Let the kids try hands-on exhibits and new ways to learn and play along Cannery Row.

Located on Monterey’s famed Cannery Row, My Museum is the type of place kids might dream up themselves—a lively, colorful wonderland chock-a-block with playful hands-on exhibits. For example, one exhibit has kids stand in the center of a strange contraption, pull a rope, and then watch as a giant, glistening bubble envelops them in sparkling light. Would-be thespians have a blast at My Theater, where they use props and costumes to turn themselves into a unicorn, lion, or butterfly, then make their stage debut. My Museum hosts a variety of special events throughout the year, from tea parties to fashion shows, all just for kids. There's always something surprising and fun to see, play, and do.

The Monterey Museum of Art presents Monterey Modernism, featuring paintings and works on paper by California artists illuminating a revolutionary movement away from the popularity of Impressionism to an exploration of intense color and simplified form that emerged in art between World War I and World War II. Modernism took root in the United States when, in 1913, the International Exposition of Modern Art in New York, (commonly known as the Armory Show) offered the first wide exposure to avant-garde European art. Under its influence, American artists turned away from the light-dominated feathery brushstrokes of Impressionism to adopt the use of vibrant, even violent color and simplified form.