USC Pacific Asia Museum — Attraction in Pasadena

Quaint Museum in the heart of Pasadena!!! Very accessible and they have a good sized parking lot north of the building and the entrance is on Los Robles. Now to the exhibits; although limited, they are beautifully curated. Think about a smaller version of the big museums although they’re featuring only the “bigger” countries in Asia. Currently, there is a special exhibit about “Dismantling Orientalism” which about presenting the Orient not from the stereotypical eyes of the West which I believe presents a fresher and more accurate take on the subject. I’d like to affirm and thank Grace Nicholson for her vision in making this place available to all. Plan to spend an hour before hitting the dining spots in the area. I also recommend spending a few minutes in their garden and appreciate the...

Excellent museum with a beautiful relaxing koi pond in the middle courtyard area. They have a wonderful exhibit called The Box with photos and art utilizing the photos I highly recommend. Love the variety and dates ranges of artifacts from all over Asia. I was extremely impressed by the array of Fair Trade items in the gift shop. Each item is from artisans in the countries represented in the museum. I am a strong supporter of Fair Trade and for the museum to have so many items that benefit artisans with fair, reliable, safe, empowering work, while supporting the continuation of traditional crafts is absolutely wonderful. Great staff and the parking attendees went above and beyond as well. This museum far surpassed my expectations,...

Most of it is under renovation so I only got to enjoy the central courtyard and Silk Road exhibit. The tranquil garden is free with two lovely ponds. It even as storms from lake Tai, makong me nostalgic for the bike rides and trail runs near that lake. The building itself is reminiscent of courtyards with stone stairwells in eastern China. The Silk Road exhibit is excellent and any child can spend an entire afternoon with interactive activities and real artifacts. It’s always a bit of a misnomer though as the horse is what drew sellers and buyers in Europe and Asia together through trading routes. I look forward to visiting when everything is done...