Time for our monthly WD-FM Museum Musings where you can catch up with Chris and Bri on upcoming events, programs, and more on our upcoming virtual community art exhibition, Conserving the Magic of Our Planet. Hear a special interview with Director of Education, Travis Lacina about our summer classes and engaging workshops.
Current Exhibitions
The Walt Disney Studios and World War II
Immerse yourself in the compelling and multifaceted story of The Walt Disney Studios’ extensive contribution to the Allies’ World War II effort through an array of original artwork, film clips, photos, literature, and more.
Conserving the Magic of Our Planet: Virtual Community Art Exhibition
The Walt Disney Family Museum is pleased to announce its next virtual community art exhibition, Conserving the Magic of Our Planet, which will debut to the public on Earth Day, Thursday, April 22, 2021. Adult and teen artists from around the world are invited to submit artwork inspired by Walt’s passion for stories based on our natural environment and the protection of our planet.
Upcoming Programs
Virtual Special Event | Members Only Oscar® Showcase Tour
Please note: This program is open only to museum members.
Join us as Ron Diamond, Executive Producer of Acme Filmworks, hosts the annual Oscar® Showcase Tour. Watch a screening of this year’s Best Animated Short Film nominees and hear stories from some of the talented artists behind these spectacular movies.
Virtual Storytime | Little People, BIG DREAMS: Earth Heroes with Maria Isabel Sánchez Vegara
Join best-selling author Maria Isabel Sánchez Vegara for a Virtual Storytime of Little People, BIG DREAMS: Earth Heroes. Hear the stories of three environmental heroes—Jane Goodall, Greta Thunberg, and David Attenborough—and how they pursued their dreams to help conserve the natural world. This Storytime is presented in conjunction with our latest virtual exhibition, Conserving the Magic of Our Planet: A Virtual Community Art Exhibition, opening on Earth Day, April 22, 2021.
Earth Day Replay | The Big Green Draw: A Climate for Change
Join us at The Walt Disney Family Museum to celebrate Earth Day with a replay of three events previously recorded during our October 2020 Virtual Community Day, The Big Green Draw: A Climate for Change.
Virtual Workshop | Celebrating Earth Day with Nature Artist John Muir Laws
Spring has sprung and the hills are again full with flowers. Celebrate Earth Day with a fun and interactive workshop with nature artist John Muir Laws and learn how to block in the basic shapes, foreshorten flowers, and use watercolor or colored pencils to bring out the beauty in your own nature journal.
Virtual Summer Classes
Virtual Summer Classes explore art and animation from a historical and practical perspective for a variety of age ranges. Click on each Summer Class for meeting times, requirements, and more.
Featured Blogs
New Heights: Walt Disney's Mineral King
It was a Friday. It was about week before Christmas. And it was official: The U.S. Forest Service awarded the right to develop the Mineral King area of Sequoia National Forest to Walt Disney Productions. The year was 1965.
A wire service article quoted Walt Disney: “When I first saw Mineral King five years ago, I thought it was one of the most beautiful spots I had ever seen and we want to keep it that way.” To Walt Disney, that meant a self-contained “Alpine Village” designed to preserve the natural beauty of valley.
Other people wanted “to keep it that way” too. But to them it meant no development at all.
Walt and the True-Life Adventures
Walt made thirteen nature films in the 1950s known as the True-Life Adventures series. Eight of them won Academy Awards®. They were shown in public schools for decades and—judging by correspondence that is in the Walt Disney Archives in Burbank—many young people went into the forestry service and related fields due to the influence of these films.
From the Store
Disney's Land: Walt Disney and the Invention of the Amusement Park That Changed the World
In Disney's Land, Richard Snow brilliantly presents the entire spectacular story, a wild ride from vision to realization, and an epic of innovation and error that reflects the uniqueness of the man determined to build the happiest place on earth, Walt Disney.
Donald Duck Insignia Bomber Style Jacket
Exclusive for The Walt Disney Studios and World War II Special Exhibition. This bomber-style windbreaker features the museum’s exclusive insignia design of Donald Duck clad in pilot gear, holding onto the wings of a Consolidated PBY Catalina flying boat while soaring over the Golden Gate Bridge. This boat was commonly seen in the San Francisco Bay during World War II. The insignia is in multicolor embroidery with the exhibition title logo.
Fifinella Insignia Track Jacket
Exclusive for Special Exhibition The Walt Disney Studios and World War II. This unisex track jacket features an exclusive design concept art of Fifinella, created by Roald Dahl and The Walt Disney Studios and used as an insignia by The Women’s Air Force Pilots, printed in a multicolor embroidery.