black gold - View this location on map stepping onto the sprawling grounds of the kern county museum (661-852-5000) is like entering a 19th-century time warp. this 60-year-old institution is really a careful reconstruction (with well-dressed mannequins) of what the city looked like when it was an oil boomtown, complete with a doctor's office, general store, southern pacific locomotive and shepherd's cabin. ''black gold: the oil experience'' is a permanent interactive exhibition that offers a hands-on introduction to the science and history of oil in the region. New York Times 3801 chester avenue, Bakersfield, CA Historical, Kids, Cultural

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