Skirball Cultural Center
Sepulveda Pass
June 14, 2014
We took Margaret to the Skirball Center to see the special exhibition of art by Ezra Jack Keats. Keats is best known for his 1962 book The Snowy Day, which won the Caldecott medal. The exhibition was extensive, with art from Keats’ early career as well as pieces from a number of the children’s books he did. Keats grew up in New York City, the son of struggling Jewish immigrants. His art reflects the city he knew and loved. His children’s books were considered groundbreaking when published because they featured children of color, first a Puerto Rican boy in My Dog is Lost, and then an African-American boy in The Snowy Day. The books struck a chord then, and remain popular now, mainly because they have universal appeal and show children simply having fun.
We have been to the Skirball Center before; we like to visit there when there is a special exhibition of particular interest to us. Our first visit predated Margaret’s move back to Southern California. We went to see a special exhibition on the Golden Age of comic books, recommended by Jerry Robinson, the creator of the Joker.
The Skirball Center is the Jewish cultural center in Los Angeles. It has an excellent permanent collection, spanning over 4,000 years of the Jewish experience from antiquity to modern America. We have seen that exhibit before but did not visit it this time.
The Skirball participates in the Bank of America Museums on Us program. On the first full weekend of each month, Bank of America debit or credit card holders can get in for free.
The museum has several kid friendly areas. We visited Noah’s Ark this time, which we had not been through before. Entry is included with museum admission but is time-limited, presumably for crowd control purposes. In the vestibule there are display cases with ancient artifacts and a general explanation of the archaeological exploration process. Meredith was intrigued by the display outlining the development of the Hebrew alphabet from earlier Egyptian and Canaanite pictographic writing. The interior of the exhibit is mainly fun, with stylized animals made from recycled material and an extensive Ark play area.
There is a separate archaeological “dig” area up on the roof. Five or six separate sandbox areas contain buried (modern) clay artifacts and simulated stone ruins which children can excavate. We had fun watching several budding young archaeologists dig things up, and we queried them about what they were finding. We then took a quick stroll around the surrounding garden area, had a close encounter with a hummingbird, and looked out over the lily pond.
We ate at Zeidler’s Cafe, the restaurant within the museum. Margaret enjoyed a bowl of mushroom soup, Meredith had a half sandwich / half soup combination, and Bob had the salmon club sandwich with fresh fruit on the side. The food and service were excellent, as has been our experience in the past. Portions are generous without being enormous.
Parking is free for visitors at the Skirball, and their garage has ample space.