Stephen Birch Aquarium Museum
2300 Expedition Way, La Jolla
Phone: 858-534-3474
The Stephen Birch Aquarium Museum, associated with the world-renowned Scripps Institute of Oceanography, is the largest oceanographic exhibit in the U.S. With over 3,000 fish from waters cold to tropical, the museum features enough species to keep even Jacques Cousteau busy. The museum's bookshop sells a variety of works focusing on marine science and oceanography and includes teaching materials.

Balboa Park
Phone: 619-232-2721
With perhaps the most to offer of any area of San Diego, the beautifully landscaped acres of Balboa Park include museums featuring world class collections, the San Diego Zoo, the Starlight Bowl outdoor theater, the Spreckels Organ Pavilion, the Old Globe Theatre complex, rose and cactus gardens, and the Japanese Friendship Garden, where the occasional traditional tea ceremony can be observed. If you are in the mood for a walk or a picnic, this is the area for you. Even the open areas feature entertainment with both artists and street performers being common sights during the weekend.

San Diego Museum of Art
1450 El Prado, Balboa Park
Phone: 619-232-7931
The largest museum in San Diego, the Museum of Art features works by Old Masters from several continents.

San Diego Natural History Museum
In Balboa Park
Phone: 619-232-3821
For those who enjoy the collected works of nature more than the collected works of man, the San Diego Natural History Museum presents to its visitors a variety of environmental habitats. These include desert, ocean and shore habitats, as well as displays of a variety of gems and minerals.

San Diego Aerospace Museum
2001 Pan American Plaza
Phone: 619-234-8291
Fax: 619-233-4526
Located in Balboa Park, the San Diego Aerospace Museum is the place to be for aviation enthusiasts both young and old. Whether it is an interest in historical flight or merely a child's fascination with the wonders of flying that brings one here, there is plenty here to view, entertain, and educate.

Firehouse Museum 1572 Columbia St
Phone: 619-232-FIRE
Complete with shiny fire engines, hand and horse-drawn engines, a turn of the century steam pumper, and historical memorabilia such as antique alarms and fire hats, the Firehouse Museum is a complete collection of firefighting artifacts. In fact, the only thing missing is the Dalmatian.

Maritime Museum 1306 N. Harbor Dr.
Phone: 619-234-9153
Consisting of three uniquely historical vessels, the Maritime Museum exhibits the variety of naval architecture and function of the 19th and early 20th century. Visitors can board each vessel and explore for themselves or view movies on-deck (April - October). The vessels that comprise the Museum are the full-rigged merchant vessel Star of India (1863), whose impressive masts are an integral part of the San Diego cityscape, the gleaming white San Francisco-Oakland steam-powered ferry Berkeley (1898), which worked round-the-clock to carry people to safety following the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, and the sleek Medea (1904), one of the world's few remaining large steam yachts.

San Diego Museum of Man
1350 El Prado, Balboa Park
Phone: 619-239-2001
FAX: 619-239-2749
Those interested in the early history of American Indian, Mayan, and Egyptian art and culture can view exhibits here. The exhibits vary from American Indian art to early Egyptian mummies. The museum also features a Children's' Discovery Center for younger museum patrons.