Museum of Ancient Wonders - Cathedral City, California

Megan K

I had found this place while looking for things to do in the greater Palm Springs area. I went on a Tuesday morning and there wasn't any wait. The museum is very thoughtfully curated and has a much more impressive collection than I expected for the location. The staff are happy to let you browse on your own, which I thought was great because it gives you an opportunity to really sit with the pieces, but are happy to answer any of your questions. They're also very knowledgeable, so I encourage you to ask questions! A very fun surprising find and worth the visit (and plenty of parking to boot!).

Tani Rae Standridge

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 help it grow!

Joshua Tijerina

We went to this museum based off of the highly rated Google maps reviews. we felt a little bit duped. When we first got there, we were surprised. It was in a shopping center next to a big lots. That was the first sign that we should not have gone. We decided because of all the reviews that we would go. It's $15 per adult. The first area was decent, had some nice big dinosaur bones. The problem is it's very, very small. Half the stuff in the reviews you don't see there anymore. There's not a lot to see. There's no outside area like the reviews show.
I think we were the only ones there. You can see everything in about ten minutes. it's OK. For somebody who's really into this. But overall it's very small and didn't feel like it was worth it Instead of only then five or six dollars to enter.

Brian Day

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 City location.

Tiani Hicks

I had such a pleasant experience organizing a tour of the museum for my homeschool group, 29 Palms Home Educators. Alberto was greatly knowledgeable, passionate, and presented with interesting insights! This is such a wonderful gem in our desert community! More people need to visit and experience our history!

Jim Rosas Rodriguez

The museum is easy to miss but worth multiple visits. The owner is super nice and is more than happy to show you any exhibit and tell you about it. He’s so smart I wish I could have been there longer. They are constantly getting new stuff so it’s worth a visit and revisit.

Marc Remis

This collection will appeal to tourists and student spanning a wide range of ages. Exquisite fossils and dinosaur bones moulded replicas numbered 125 examples. These were displayed in chronological order rather than by geographic region. The second room contained large Asian genuine artifacts ranging from 500 to 3000 years old. They were in exceptional condition. The third exhibit was over 40 large format astronomical photos of fabulous colors and quality. The fourth room was a local historical exhibit of old photos and artifacts of the region's development. Each item had a full description and a museum catalogue contained additional information. The curator gave an informative introduction with a theatrical flair. We spent almost 2 hours. This was very much well worth the time we spent! It is conveniently located in a shopping center accross the street from a casino.

paul klein

We were visiting Palm Springs and just happened upon the Museum. We went in just as the doors were opening. Since we were first to arrive, the extremely knowledgeable Docent spent over a half an hour explaining everything we needed to know about our visit. His talk was fascinating and done with style.
We completely enjoyed our tour.