avenue in Bakersfield, California. The museum is open Monday through Saturday 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM, and on Sundays from 12:00 PM to 5:00 PM, and is closed on most holidays. Adults are charged $8 for admission, Seniors $7. Students 13 to 17 are also charged $7, with students 6 to 12 being charged $6. Children 3 to 5 are charged $5, while children under three are free.

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