The Wende Museum — Attraction in Culver City

My friend and I wanted to explore something unique and exciting on our day off since he and I both have a taste for danger; he is a fan of all things espionage and me being a former investigative journalist it was a perfect pairing that the Wende Museum offered all the above. The current exhibit: Counter/ Surveillance and Control, Privacy, Agency will run now through Oct.19, 2025.

The museum offered a free 1-hour tour (11:30am) on Fridays and we were a little late but thank God for the museum’s docent Jane. She was very kind and knowledgeable. She explained all the spy tech artifacts and how they made a difference during The Cold War era. One of most interesting artifacts on display is the Theremin musical instrument, which is an eerie ethereal sound electronic instrument controlled without physical contact by the performer. The mastermind behind the musical instrument is a Russian inventor by name of Leon Theremin. He also created the undetectable listening device also known as “The Thing.,” also known as a “bug.” The Theremin was a magical experience to play the instrument without physically touching it. Had sounds that were literally, “Good Vibrations."

You were allowed to take pictures of exhibits and naturally, I snapped away. They had a beautiful garden with lounging chairs and a serene fountain. It was an unforgettable experience with a gift shop for rare memorabilia of the current exhibit.

The museum isn’t very big, but I will say without Jane, we wouldn’t be as educated as we were about everything! Thanks again for the experience and being...

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We went to the opening reception of the exhibition “China: (De)constructing Ideology: The Cultural Revolution and Beyond”. It was our first time at this museum and we were pleasantly surprised by it. The exhibit was interesting, informative and even interactive (there was a spot where you could write postcards with their stamps and typewriter).

They also had additional exhibits (which could include a little bit more info on specific items displayed and not just about the overall window theme.

Something to consider: training the staff a little more on the exhibits. While walking around with two guests, one of the staff was acting as a guide but some of the information they provided was wrong- pretty strange at such a small and specific...