NEWPORT BEACH, Calif.—Strolling along picturesque Marine Avenue on Balboa Island, with its towering lemon-scented eucalyptus trees and quaint mom-and-pop storefronts, one can find an unexpected delight—the Balboa Island Museum and Historical Society. Sandwiched between an olive oil store and upscale bathing suit shop, the museum was founded in 1999 as an institution dedicated to documenting,…

ROTTERDAM—Dutch art and design museum Boijmans Van Beuningen on Friday opened a stunning mirrored warehouse called the “Depot” to display the great bulk of its collection normally kept in underground storage, hidden from public view. While most museums only have the space to show a small part of their overall collection, the Rotterdam art museum…

They’re all here: ET pointing the way home; Dorothy’s iconic ruby slippers; Charles Foster Kane’s childhood sled, Rosebud; R2D2; the ravenous shark from “Jaws”—and so much more. It took 92 years to get this long-wished-for project completed. But on Sept. 20 the $484 million Academy Museum of Motion Pictures opened its doors to the public,…

PARIS—In a decision with potential ramifications across European museums, France is displaying 26 looted colonial-era artifacts for one last time before returning them home to Benin. The wooden anthropomorphic statues, royal thrones, and sacred altars were pilfered by the French army in the 19th century from western Africa. The French will have a final glimpse…

A Spitfire donated to Stoke-on-Trent by the RAF in 1972 is set to go back on public display in a new glass-fronted £5.4 million ($7.5 million)  gallery as an “anything’s possible” symbol of hope. The aircraft’s official unveiling in a 3,800 sq ft (350 square meter) extension to the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery on…

A heartbreaking letter from a teenage soldier killed in World War I was unearthed during museum renovations. Private Vincent Collins, 18, wrote the last letter home to his parents in 1915—the night before his unit moved into the trenches. The soldier, serving with the 8th (Argyllshire) Battalion, was wounded later that year and died from…

An antique shop owner from England has discovered that a customer’s painting purchased at a flea market was once stolen from a museum and is a rare collection of French artist Eugene Boudin, whose work has sold for 1.5 million pounds (approx. US$2.1 million). Old Bank Antiques’s boss Jon White said that the lady whom…

It’s a beautiful summer’s day in picturesque Portsmouth, New Hampshire and your kids are busy making a cup of tea from a sprig of mint chocolate from Mrs. Goodwin’s Victorian garden. As they are just about to invite you to join them in a two-story, 18th-century-inspired treehouse, a kaleidoscope of butterflies flitters past and entices…

A hoard of medieval coins was recently discovered in Hungary during archaeological excavations in a field near Újlengyel village. The excavation, impelled by digs in 2019 where 150 medieval coins were discovered at the location, yielded yet more treasure. Using metal detectors, the archaeologists were fortunate to discover four gold coins and no less than 7,000…

WESTMINSTER, Calif.—For doughnut lovers in Orange County, California, the Donut Life Museum offers a sweet experience they definitely “do-nut” want to miss. The owners of the pun-heavy, brightly colored pop-up museum drew inspiration from the tasty pastries to create a cheerful adventure for their guests. “When life gives you lemons, make a lemon-filled doughnut,” Kathy…