Events

Public Tours for Individuals and Families:

Starting August 18, they will be offering in-person tours while following Ventura County Public Health guidelines. Tours will be given twice a week, on Wednesday and Friday, at 10 AM and 1 PM for the duration of one hour total. Maximum number of people that can be in a tour is five and minimum is three.

As they are trying to follow safety protocols to protect their staff and visitors, they will require every visitor to wear a mask inside the museum at all times. Prior reservation is required.

To make an appointment, or for questions, please contact 805-388-9944 or email bookkeeper@wfvz.org

The Commemorative Air Force (CAF) is an all-volunteer organization, with members from all walks of life, dedicated to preserving the history of combat aircraft which were flown by all military services of the United States. The CAF is a non-profit, privately funded and totally self-supporting 501 (c)3 organization. Our CAF aircraft fly!! Each year more Americans see them, touch their metal, smell their exhaust smoke, and listen to the ROAR of their piston engines than visit static displays of all other aviation museums combined! The CAF aircraft throughout the U.S. perform before nearly 10,000,000 spectators every year, recalling the hard-won victories of Americans and other freedom-loving people around the world during the years between 1939 and 1945. The Southern California Wing, CAF was formed in March, 1981, and now has 350+ members. The Wing holds an Open House during most summer holiday weekends.

The WWII Aviation Museum is currently only open on Friday and Saturday from 10AM to 4PM, and Sunday 12-4PM and closed Monday through Thursday, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years Day. We accept donations Adults – $10.00; Students (10-18) – $5.00; Children (6-10) – $3.00; Children under 6 and Current Military – No Charge. Our volunteers are at the hangars working on our aircraft on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays – from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Our cadre of volunteer docents are very knowledgeable and are glad to give tours of our facilities to groups (including school groups/classes). We need reservations for tour groups of ten or more in order to line up docents to guide you through. Please call (805) 482-0064 to make a reservation. We’ll have someone to show you around our facilities and make your visit a memorable one. We have an ever-growing museum of World War II aviation artifacts and displays, along with an aviation library. There is a gift shop in the museum for you to purchase mementos of your visit with us.

Step back in time and experience daily life on a sprawling California rancho at the turn of the last century. Docent-guided tours of the Camarillo family’s 1892 Queen Anne Victorian home provide access to all 15 rooms, including the family’s bedrooms and Adolfo’s study and ranch office (now an exhibit room with revolving displays). Admire the 12-foot ceilings and extensive interior woodwork as you wander the house. Items belonging to the Camarillo family, historical photographs, and period-appropriate furnishings bring to life the colorful stories shared by our knowledgeable docents. Don’t forget to step outside and take in lovely views of the front lawn and gardens from the home’s generous wraparound porch.

Historic Home Tours last between 45-60 minutes and include access to the first and second floors.

Starting on Saturday, September 11th, the docents will be back giving tours of the house to the public. They will occur every Saturday and Sunday (unless a major event is happening there) from 10:30 AM to 1:30 PM (with the last tour starting at 1:00 PM).

Where: 201 Camarillo Ranch Rd, Camarillo

For more information visit www.Camarilloranchfoundation.org

Many voices. Many faces. Many stories. One community. One country. One world. One humanity.

This exhibition explores our differences and our commonalities. Through Richard Barnett’s large oil paintings of crowds depicting up to 500 people in one work to Daggi Wallace’s small intimate pastel portraits and Kerstin Zilm’s poetry, prose and collected voices, the viewer is invited to contemplate their own place among each other and in this world. Will YOU speak up, make your voice heard? What will it take to work towards understanding and unity, ending division and seeing each other with new eyes? The juxtaposition of Barnett’s stylized broad brushstrokes on canvas with Wallace’s finely detailed works on paper is underscored by Zilm’s emotionally charged narrative text. All three artists embody our differences with their mediums, styles and techniques yet speak to the common ground we all share, our emotions of fear and anger, joy and love, frustration and rage. The audience has a chance to add their own voice here by helping to write a community poem or creating a protest slogan for what matters most to them.

Secrets of WWII Exhibit
April 2, 2022 – October 9, 2022

Over a hundred rare and unique stories and hundreds of artifacts will be explored!

From the battles along our California coast to the battlefields of Japan, Germany, London and more, delve into the “Secrets of WWII” at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum. Explore the wild, strange, and sometimes shocking twists that seem like fiction. Shine a light on the controversies and intrigue, revealing the secrets of its guarded technologies, uncovering the unsung heroes and their actions which altered the course of the war.

The Reagan Library has assembled an internationally derived collection of hundreds of artifacts from museums and private collections never before seen together in order to tell these compelling stories of technological advancement, creative problem solving, and incredible human persistence under the backdrop of world’s largest and most destructive war in history.

Many of the facts behind these amazing stories of WWII were not even made public until recently and others are still being fully discovered today by historians and researchers.

Top Secret artifacts like the Norden Bomb sight, the infamous German Enigma Coding-Decoding Machine, stories from Bletchley Park and the Navajo Code Talkers, and even an electrically heated Bomber Flight Suit, are but a few examples, along with rarely seen fragments of Japanese Bombs left from their attack on Southern California.

Other one-of-a-kind artifacts on display include a grappling hook from Pointe de Hoc, one of only two known to exist, a knife from Omaha Beach, a signed copy of the speech Eisenhower gave to the troops on the eve of D-Day, a M1 Garand rifle used at the Battle of the Bulge, and an actual German Storch STOL aircraft captured by the Allies.

While touring our exhibition, uncover the details behind the U. S. Army’s last horse mounted cavalry charge, the top-secret weapons that allowed the Allies to turn the tides of war, fascinating stories on female sharpshooters, and the technological facts behind the most secret code making and code breaking ever created before crypto-computerization.

Discover the stories of the classified deception units, the hero animals, the only dentist to be awarded the Medal of Honor for bravery, and why red lipstick helped with winning the War.

“Secrets of WWII” will not be like any other WWII exhibit that you’ve ever witnessed.

Secrets of WWII Exhibit Lunch and Tour
Thursday, May 26, 2022 12:30PM-4:30PM

Be one of the first museum guests to see our highly anticipated exhibit, Secrets of WWII. The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library has created a never-before- seen exhibit highlighting some of the lesser-known facts, or formerly Top Secret and recently declassified material, related to the largest war ever to be fought on the planet. The Secrets of WWII explores the fascinating elements and provides a compelling look at WWII, not for just its battles and the combatants, but digs deeper into the secrets of its guarded technologies, its unsung heroes, the popular culture of the time, the propaganda produced on all sides, the inventive methods of code making and code breaking, as well as shining a light on some of the controversies and the intrigue, much of which has not even been revealed until very recently.

The exhibit hosts over a hundred real and very rare artifacts from the period and blends them with painstakingly crafted recreations in order to provide the most accurate context and emotional ambiance for enjoying the experience. Secrets of WWII will not be like any other WWII exhibit that you’ve ever witnessed. Topics include stories of the classified deception units, hero animals, the only dentist to be awarded the Medal of Honor for bravery, and why red lipstick was considered a necessity and how it helped with winning the War.

Following the served lunch, guests will have a chance to self-guide the Ronald Reagan Presidential Museum, Air Force One Pavilion, and our extraordinary special exhibition, Secrets of WWII. Reservations are required and must be made by Monday, April 4 at 8:00 a.m. Make your reservations early before we sell out. Casual attire is suggested.
This all-inclusive offer is only $66.00 per person (tax and gratuity included). Reservations are required and must be made by Monday, May 23 at 8:00 a.m. Make your reservations early before we sell out. Casual attire is suggested.