Kern County Museum

It is more like a historical park with lots of historical buildings with old furniture moved/rebuilt there. There is also a small museum with interactive exhibits about petroleum exploration and a small kids museum. We spent around 3 hours going through everything. Kids had a great time peaking into each house to see what it looked like in the old times. We were there on a Saturday but no one was at the ticket window so we got in for free.

Their event for Halloween 🎃 this year was great! Not too long of lines to get candy, not too scary for the younger kids, tickets were five dollars each and five dollars more to get a bag for candy. No buckets allowed since they give you the bags and you have to pay per person to get candy. Most of the museums attractions were open to view and walk through. There were some vendors there for food, coffee, popcorn and tacos. They had a projector playing a Halloween 👻 movie and they had some bounce houses for the kids. Parking was a little intense but we ended up getting super lucky with a good spot. Highly recommend for next year if you want to do something other than stay in or go house to house.

While visiting Bakersfield for just 3 days, we took in the history at The Kern County Museum twice! Fascinating for kids and parents alike, we appreciated being in a safe place our kids could roam and explore. Thank you for having us!

Safe Halloween had always been a family tradition for my kids now I just took my grandsons for the first time and I thank all of you who are still keeping this event afloat. But I also seen that the community needs to help more for the kids!!!

We went for Ronald Mcdonald's house walk for kids with Texas Roadhouse. There were Starwars costume actors that put in lots of effort as well as other this to do. It was so well done and a lot of fun. Very well maintained and clean. I hadn't been in 20 years since my last visit. Great way to spend a morning or evening and see or community's history

It has been almost 20 years since I visited last, and this museum is the most memorable history museum I all my years. It made such an impact on me as a kid, that I actually got into history in school. It was like taking a step beck into time. Everything interested me deeply, and i suggest taking your kids. Especially on Halloween. Their Halloween events are so memorable and fun to attend.

You NEED to visit this place!
10/10

Very nice place, love the wild parakeets, and the volunteer lady in the large green victorian house was very nice and polite :)

Nice place to see a little of bakersfield history

I love this place!! Best place to visit - you could spend hours and hours here!! The coolest collection of local history- both indoor and outdoor exhibits of great interest to All ages! Get here early so you can spend the whole day here! The country music building was especially cool 😎 they had historic outfits and instruments on display! Great way to get some exercise and learn about the history of the area- they even have fossils of sabertooth tigers found at the nearby tar pits! Go here! You won't regret it.

I was surprised and impressed by the depth and breadth of this collection. I moved to Kern County in 1996 but didn’t visit until 2022. Don’t wait! It’s great for all ages, something for everyone.

There are several great exhibits covering the history of Kern County, it’s pioneers, influencers (think Bakersfield Sound and Cesaer Chavez), lifestyle and industry.

My dad and I just visited and we were both very impressed. We could have easily spent many hours here, but felt that two was about right given our timing constraints. Most of the museum is outdoors, with buildings that you can peek into. They have many kid-oriented signs along with the standard adult-oriented signs.

Worth your money. Christmas Town was a delight. A very enjoyable experience. Lights are great! Nice Santa photo, great hayride, areas to sit and eat, or rest, with musical light-animated displays. My son had to dance to one of these. Many Xmas jump houses for kids to enjoy. 💘

This place is awesome! I absolutely recommend it. It's totally worth the money. Each exhibit is unique and lots of fun. Definitely stop by the church if you're feeling hot. You'll thank me later. This place is so huge that we ran out of time. We'll definitely return to see the rest!

Went primarily to check out Merle Haggard's old house but the whole place was delightful. Rich in history and wonderful presentation.

If you love history or are in the mood for a blast from the past, this is a good location. The Kern County Museum has done a good job taking homes from the city to preserve and show what like was in the 1800's for Kern County. The restorations and upkeep is done primarily by donations and volunteers who assist with tours and events. The museum is open for self-guided, or docent-guided tours perfect for school fieldtrips. It is also open for private events such as weddings. The back end of the property also hold a signage graveyard, you can see many of the neon signs that attracted patrons to businesses so long ago.

It's not only good information on history but they have place to picnic, for kids to place and kind of romantic for couples.

Must see place. Great road trip to Yosemite pit stop. Two more to see all exhibits. Little kids love running around and exploring. Docents where courteous.

Highly recommend. Very informative plaques in front of numerous historic village buildings full of artifacts from Bakersfield 's past. Beautiful displays and an enthusiastic docent. Watch the movie in the exhibit hall first!

I went to the museum when there was the flee market(Oct 9th,2022). The vendors were nice. The price was reasonable.

So glad I visited before leaving Bakersfield..such a cool place and loved seeing Merle Haggards childhood home