National Steinbeck Center - Museum in Salinas - 1 Main St, USA

What a wonderful curation and storytelling! I felt like I was a “walk-on” in all of Steinbeck’s books as I strolled through the quote lanes, background information and the visuals presented. I particularly liked the enormous maps; the first one that welcomes the visitors by putting all the locations of the author’s works on map, the second one being the map of ‘Travels with Charlie, In Search of America”. This center really gives any Steinbeck reader a wholistic Steinbeck experience by filling in any missing information about a story or clarifying question marks that might have been lingering. I genuinely believe that this center does a great service not only to the reader but also to the Salinas region as well. 2 hours of visiting time would not do justice to this center. If only the sound of the video next to the Tortilla Flat corner did not interfere with the reading experience nearby…

Beautiful, detailed museum chronicling John Steinbeck's life. This museum is a short walk away from the Salinas Amtrak station and Greyhound stop. There are restrooms and a theatre. The exhibits include VR headsets, models, and plenty of photos. If you're interested in John Steinbeck's life, this is the place for you. Admission costs $15 for adults, $13 for students, teachers, military, county residents, and seniors, $7 for ages 6 to 17, and it's free for kids 5 and under and members.

This is an amazing museum, much larger than I expected. It covers the entirety of Steinbeck's life and helps us to understand the influences shaping his writing. Some of the exhibits are interactive and quite fun. There are video displays showing segments of his works that ended up being filmed. A word or two about the staff. We got lost twice getting to the museum. We called the museum and staff patiently gave us directions to get us back on track. They were cheerful and friendly, and greeted us warmly once our group got to the museum. Signage is confusing. The museum is part of a college campus. Signage for the campus is much more prominent than signage for the museum. There is a large, low-cost public parking garage in close proximity to the museum and many restaurants close by.

Everything around Steinbeck. About his life, his books, his travels and more. See a short film and enjoy this lovingly compiled historically collection. It is more than a museum, it is a living reserch center. All his books and more is availible in the gift shop. Even the mainstreet is framed like it was. Parking beneth the museum, rather inexpensive, under 2 Dollar the hour.

So meticulously assembled, clearly a lot of love was put into every display. Very cool to see the original Rocinante. I don't have any kids, but if I did I would definitely take them here. So many interactive exhibits that are engaging and educational. The books in the gift shop were fairly priced.

What a great tribute to a great writer. Each of Steinbeck's writings and the detail of his life from boyhood onwards is imaginatively displayed using all manner of resources from paper to video, movies, information technology and everything in between. We were enthralled with the museum which takes about 2.5-3hrs to do justice to the creative portrayal of the man. Worth the small $investment. Very helpful Associates....they will make the lunch reservations at the Restaurant which is a different location close by! Enjoy...

Loved and cried when the screen read out a part of “Tortilla Flat” that I had not heard for 15 years… it’s meaning shot into my very being and I knew xx that is one thing a great novel gifts xx thank you xx

Got a membership as an early birthday present to myself. It was a good decision. Had a small hiccup with getting my membership card but the nice lady and gentleman at the desk assured me I was taken care of. For the museum I went with a friend and walked around for 2 hours. That still wasn't enough time to read everything in the exhibits, which is a good thing. Awesome learning experience and a place you'll definitely want to visit more than once. Got 2 books and a key chain from the gift shop. Looking forward to coming back soon.