The new exhibit transports visitors to a time when ocean travel was sedate, luxurious, and exclusive. This exhibit draws upon some of the Museum’s hidden treasures, never shown to the public. Its collection of ocean liner and cruise ship ephemera, numbering thousands of individual items, is one of the largest in California. Coupled with vintage brochures, passenger lists, menus, cabin plans, and images of dining rooms and recreational areas, the curators have gathered rare ocean liner-related artifacts from both the Maritime Museum of San Diego collection as well as those generously loaned by local private collectors. Displays cover more than 100 years of ocean-going recreational and destination travel, during the great age of steam, and invite visitors to journey back in time to the era of the great ocean liners of the 20th century.

Brothels, Bites, and Booze is a fun and innovative tour that lets you explore the Gaslamp Quarter, the heart of America’s finest city. Experience what makes this city one of the top destinations for dining, shopping, and nightlife. Learn the secrets behind the district’s historic buildings as you to travel back in time to the post-Gold Rush era as thousands arrived in the port town of San Diego. This popular Gaslamp Quarter food tour will not only satisfy your taste buds, but your curiosity, too!

A walking history tour of San Diego’s thriving New Town
Indulge your senses and taste original flavors from favorite restaurants.
Listen to stories about the scandals of the Stingaree District.
Learn some of the history that they don't teach you in a classroom!

Kelly Akashi (b. 1983, Los Angeles) is known for her materially hybrid works that are compelling both formally and conceptually. Originally trained in analog photography, the artist is drawn to fluid, impressionable materials and old-world craft techniques, such as glass blowing and casting, candle making, bronze and silicone casting, and rope making. Encompassing a selection of artworks made over the past decade, Kelly Akashi: Formations features a newly commissioned series in which Akashi explores the inherited impact of her family’s imprisonment in a Japanese American incarceration camp during World War II.

Don your pajamas for our Polar Express Family Day at the San Diego Model Railroad Museum!
Join us for a day at the museum to watch the classic film, The Polar Express, participate in crafts, and enjoy our exhibits.  
Film showing times: 10:30 AM and 1:30 PM 
A special appearance from Santa from 12:15-1:30 PM 
Make your own Holiday Cards, Ornaments, and more! 
Polar Express Family Day is included in museum admission and the Balboa Park Explorer Pass. 
Get your general admission ticket for December 9th now: https://www.sdmrm.org/polarexpress