Museum of Ancient Wonders — Attraction in Cathedral City

The Museum of Ancient Wonders in Cathedral City is a very pleasant surprise! The Palm Springs area has a variety of interesting museums. Modern art, in particular  is very well represented from museum galleries to salesrooms of the area's numerous consignment stores. But the Museum of Ancient Wonders takes a different and valuable approach by looking at the human experience in the context of the vast sweep of history spanning life on Earth. It blends natural history, art, and culture in a very effective and engaging way that local students and many members of the public have probably never encountered.

The experience starts in a very unassuming way. You find the museum tucked into a storefront location in a strip mall. Leave any initial misgivings behind and proceed on in. The storefront, while small, is bigger than it looks from outside. Inside, you will find a subset of their collections put upon display. Other collections that they have may be on tour to other museums or have been rotated into storage. When we were there, the exhibits included "Paleo: The Story of Life" as told by a fascinating assemblage of fossils and fossil casts. These were arranged in chronological sequence, starting with stromatolites, progressing through well over 100 examples of ever more complicated forms including trilobites, early reptiles, dinosaurs, early mamals, early homonids, leading to us. Another exhibit, "Behind the Mask" presents a small, diverse collection of African masks, explaining how they reflect ancient African traditions and mysticism, and even have influenced modern art far from the masks' sites of origin. The exhibit "All Under Heaven: Earth, Heaven and the Afterlife" featured a spectacular collection of Asian statuary from across the ages. A final exhibit, "Starscape" surrounded the other exhibits with photographs on the wall showcasing images of multiple bodies in our Solar System, nebulae, and galaxies, putting the content of the other exhibits in a broader context of both time and space. It's a wonderful idea.

The Paleo exhibit looked to be relatively permanent within the storefront venue. I'm guessing some of the other exhibits might rotate in and out as these and other collections they have tour other venues. The good news is that they are working on moving into a much larger venue in the area that will allow them to exhibit all of their collections. I hope that happens! But until then, check out the Museum of Ancient Wonders in their current Cathedral...

This museum was an amazing find! Its mission is to educate us on the evolution of life was enlightening. Never have I seen an entire timeline from the first fossilized lump of algae to trilobites and the first fish to walk on land. And continuing to the evolution of dinosaurs and then skulls from man’s evolution. The best part of this was the fact that the docent gave us personal explanations of what we were seeing. I’ve often wandered around museums looking at things and leaving without understanding what I’ve seen. Not here! The understanding was the best part. Each item is described and there is a printed guide you can walk around with. It was a surprise to find the museum in a strip mall but when the docent explained the plans to expand to a huge space across from the air museum. I was thrilled to support the effort by coming today. One review said there wasn’t much to see but I disagree. Yes if you just look and leave you can be in and out quickly but if you look and learn your universe will be expanded and you will leave a couple hours later mind boggled that creatures from millions of years ago up to today have been documented and explained. In top of that there is Asian art from 3000 years ago and ancient African masks and art. The docent shocked and thrilled us by showing how these ancient masks influenced the art of Picasso, Matisse and Dali. And then he philosophized how understanding the past helps us interpret the present and leads us to the future. This is definitely a gem. Do go and...

It’s hard to say what is the most memorable thing about the MOAW- there were so many wonderful takeaways. Don’t be fooled by its unusual location in the middle of strip mall, (next to a Big Lots). The MOAW hosts an incredible selection of thoughtfully-curated pieces. Its fossil collection brings the story of evolution to life. Detailed casts collected from the best specimens worldwide in one intimate space trace the emergence of life, to the rise of modern man, with chronological clarity (and beauty). We were fortunate to visit when the stunning asian art exhibition was on show (due to the limited space, they rotate exhibitions so check before your trip if you are interested in a particular exhibition).

The quality of pieces on display and the fascinating facts shared by its curator Alberto, was well worth the ticket price of $15. We spent an hour and a half there, with a 5 year-old kid, and would have stayed longer except they were closing for the day. Cathedral City locals get free entry for now, so take advantage of that if you are a resident. Yes, it is a small space and lacks the razzamatazz, and gleaming infrastructure of larger government-funded museums. But look beyond its humble facade and go in and be amazed. Like the best collections - there is expertise, attention to detail, and masterful storytelling that invokes curiosity and wonder. Our 5 year-old made us look up more about the Taung child and trilobites the next day, which, really says it all. Thanks MOAW for the...