Hi-Desert Nature Museum building with roses in the front

Upcoming Events

Hi-Desert Nature Museum Presents Abuelita's Kitchen Mexican Food Stories Call for Recipes. Photograph by Jessica Magana Sandoval A grandmother is surrounded by her family and cooking implements

The Hi-Desert Nature Museum is seeking traditional Mexican food recipes from local mothers and grandmothers of Mexican descent to be included in our next exhibit, Abuelita’s Kitchen: Mexican Food Stories.  This is an opportunity for local community members to share a part of their family’s history and rich cultural traditions.  

For recipe submission or additional information, please contact Charlie Rossow, Museum Collections & Exhibits Coordinator, or Celeste Hilderbrand, Museum Supervisor at 760-369-7212.  Deadline for recipe submissions is Wednesday, September 11, 2024. 

Geology of the Mojave Desert Lecture by Alessandro Grippo Desert scene of brown boulders

Join us the at the Hi-Desert Nature Museum for a free lecture of the Geology of the Mojave Desert, by Dr. Alessandro Grippo.

The lecture will take place on Saturday, September 14, 2024 at 1:00 p.m.  Admission is free, and registration is not required.

Donations will gratefully be accepted.  We hope to see you there!

What's On Display

Abuelita's Kitchen: Mexican Food Stories

On Display September 21 - December 14, 2024

Hi-Desert Nature Museum is pleased to present Abuelita’s Kitchen: Mexican Food Stories, a temporary exhibit exploring the impact of Mexican and Mexican-American women to the culture of Southern California through the traditional dishes they pass on to their families and communities. The exhibit features 10 indigenous, mestiza, Mexican-American, and Afro-Mexican grandmothers who have cooked, preserved, and passed on Mexican food culture while creating communities and cultures that are unique to Southern California.

Through a documentary film, audio stories, photographs, kitchen artifacts, and family recipes, this exhibit reveals each abuela’s unique relationship to Mexican cuisine, their birthplaces in Mexico, and their current homes in California.

Exhibition Support
Abuelita’s Kitchen: Mexican Food Stories was developed by USC professor Sarah
Portnoy with support from California Humanities and LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes. The exhibition tours through Exhibit Envoy, a nonprofit.

Ana Guzman stirs a pot in her kitchen
Blanca Matias laughs as she holds tamales

Spotlight on Geology

Our new geology spotlight highlights local rocks, gems, and minerals as well as geological processes.  How does wood become petrified?  What is a speleothem?  Where can I find a sand concretion?  The answers to those questions and more can be found in our new spotlight.

Spotlight on Geology will be on display November 2023 until September 30, 2024.

Cut piece of petrified wood

Our Giant Rock: A Touchstone in the Mojave

Our Giant Rock: A Touchstone is an interactive touchscreen exhibit that encourages visitors to discover and explore the nuances that make Giant Rock a unique and cherished Morongo Basin landmark. Giant Rock is most notoriously known for the ‘giant’ personalities who lived near and even under it. However, it has also served as an intermediary for certain stories and events.  The exhibit provides a series of interpretive narratives explaining these nuances while incorporating some never-before-seen images, documents, publications, and videos which help illustrate Giant Rock’s history.

This exhibit is made possible with support from California Humanities, a non-profit partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

A giant rock spliced into two pieces
Image of a computer screen showing the Our Giant Rock digital exhibit
A man and woman stand looking at a map and computer screen

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