Heritage of the Americas Museum — Attraction in Rancho San Diego

I went here with my daughter’s class on a field trip. Had I not gone I never would have known this place existed. Glad I did. It is a wonderful place. A bit eclectic for a museum in my opinion but packed full of stuff. Being it was started as one man’s collection and was built on top of that it does not have the normal “exhibits” that go into lots of words and pictures. So some of the items have limited information about them. Usually just a small card with about a sentence worth of info. Though what it lacks in info in makes up with quantity. It is packed to the rim with items. The guides are very knowledgeable and if you want more info on one of the items that’s where you get it. They break out the items into 4 sections; Art, Natural history, Anthropology and Archeology. Each section can take you about an hour to go through. They do a scavenger hunt for the kids to find different items which really gets the kids moving around and looking at everything. I had fun helping the kids because each book ids different, so I was going all over the place. The kids really like the gift shop as most items are priced for them. They also have wonderful gardens around the outside of the building. I not sure if it is something I would go to monthly but it is worth seeing. It’s a hidden gem...

What a hidden treasure! I lived in East County for nine years but never knew this was here. It feels like you're entering Cuyamaca College but it's the first building past/inside the gate. They border the conservation garden so you could visit both in one day trip. I brought our homeschool co-op here for a guided tour. School children were all free. The director was very gracious, easy going, and accommodating. Her docents blew us away with their knowledge and passion for history. No question was too obscure or random. They had an answer for every one! You could tell they all genuinely loved kids too. There's a little gift shop where items are priced far below market value because they want students to be able to purchase things with their own money. A very memorable and unique experience overall. Almost all exhibits were actual artifacts and not replicas. We even got to touch real dinosaur eggs. Please go support this...

Wow! We had no idea that this museum existed, and found it only by wandering up from the Water Conservation Garden. This is perhaps the densest museum I’ve ever visited in terms of the sheer number of exhibits and pieces in a relatively small space. Due to the modest size of the museum, they don’t have large exhibits, but the small exhibits they have more than make up for it. The pieces are extraordinary, on-par with those you would see in world-class museums, such as the MET. For only six dollars, you can see fossilized, Tyrannosaurus teeth, a full triceratops horn, incredible gems and minerals, beautiful jewelry and hunting implements from thousands of years ago from around the world, top-notch taxidermy of exotic and native animals, and so much more. Combine a visit here with the garden, which is only steps away, and you’ve got yourself a relaxing and...