Skirball Cultural Center

Greeting more than 500,000 visitors a year, the Skirball Cultural Center explores the connections between 4,000 years of Jewish heritage and the vitality of American democratic ideals. It does so through music programs, community meetings, educational outreach, and displays in galleries that include multimedia installations, rare artifacts, photographs, interactive computer stations, and sound recordings. The core exhibit here is "Visions and Values: Jewish Life from Antiquity to America."

Unique to the Skirball Cultural Center is Noah's Ark, completed after five years of preparations and occupying an 8,000-square-foot gallery. This floor-to-ceiling indoor recreation of the Biblical wooden ark is filled with whimsical animals, handcrafted from recycled materials and ranging from cuddly toys to puppets and life-size replicas.

Also on the premises of the Skirball Cultural Center is Zeidler's Café, serving gourmet sandwiches, salads, fresh fish, pasta, and pizza, among other menu items. Those looking for gifts or souvenirs will find them in two places here. Audrey's Museum Store offers a broad array of contemporary and traditional Jewish ceremonial art, books, and music CDs, while the Noah's Ark Store features handcrafted toys, games, puzzles, puppets, craft objects, books, and an exclusive line of eco-friendly children's and adult clothing.

The Skirball Cultural Center is located at 2701 North Sepulveda Boulevard, Los Angeles, California 90049. Operating hours are from noon to 5pm on Tuesday through Friday and from 10am to 5pm on weekends; closed on Mondays. The cost of general admission is $10, discounted to $7 for seniors and full-time students, and $5 for children aged 2~12. All of the exhibits are free to the public on Thursdays.