Fun Museums in Costa Mesa

 

Costa Mesa is the perfect blend of southern California’s best features. Great food, luxurious shopping, and a thriving coastal culture make Costa Mesa the ideal place to take your next trip. What you may not know is that Costa Mesa is also a major hub for some of the coolest museums in the area.

Fun Museums in Costa Mesa

In fact, you’ll be surprised at the sheer number of fun and exciting museums that are located within an easy ten minutes from the center of town. Here are just a few that you should definitely check out the next time you travel to Costa Mesa.

Gray Matter Museum of Art

Located a few miles away in Newport Beach, the Gray Matter Museum of Art prides itself on giving living artists a way to share their work with the world. Featured artists represent a plethora of styles, but each chosen piece shares an emotionally-driven story. This gorgeous space is a popular event venue, but they’re more than happy to entertain museum-goers by appointment during the week. 

UCI Institute and Museum of California Art

This free museum in neighboring Irvine is home to one of the best collections of California art. The museum first began when two important modern/contemporary art collections were acquired by the University of California in Irvine. Today, the museum continues to represent California artists with an emphasis on impressionism and plein air paintings from the 20th century. During normal exhibition hours, you can tour this vast collection from Tuesday to Saturday. 

Heritage Museum of Orange County

Old houses are some of the coolest museums because they allow you to take a very real step back in time. Of course, the wealthy are over-represented in these types of museums. Still, the Heritage Museum of Orange County works hard to integrate the broader history of the southern California experience through the H. Clay Kellogg house and John Maag farmhouse, including current exhibitions designed to teach visitors about the Japanese-American experience in the 20th century. 

Discovery Cube

A favorite among children, Santa Ana’s Discovery Cube is a short drive out of central Costa Mesa but well worth the 5-10 minutes it takes to get there. This highly interactive science museum uses bright colors and oversized displays to help bring out the child in all of us. Each display helps to illustrate a specific scientific concept all while teaching participants about the power of scientific experimentation and discovery. With an emphasis on the physical and biological sciences, the Discovery Cube is sure to elicit fascination and a fair share of giggles from children and parents alike. 

Donut Life Museum

Although it isn’t strictly a museum in the classical sense, nearby Westminster’s Donut Life Museum is a ton of fun for any family that enjoys a little goofiness and a lot of great pictures. The entire set-up is one giant photo-op all focused on… you guessed it… donuts! Each room is a visual extravaganza focused on a singular theme. The museum’s highly creative displays reinvent how we think of art museums and offer a unique experience to guests. 

Come and Play!

Costa Mesa isn’t considered the City of the Arts for nothing. Costa Mesa arts & recreation has a lot to offer visitors who want to make their travels meaningful through excitement and learning. To find out more about what Costa Mesa can offer you, visit Travel Costa Mesa to learn about current special events and local specialties.