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View Winners → Celebrate 30 Year with Pasadena’s Museums of the Arroyo
Arts Apr 08, 2019
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– Courtesy photo / Facebook, @MOTADay
On May 19, explore great architecture, historical discoveries, family fun and entertainment at six local museums all for free at Museums of the Arroyo (MOTA) Day.
This year marks the 30th anniversary of Museums of the Arroyo Day – a community event that annually brings together thousands of Angelenos from across Southern California to experience the rich history, iconic architecture and arts-driven neighborhoods of the Arroyo Seco area.
Free shuttles connect the museums. With so much to do and see – and only a few hours to do it – visitors are encouraged to best plan their visits and to pace themselves accordingly. (See MuseumsOfTheArroyo.com for parking locations, shuttles routes and other MOTA Day information.)
Organizers stress that guests should plan to visit no more than three museums for a satisfying MOTA Day experience.
MOTA Day takes place from noon to 4 p.m. Special events this year include:
The Autry’s Historic Southwest Museum Mt. Washington Campus
MOTA visitors can view two ongoing exhibitions, Four Centuries of Pueblo Pottery featuring 100 rare ceramics made by the Pueblo people of Arizona and New Mexico. On the lower level, Making A Big Noise: The Explorations of Charles Lummis reveals stories about the site’s founder and his journeys. Kids can enjoy arts and crafts activities presented by the Arroyo Arts Collective. Guests can also explore the community garden which offers a commanding view of the Arroyo.
The Gamble House
Visitors can tour the 1908 Arts and Crafts gem that is on the National Registry of Historic Places. Check out the MOTA-Day only specials and raffle at the Gamble House Bookstore. Kids and adults can play lawn games and get creative at the crafts table.
Do not miss out on MOTA day on May 19. – Courtesy photo / MOTA
Heritage Square Museum
Guests can wander among the lovely Victorian homes for mini-tours. Adam’s Forge will present blacksmithing demonstrations. Visit a curated selection of vintage fashions in the Ford House. Children can play with Victorian toys, do crafts, and learn about plants and flowers in the Ford House Kitchen garden. “Pump & Splash” will also be onsite for water fun.
The Los Angeles Police Museum
MOTA guests can tour the facilities, private collections and historical memorabilia that date back to the late 1800s, including a vehicle shelter, a restored 1955 paddy wagon. Kids can climb into a retired police helicopter. Visitors can experience a real jail cell and snap their own free police booking photos and/or step in a lineup at the Interrogation Room. Check out the new exhibit on the popular 60s television show Adam-12. Tour three other permanent exhibits about the Onion Field murder, the Patty Hearst kidnapping, and the 1997 North Hollywood shootout.
The Lummis Home
Visitors can enjoy self-guided tours of the home. Crafts for kids and adults can talk with historian Dennis Harbach about his database research that lists the visiting and local dignitaries who were guests at the Lummis Home from 1897 to 1928. MOTA guests can see if any of their relatives were part of the early Lummis’ parties and gatherings.
– Courtesy photo / Facebook, @MOTADay
Pasadena Museum of History
Visitors can view the current exhibition: GIDDY UP: Children Take the Reins. Explore the World of Carousel Animals & Childhood Toys that Rock, Bounce and Roll. Visitors can create a “Cowpoke Vest” with Art2Go. Also, guests can take a mini-tour of the 1906 Beaux Arts Fenyes Mansion as well as the Finnish Folk Museum, a replica of a 19th Century Finnish farmhouse.
For more information visit museumsofthearroyo.com and like MOTA on Facebook @museumsofthearroyo.
