The Bunny Museum — Attraction in Altadena

I stopped by the Bunny Museum recently for the first time. They were surprised I hadn't heard of the place since it'd been open for decades but from what I just read, it was in a private house until a few years ago. The inflatable white bunnies on the roof are the real eyecatchers and very pretty.

The collectables on display are varied and intense in their amazing quantity. It's impossible to take it all in and likely to even find all of the rooms and hallways that have items displayed in the odd space. It needs a labeled map to really understand any of the layout. If they had a map, I didn't know about it and I didn't think to ask.

I was excited to meet their house bunnies and kitties in their warren room. I LOVE that the bunnies (and kitties) are free roam in a large space that has some areas to avoid eager petting if scared. I checked out the place because I heard all the buns were rescued and given a lot of space, which is true. But that's where I needed to take a couple of stars off of my review.

One of the black bunnies, apparently a recent humane society adoption, looks like it needs a vet appointment to look at its neck area. It was very shy but had a lot of matted fur under it's chin area which makes me worried there's a tooth abscess, mouth issue, or something else. It was a shy sweetheart and wouldn't let me get close enough to really get a better idea how it got the matted neck fur. I highly recommend a vet visit ASAP to rule out any major issues.

I couldn't find any timothy or other hay in their large space. I did see Oxbow rabbit pellets and some veggie remnants scattered around on the somewhat dirty floors. It makes me wonder if the one black bunny has overgrown teeth issues since I didn't see chew toys (aside from the destroyed baseboards lol) and hay fibers to wear them down well.

The brown and white bunny was a cutie and flopped over in front of me at one point so clearly loves the place. He could use a nail trim soon. I heard he had gotten lonely as a single bun (what happened to all of their previous buns mentioned in the reviews?) so they adopted the two black fur bun sisters. But it didn't sound like there was proper bonding for the three of them so now the two sisters fight (maybe that's how the neck matted fur happened? Just another idea). I didn't see any of the three buns hanging out together at all so I wonder if they're not actually bonded well at all and could really benefit from structured sessions for a while.

The three kitties are adorable. The black and grey ones are sweet and love pets. I saw their 24 year old bangled kitty sleeping soundly in the kitchenette room on the opposite side of the place. One of the kitties (I think it was the black one named Baby) might have had a goopy eye issue on one side and could probably use a vet visit for a checkup and possible meds.

I saw a couple of odd religious books in the outdoor patio area (through the kitchen area) so googled the one I saw the owner's photo on. Looks like it's part of some christian sect called Swedenborgianism after some religious/mystic guy from a few hundred years ago. I'm not big on religion and I assumed someone with that much easter stuff would be somewhat religious. I tried not to look too deep into it.

The place is a LOT to take in and you have to not be triggered by semi-organized OCD hording to see clearly with all that is on display. I think a layout and large collections labels (the tiny script bunny notes were hard for me to see) might help for folks easily overwhelmed.

I'm really hoping they'll get a ton of timothy or orchard hay for their buns in their large warren room soon. No bunny should be without unlimited hay for health reasons if it really is absent as it seemed. I hope the black bun can have a checkup and grooming, the brown bun a nail trim, and the black kitty (I think it was that one but not positive) could have their eye looked at. I get their pets are their own but since bunny and pet lovers will flock there and interact with their floofs, they need to do their...

As someone who constantly seeks out the unique, strange and bizarre, you would have thought I’d have visited The Bunny Museum years ago. For 19 years it was in the founders home, and I think that is what gave us pause (or in this case paws). But last year they made the move to their own brick and mortar museum! So it finally came time to give them a go! I was so excited!

Now located in Altadena, we pulled into the driveway and there was literally no parking bit any signs or directions about parking. Finally we saw someone who told us to park at the Rite Aide around the corner. Ok.

You aren’t allowed to bring in bags (which kind of sucks for parents of babies or toddlers), and since they make you park a ways away, you’re stuck into paying an extra dollar for them to hold your bag. The more I think about it, the more I call BS on that play. Children 4 and under are free though, so that’s something.

It was exactly what I was expecting (and some of what I wasn’t, which I’ll get to in a minute)... wall to wall bunnies! Thousands (literally over 35k)!!! There are several rooms filled floor to ceiling with bunny things.

One of the things my son was most looking forward to was the live bunnies and cats advertised. We went in that room and it was disgusting. It smelled like the litter boxes hadn’t been cleaned in three weeks. There were rotting bananas on the floor along with poop and hair balls. There was a nice couch in there with plastic on it that was showing bunny related films on a large TV screen. My son wanted to watch, and we did a bit, but I was getting more and more grossed out. The live bunnies were all hiding in places where you couldn’t touch them (they are advertised as the only thing you CAN touch in the museum). They are huge though! Very cool. The orange cat was cute too. He let us pet him. There was also a puzzle table for kids in that room, which my son wanted to try... but again... I had to get us out of the room.

Upon visiting the upstairs area there were floor puzzles for kids. Maybe this will be ok I thought. But as I got on the floor I noticed how it was literally filthy with cat hair and dirt. Again I was grossed out. We left shortly after.

It was tough reviewing The Bunny Museum because I want to support eccentric attractions. It takes guts to create and dedicate your life to something like this. Too many of these types of attractions are dying off. But that said, there is a certain responsibility that business owners... especially museum owners have to meet reasonable cleanliness expectations. This wasn’t unavoidable. It is just lack of effort/caring. I have cats. I have friends with bunnies... the smell and condition of this place isn’t a necessary side effect that comes with cats and bunnies. If you are open to the public, you as business owners have the responsibility to provide a clean environment for your patrons. Even more so when kids are your target audience!

The large bunny outside, the cookie jars and the vintage signs and advertising were the highlights for me.

I was very disappointed as I really wanted to rave about this place as enthusiastically as I rave about the idea. I hope they figure out a way to solve the problem. These types of places are a dying breed, and yes it’s because it takes so much work to keep them afloat, and I understand it’s a small operation... which is why it’s hard to give such a low rating. But I take pride in writing honest reviews, and my initial excitement was quickly replaced with the need to escape to fresh air. I hope...

If you want a museum that is an odd ball collection of bunnies, then this is your spot. Make sure you have cash to get in and for the locker to place all your bags in. Or if you are smart and read this review then leave your bags/purses in your vechile and not pay the extra locker fee. Parking is either in residential areas around the museum or in the business parking lot next to the museum (I believe there is a rite aid there so some sort of drug store). The museum is filled with a collection of bunny items. One room has actually real bunnies and taxidermy bunnies as well. Oh creepy (actually I love taxidermy)! There are info sheets all through the museum to help you understand what you are looking at besides bunnies. If you need any more insight ask the person at the front desk, they know everything about this joint. Oh and take lots of photos with your cellphone since profession camera's are not allowed in the museum. Odd I know because most museums allow it. I even tried to persuade the front desk by telling her that I won't use the flash and got a brisk no. Bummer. That didn't sway my adventure. I highly suggest you go in and experience this oddity for yourself or...