Museum of Jurassic Technology

Stepping inside the Museum of Jurassic Technology is like entering a dream. The Museum of Jurassic Technology isn’t your typical museum. It’s located on Venice Boulevard in Los Angeles. It challenges your perception of reality. Founded in 1988 by David and Diana Wilson, the museum describes itself as dedicated to the “advancement of knowledge and the public appreciation of the Lower Jurassic.” This immediately sets a curious tone. What does the Lower Jurassic period have to do with, well, anything here? The Museum of Jurassic Technology houses a fascinating collection of exhibits. These exhibits blend art, science, history, and the simply bizarre. You’ll find yourself captivated by microminiatures carved within the eye of a needle. You can explore the decaying dice of magician Ricky Jay. There’s even a room dedicated to the strange letters received by the Mount Wilson Observatory. These letters explore unusual theories. The Museum of Jurassic Technology also features exhibits on pre-scientific cures and remedies and the dogs of the Soviet space program. One exhibit recounts the tale of Madalena Delani, an opera singer. Her story intertwines with Geoffrey Sonnabend, a memory theorist. Sonnabend’s work suggests that memory is a human construct. He believed we create memories “to buffer ourselves against the intolerable knowledge of the irreversible passage of time”. The museum also includes exhibits on trailer park culture and the 17th-century Jesuit polymath Athanasius Kircher. Kircher founded the Museum Kircherianum in Rome. As you wander through the dimly lit halls, you’ll question what is real and what is not. The Museum of Jurassic Technology invites you to embrace wonder and curiosity. It reminds us that the pursuit of knowledge can take many strange and beautiful paths.