Exhibits at the San Bernardino County Museum

Current Special Exhibits can be found on the front page.

Online Exhibits

Permanent Exhibits are below.

Main Level

Entrance Foyer

You are greeted by a Shasta Ground Sloth. Aren't you glad it's extinct?

Hall of History 

All roads lead through San Bernardino. See a Mexican carreta, a covered wagon that crossed the Mojave Desert from Salt Lake City, a Wells Fargo stage coach, and horse-drawn buggies that featured in the discovery and development of Inland Southern California. The History Hall also contains special galleries that house changing exhibits (see our events calendar for details).

Gerald A. Smith Hall of Anthropology

Exhibits feature artifacts from the mountains, valleys, deserts, and rivers of San Bernardino County. Learn about the Mojave, Vanyume, Serrano, and Gabrielino tribes. The Calico Mountains Archaeological Site (a.k.a. the "Calico Early Man Site"), perhaps the oldest archaeological site in North America, is represented through photographs and artifacts. Dioramas explore Pleistocene habitats in the Mojave Desert.

Fisk Gallery

Changing art exhibits line the walls inside our geodesic dome, which is also used for lectures, meetings, and special activities. Please go to our events calendar for details.

Administration offices and the Museum Store are also located on the main level of the museum, as are the ticketing area and information desk, restrooms and drinking fountain.

Upper Level

Land Bird Hall

An outstanding collection of mounted birds from inland Southern California, both residents and migrants. Specimens are arranged by habitat, so this exhibit is a great resource for identifying backyard visitors as well as the "little brown speckled guy" you saw on a picnic in the mountains. Eggs and nests are also exhibited. Hear bird songs through interactive exhibit panels. Birds from Baja California, Mexico, are also represented in this hall.

Water Bird Hall

Fresh water and salt water habitat displays from the shores of California north to Alaska hold mounted specimens of water birds. Eggs and nests are also displayed, and bird songs may be heard through an interactive exhibit.

Schuiling Gallery

Sometimes it's art, sometimes it's programs . . . but there's always something going on in the upper level of our geodesic dome. Just outside in the hallway, don't miss our California Condor that died an accidental death more than 60 years ago and stands as a reminder of our vanishing wildlife.

Lower Level

John Belcher North American Mammal Hall

Dioramas feature mammals of every persuasion: from a spectacular polar bear to a ubiquitous 'possum family. Reptiles, amphibians, and insects are displayed along the periphery of the hall, as are fossils as old as 16 million years and as young as the Ice Age.

Curatorial offices, collections storage, and laboratory spaces in the lower level are accessible by appointment only.

Ramp Cases

Sloping ramps connect the exhibit levels in the main museum building, and each ramp is lined with exhibits. On the lowest level, see Miocene and Pleistocene fossils. Walk up past cases of minerals and gemstones and continue up through fossil history (including California's only dinosaur tracks, rhinos trapped by volcanic ash 14 million years ago, and Ice Age fossils from Southern California). As you ascend to the ornithology exhibits on the upper level, trace the history of birds and flight mechanics along the upper ramp.

Outside the Museum

Mmmm. . . what's that smell? The Museum is surrounded by citrus groves, and orange blossoms perfume the air. Visit the Zimmerman Citrus Kiosk to explore our citrus heritage. See a Southern Pacific locomotive and a Santa Fe caboose. A series of outdoor exhibits present the history of mining in the county, with authentic equipment including mine cars, generators, and a head frame. Lumber wagons, a water wheel that generated the first electricity in the city,and more large-size surprises are displayed on the Museum grounds. Don't miss the native plant garden outside the Exploration Station, the Sonoran Desert cactus garden at the Museum entrance, with the Mojave Desert garden alongside. Picnic tables and lawn are also available.

Death Valley: Alive! , a traveling exhibit now accepting reservations.