Great Valley Museum

The Great Valley Museum is a natural history and science museum located in the Science Community Center on the west campus of Modesto Junior College, founded in 1971 and run as a resource for MJC and the broader community. Its 12,000-square-foot space features native habitat displays representing California's Central Valley ecosystems, live native fish and wildlife exhibits, a Discovery Room, an interactive periodic table, a NOAA Science on a Sphere display, and a planetarium with regular shows.

The museum runs school-group tours, outreach programs, and hands-on science camps for kids, and is a member of the North American Reciprocal Museum (NARM) Association, giving members from other participating museums discounted or free entry.

Its specific focus on Central Valley natural history, geology, and Native American heritage — rather than a generic science-center format — makes it a distinctive rainy-day and educational stop, especially valued by families and school groups for its planetarium shows, which run on a more limited Friday–Saturday schedule than the rest of the museum.