I Accidentally Built a Museum
If you’ve been in shop, you know that for years I have been saying that one day I'd love to have my own natural history museum here in Twentynine Palms. Not a giant institution with million-dollar exhibits (although that would be amazing.) Just a dusty little desert spot where people could come and get inspired by the beauty and mystery of the natural world.
Over the past few years, the back room at Mojave Moon Apothecary has transformed into a series of rotating exhibitions. It all began with our fictional alien planet Zelatron back in 2023. Planet Zelatron is a blacklight experience that showcases our collection of naturally UV reactive minerals, meteorites, and glowing giant flowers in a super fun, hands-on way. Since then, the room has become a Victorian curiosity cabinet, an oceanic natural history collection and an excuse to feed my own collections and curiosity. This January, I'm already planning our next adventure, DINO WORLD. Because who doesn’t love dinosaurs??
Immersive blacklight experience - Planet Zelatron
Somewhere along the way, it hit me. I wasn't just building exhibits anymore. I had accidentally built the natural history museum I'd been dreaming about. Looking at some of my favorite roadside attractions, like the World Famous Crochet Museum just down the road in Joshua Tree, or other indie spots like The Museum of Jurassic Technology in Los Angeles and all the neat taxidermy at the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium in San Pedro, I realized that museums don't have to be huge to be memorable. So I finally decided it was time to give mine a name:
The Mojave Moon Museum of Natural Curiosities
It's probably one of the smallest museums you'll ever visit. And it’s definitely the smallest museum you'll ever get lost in.
Keeping with the spirit of Mojave Moon, everything is hands-on and family-friendly. Unlike most traditional museums, you don't end your visit in the gift shop… you've been exploring it all along. Many of the specimens on display are available to purchase, but if you'd rather just poke around and look at cool stuff, that's perfectly okay, too.
Shells and fossils on display during The Nautilus Room exhibit
The museum is open during regular business hours and always free to visit. And, with rotating seasonal exhibitions, there's always something new to discover. I hope you’ll stop by and check it out on your next visit to Joshua Tree!