With many museums offering synthetic or made-from-powder-packet history, those seeking knowledge about the past are increasingly opting for natural history, with its organic exhibits and local farm-grown tour guides. Opt for healthier head-food with today's Groupon: for $7, you get two general-admission tickets to the Buena Vista Museum of Natural History, located downtown (a $14 value). This Groupon is not valid with other offers. The museum is open Thursdays through Saturdays.

Within the Buena Vista Museum of Natural History's thick, siege-proof walls and beneath its huge, atmosphere-shunning roof are 16,000 square feet of exhibits spanning the subjects of anatomy, astronomy, archaeology, anthropology, biology, geology, and paleontology. Use your two tickets ($7 each) to bring along a fellow fossil fanatic as you explore an array of long-extinct creatures such as the mixosaurus, the dugong, and the VCR repairman. Elsewhere, tap into the geologic history of California, sifting through eons of erosion and millennia of movement. The museum's nooks of knowledge hold exhibits for everyone, with a veritable treasure trove of gems, minerals, and petrified wood wowing the young, the old, and the Highlander alike.

Check the calendar of events for a list of special programs, or ambush yourself with a completely unscripted visit into the crushing jaws of wisdom.

Not valid for resale. The museum is closed on most major holidays.

Reviews

The Buena Vista Museum of Natural History was mentioned on Surf Bakersfield, and it has more than 350 Facebook fans:

• A place where children, youth, parents, grandparents and educators, all can enjoy the hands-on, mind stimulating activities. – Surfbakersfield.com
• What a great place, and the people there are so nice and eager to share with the kids! Buena Vista Museum is truly one of Bakersfield's hidden treasures! – Ginger H., Facebook