My 2022 Museum Pick: Rosie The Riveter Museum

In 2022 I visited several museums, all of them were great. But I was asked if I pick one, and only one museum to recommend, which museum it would be. This is hard and now I have one: it’s much less well-known than many others, but the visit greatly exceeded my expectation. Plus, it’s a Bay Area local one.

Rosie The Riveter Museum

Technically, it’s called Rosie the Riveter WWII Home Front Visitor Center, it tells the history when women worked in factories, shipyards and made huge contributions to the war effort. It’s located in City of Richmond, California, which is also relatively less well-known, compared to other Bay Area cities. We heard about this place mouth-to-mouth from my kid’s teachers and peer parents.

We visited it on a Friday because that Friday happened to have no school. We did not know there would be surprise for us: it was a Rosie Friday! On that morning, we met Marian Sousa, turning 97 years old this year, and Marian Wynn, “their baby”, turning 96 years old this year. During World War II, they both came from other parts of America, worked in factories and shipyards, did jobs that used to be reserved for men only, together with many more women. We heard their stories, asked them questions, and took pictures with them, this was amazing!

Location of Rosie The Riveter Museum

Thus I highly recommend my friends in Bay Area, and my friends who plan to visit Bay Area, to take a visit on a Friday morning and hear their stories(consider give them a call in advance to confirm if Rosies are coming). There used to be Phyllis Gould telling stories too, she passed away one year before we knew about this museum and their stories. In addition to that, the museum itself has great exhibition of course. No more spoilers from me.

Other museums I visited in 2022

Let me group them by region.

Bay Area

• California Academy of Sciences. The “Bugs” exhibition was extremely well-designed but looks like it concluded.
• De Young Museum and Legion of Honor. Highly recommend Ramses the Great and Gold of the Pharaohs exhibition, which ends soon.
• Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum. Hidden gem in a quiet San Jose neighborhood.
• Chabot Space & Science Center. Another hidden gem, hidden in Oakland’s redwood hills, worth a visit.

Florida

• Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex: I did not expect that I would be “experiencing”, rather than “seeing” or “learning”, the historical moments during humankind’s space exploration. It exceeds my expectation.
• Hemingway’s Home. Guided tour is a must have.
• Vizcaya Museum and Gardens. One thing they did really well is, there is absolutely no paper waste for tickets, maps and information guides, but if you don’t have a cellphone, it’s impossible to visit. It’s definitely worth buying a cellphone for that visit though.

DC

• Mount Vernon. About George Washington’s life and his time.
• Smithsonian Museums in DC. My second visit but still fantastic. I was particularly amazed by the National Museum of African Art.

London

• The British Museum: great museum but the entry line was sooooooo long.
• The British Library: yeah I see it a museum too and worth the visit.
• Victoria and Albert Museum. I just got one hour which was too short, I will visit again.