The Best Museums To Check Out In Orange County

From California contemporary art to the history of surfing and a semi-secret sculpture garden, Orange County has a bevy of fascinating museums and cultural spaces. We’ve rounded up six of the best to visit the next time you’re in the OC.

Did you know – Culture Trip now does bookable, small-group trips? Pick from authentic, immersive Epic Trips, compact and action-packed Mini Trips and sparkling, expansive Sailing Trips.

Orange County Museum of Art

Museum
The Orange County Museum of Art was founded by 13 women with a shared vision in 1962 as the Balboa Pavilion Gallery. It changed names several times over the years before becoming the Orange County Museum of Art in 1997. Today, OCMA houses more than 3,000 pieces of modern and contemporary art—including painting, sculpture, photography, and video—with a focus on California art from the early 20th century.

Museum
Located in Santa Ana, the Bowers Museum aims to “celebrate world cultures through their arts.” The art museum operates as a cultural center and frequently showcases exhibits from museums around the world. The Bowers Museum has more than 100,000 works of art, with Native American, Pre-Columbian, and Pacific art among their largest collections. They also operate the Kidseum, a children’s museum with a focus on archaeology, located just a few blocks down the street.

International Surfing Museum

Museum
Though small, the International Surfing Museum in Huntington Beach has iconic surfing items on display, including a surfboard owned by Duke Kahanamoku, who is considered to be the father of modern surfing. Even those who don’t surf will find the museum entertaining. The museum’s founder—Natalie Kotsch—never surfed but found herself drawn to surf culture when she moved to the U.S. from Canada and created the museum to preserve its history.

Heritage Museum of Orange County

Museum
Set on 12 acres of luscious grounds, the Heritage Museum of Orange County is popular as a destination for school field trips and weddings. The main draw is a historic plaza with buildings from the 1890s, offering visitors a glimpse of California during that time period. The museum still has an operational blacksmith shop and holds regular classes for members.

Discovery Cube Orange County

Museum
The Discovery Cube science museum is geared toward children and features interactive learning activities, including a virtual helicopter tour over Orange County, an earthquake simulator, and a hands-on (healthy) cooking class. The original location in Santa Ana was so popular that museums in Los Angeles and Newport Beach have since opened.

Noguchi Garden

Museum
Though not technically a museum, Isamu Noguchi’s sculpture garden, titled “California Scenario,” is definitely worth a visit. Designed to reflect California’s landscape, the garden is tucked into an unassuming commercial plaza in downtown Costa Mesa. Indigenous plants and materials are integrated into sections such as “Desert Land” and “Forest Walk.”

Since you are here, we would like to share our vision for the future of travel - and the direction Culture Trip is moving in.

Culture Trip launched in 2011 with a simple yet passionate mission: to inspire people to go beyond their boundaries and experience what makes a place, its people and its culture special and meaningful — and this is still in our DNA today. We are proud that, for more than a decade, millions like you have trusted our award-winning recommendations by people who deeply understand what makes certain places and communities so special.

Increasingly we believe the world needs more meaningful, real-life connections between curious travellers keen to explore the world in a more responsible way. That is why we have intensively curated a collection of premium small-group trips as an invitation to meet and connect with new, like-minded people for once-in-a-lifetime experiences in three categories: Culture Trips, Rail Trips and Private Trips. Our Trips are suitable for both solo travelers, couples and friends who want to explore the world together.

Culture Trips are deeply immersive 5 to 16 days itineraries, that combine authentic local experiences, exciting activities and 4-5* accommodation to look forward to at the end of each day. Our Rail Trips are our most planet-friendly itineraries that invite you to take the scenic route, relax whilst getting under the skin of a destination. Our Private Trips are fully tailored itineraries, curated by our Travel Experts specifically for you, your friends or your family.

We know that many of you worry about the environmental impact of travel and are looking for ways of expanding horizons in ways that do minimal harm - and may even bring benefits. We are committed to go as far as possible in curating our trips with care for the planet. That is why all of our trips are flightless in destination, fully carbon offset - and we have ambitious plans to be net zero in the very near future.