Museums & Galleries in Petaluma

A 166-square-mile valley that encompasses forests, grasslands, parks, and vineyards, the Sonoma creek watershed teems with biodiversity. The conservationists behind Sonoma Ecology both sustain and unveil this region to visitors through education, restoration, and research programs that range from youth science camps to sustainable gardening. Through these efforts, they preserve lands such as the Sonoma Overlook Trail, a 3-mile walking path that leads hikers and traveling minstrels past native plants and animals, including California freshwater shrimp, chinook, and endangered steelhead trout running up the valley's boulder-strewn rapids.

Nestled in the shadow of the Golden Gate Bridge, the Bay Area Discovery Museum entices children's inquiring minds with a host of exhibits modeled after the surrounding sea and city. The Wave Workshop lets kids explore the San Francisco Bay's ecology and test their own boat designs against simulated wind and waves. In the 2.5-acre Lookout Cove which overlooks the bay itself, a 23-foot-tall Golden Gate Bridge entices children to put on hardhats and help construct a giant model.

The curators of The GLBT History Museum—the first stand-alone museum of its kind in the U.S.—know the GLBT experience is not the same for everybody. That’s why their flagship exhibit, “Our Vast Queer Past: Celebrating San Francisco's GLBT History,” doesn’t just tell one narrative, but encompasses multiple, sometimes contradictory, perspectives. Broken into sections focusing on themes such as bar life, faith, and drag culture, the exhibition, according to the San Francisco Bay Guardian, collectively “packs a huge emotional and education punch." To illustrate 100 years of the city’s queer history, the exhibit includes everything from retro gay bar flyers to pantsuits worn by lesbian activists on their wedding day in 2008.

Along with its main exhibit, the museum hosts rotating materials from international collections that document the queer experience in countries such as Scotland and South Africa. Every one to four months, the Corner Gallery accommodates a new show dedicated to subjects such as African-American LGBT history or direct action during the AIDS epidemic. Besides exhibitions, the museum educates guests throughout the year with programming such as panel discussions and film screenings.

Groupon Celebrates Pride Month

Over the last 50 years, the gay-rights movement in America has overcome tremendous obstacles to become a powerful voice for inclusion and diversity. Even as it has grown, the movement—like Groupon—is local at heart, and we applaud the commitment to real change that improves everyday lives.

At Groupon, we are happy to add our voices to those celebrating PRIDE, their achievements as a social movement and a continued march to equality for the LGBT community. Plus, we love a chance to dig that rainbow wig out of storage.

This month—and throughout the year—we salute our merchants and customers who support PRIDE and all efforts that promote dignity, respect, and equal opportunity. We're highlighting these merchants' deals with a special badge to show Groupon's pride in working with people who share our values.

The Golden State Model Railroad Museum brings the nation’s bygone steam-powered days back to life in miniature form, recreating the trails run by the Southern Pacific and Santa Fe Railroads. Trains snake through three huge model layouts, which depict the varied terrain of Northern and Central California lovingly recreated and operated by the East Bay Model Engineers Society. Sundays in April–December from noon to 5 p.m., some of the 70 behind-the-scenes conductors imbue the tracks with energy, transforming the 10,000-square-foot facility into a locomotive wonderland alight with the sounds of bells and whistles not heard since the days when phone numbers only had three digits. The museum is also open on Wednesdays and Saturdays for viewings or on select days for themed events such as Amtrak Day or Steam/Transition Era Day.

Styled after early-20th-century fire engines, San Francisco Fire Engine Tours & Adventures’ sparkling red steed carries passengers on themed adventures that combine the excitement of racing toward a fire with the fun of outwitting time. From the vantage point of the "Big Red Shiny Mack Fire Engine," guests catch views of the Bay Area while pretending to be important pieces of firefighting equipment. Tours run year round, and during colder winter months the crew outfits patrons with authentic fire gear to keep them warm while they explore the city on one of four themed tours. Winery tours cruise to Treasure Island, where guests enjoy tastes of signature varietals, while the Golden Gate bridge tour begins in FIsherman's Warf before heading across the iconic bridge, through the village of Sausalito. Holiday-lights tours capture some of the city's most festive and decorated locations, and Halloween tours creep through Historic Presidio where ghosts are rumored to vacation.

Your ticket includes a mind-expanding movie about the cosmos, some live music you can dance to, and access to the observatory and all of Chabot's exhibits. Current exhibits delve into the scientific achievements and cosmology of the Maya, give you a most likely dehydrated taste of the life of an astronaut, and take you on a journey to the farthest reaches of the cosmos, among other things. And—weather permitting—you'll get to spy on other planets from either Nellie, the 36" reflector telescope that allows access to 180 degrees of night sky, or Rachel, the largest refractor in the western U.S. You'll have four hours to amble through the science center with a celestial concoction in one hand (drinks are $3–$5 at the cash bar) and your date in the other. After staring into the depths of distant galaxies, you can stare into the depths of each other's eyes over dinner at the Starlight Bistro or Celestial Café (not included in Groupon; reservations required).