Great Valley Museum
2201 Blue Gum Avenue,Modesto Junior College, Modesto, CA 95358 - United States
The Great Valley Museum opens minds, touches hearts, and inspires action towards discovering, appreciating, and preserving our natural heritage and environment. Science literacy and the unique Central Valley are promoted by engaging students, educators and the community through onsite and outreach programs. The Museum serves as a resource to educational institutions, including Modesto Junior College.
The GVM home is the first floor of the Science Community Center on the west campus of Modesto Junior College.
We offer group tours for groups of up to 70 individuals. Our docent guided tours cover the natural history and various habitats of the Central Valley of California. Live animal shows in which we present some of the two dozen live animals are also available for groups. In our museum we have a Discovery Room dedicated to hands-on activities and materials. This room also houses 2 dozen live animals including snakes, tarantulas, skinks and many others. The planetarium has a top-of-the-line Zeiss Skymaster ZKP-4 LED/fiber optic star projector coupled with a Zeiss Velvet Projection System capable of displaying the night sky and full-dome planetarium films for an audience of 100.
Our Traveling Teacher program offers over 3 dozen programs that come out to local elementary schools to cover topics such as live animals, the various sciences, nature, craft topics and our California Valley history. Such topics are also offered through on-site classes throughout the year.
The Great Valley Museum is a non-profit tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization funded through memberships, admissions, grants, and donations.
Exhibits
Planetarium
The William R. Luebke Planetarium consists of a Zeiss Skymaster ZKP-4 LED/fiber-optic star projector coupled with the Zeiss Velvet Projection System. Together, these top-of-the-line projection instruments display unparalleled images of the night sky and full-dome planetarium films onto a 40-foot suspended dome ceiling for an audience of up to 100 people.
Science On A Sphere
A room sized, global display system that uses computers and video projectors to display planetary data onto a six foot diameter sphere, analogous to a giant animated globe. Produced by NOAA, has over 400 datasets including real-time worldwide events such as earthquakes, hurricanes and other phenomenon.
California Central Valley Habitats
Displays of the natural habitats found within the central valley of California.
Live Animal Friends
Two dozen live animals including tarantulas, skinks, snakes, turtles and more.
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