Programs & Events
We host a diversity of programmatic opportunities, open to the entire community.
Events:
Speaker Series | Special Events | Virtual Talks
Our Programs:
Hands on History
What’s coming next
Basket Weaving Workshop
October 17 (1pm-3pm) – Carolyne Edwards of the Quinn Research Center leads a basket-making activity and explains the historic traditions behind the craft.
Past Special Events
Dia de los Muertos 2024
The Santa Monica History Museum hosts students from local high schools as we honor Dia de los Muertos. Students share altars honoring family and friends. The rich tradition of Dia de los Muertos is a rare opportunity to spend time with loved ones who have passed away as well as being a time to process their loss and remember. Dia de los Muertos is not a mournful commemoration but a joyous, colorful celebration of life and memory.
Unidad Screening
Screening of the film “UNIDAD”. A documentary that tells the story of the Los Angeles organization Gay & Lesbian Latinos Unidos (GLLU)
Past Speaker Series
Virtual Talks
Throwback Thursday
Newspaperwomen
In the 1930s and 1940s L.A. was a newspaper town filled with fedora-sporting, fast-talking, men on a deadline. But two of the toughest and best crime reporters of their day were women. Florabel Muir and Agness Underwood rubbed shoulders with the likes of Bugsy Siegel and Mickey Cohen. Examining their lives and careers provides a […]
African American Leisure Sites
Historian and heritage conservation consultant Alison Rose Jefferson, M.H.C., Ph.D., discusses her new book, Living the California Dream: African American Leisure Sites during the Jim Crow Era. It examines stories, including in Santa Monica, of African Americans who fought for equal access to the state’s recreation and relaxation offerings for their pleasure and business development […]
Japanese American Internment
Imprisoned by the US Government during WWII Manzanar, Block 24, Barracks 2, Unit 4 As a US-born Japanese, Ted Tanaka was imprisoned with 120,000 others based solely on nationality, no due process of law. He personally describes photos of his incarcerated 3-1/2 years in a US crude camp. This is relevant today with our current […]
Kuruvunga Village Springs Tour
Kuruvunga Village Springs Tour + Free Museum Admission Friday, June 6, 2025, Starting at 10AM rsvp@santamonicahistory.org The Santa Monica History Museum, in partnership with the Gabrielino-Tongva Springs Foundation, invites the public to a free day of cultural exploration celebrating Indigenous heritage and the rich local history of the region. The day begins at Kuruvungna Village […]