Ontario Museum of History & Art

What Ontario Museum of History & Art does

The Ontario Museum of History & Art is a municipal museum department operated by the City of Ontario, California, established in 1979 and housed in the city's historic former City Hall building on Euclid Avenue. In 2022, the Ontario City Council expanded the museum's scope into the Museum, Arts & Culture Department and concurrently established a Public Art Program, broadening its mandate beyond exhibitions to include arts festivals and public art commissioning. The institution serves the general public of Ontario and the Inland Empire region with free admission across all exhibitions and programs.

The museum's core products are two permanent exhibitions — Gem of the Foothills (covering Ontario's history from the indigenous Tongva people through the Chaffey brothers, citrus and grape industries, and the airport's regional logistics role) and Built on Water: Ontario and Inland Southern California (a 1,200-square-foot exhibition on regional water history, featuring a Monarch butterfly VR experience) — together with a rotating program that currently includes the 2026 Moments That Made US exhibition and the annual Ontario Arts Festival. The museum also publishes the Water Keepers mobile app, an educational choose-your-own-adventure game aligned with Common Core and Next Gen Science standards, and runs community programs including Studio Saturdays workshops, Live Community Painting events, and the Artist Microgrant program.

The institution operates as a government department funded by municipal budget allocations and grant awards (notably a 2018 Museums for America grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services) rather than as a commercial enterprise. There are no ticket revenues, no paid pricing tiers, and no private capital; visitors access all offerings at no cost. With 13 employees, the museum reaches audiences through its physical site, the annual festival (averaging 2,000 visitors), digital channels including the website and email newsletter, and partnerships such as the joint Ontario Arts Festival with the Chaffey Community Museum of Art.

Name

Ontario Museum of History & Art

Legal name

Ontario Museum of History & Art

Website

https://ontariomuseum.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1979

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Ontario Museum of History & Art is a municipal museum department of the City of Ontario, California, operating free permanent and rotating exhibitions on regional history and water, an annual Ontario Arts Festival, community workshops, and the Water Keepers educational mobile app for the Inland Empire public.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cultural Museum Services

NAICS

Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (7121), Museums (712110), Historical Sites (712120)

akta.pro primary industry

Cultural Centers & Multidisciplinary Arts Institutions (THAJADAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

History Museums (THAJADAB)

Keywords

• Public museum exhibitions
• Community arts programs
• Historical preservation
• Cultural education services
• Arts festival management

Headquarters

HQ city

Ontario

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Municipal Government Funding: The museum is part of the City of Ontario's Museum, Arts & Culture Department and receives municipal funding from the City of Ontario. The department was established in 2022 when City Council expanded the museum to encompass Museum, Arts & Culture.
2. Grant Funding: Museum received Museums for America grant from Institute of Museum and Library Services in 2018 for Built on Water exhibition development.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Ontario Museum of History & Art is a municipal museum operated by the City of Ontario's Museum, Arts & Culture Department. It offers free admission to permanent and rotating exhibitions covering regional history, water conservation, and American ideals, alongside an annual Ontario Arts Festival featuring 60+ artist booths, educational programming including Studio Saturdays workshops and the Water Keepers educational mobile app, and community art events.

Product overview

The Ontario Museum of History & Art, operated by the City of Ontario's Museum, Arts & Culture Department (established 2022), is a municipal museum offering permanent and rotating exhibitions, annual events, educational programs, and a mobile application. Core offerings include permanent exhibitions 'Gem of the Foothills' and 'Built on Water' with its companion 'Water Keepers' mobile app, current exhibition 'Moments That Made US', and the annual Ontario Arts Festival with its associated 'Artist of Distinction Award'. The institution also provides community art programs including Studio Saturdays workshops and Live Community Painting events.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Ontario Arts Festival: Annual arts festival featuring over 60 artist booths, workshops, demonstrations, food and beverage vendors, and live entertainment. Located between the Ontario Museum of History & Art and the Chaffey Community Museum of Art at 217 S. Lemon Avenue. Averages 2,000 visitors annually.
• Water Keepers Mobile App

Products and services

• Ontario Arts Festival

Quantifiable outcome

• Built on Water exhibition developed with 1,200 square feet of space
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and supporting.

• Chaffey Community Museum of ArtcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 October 2026The Ontario Arts Festival is produced in partnership between the City of Ontario Museum, Arts & Culture Department and the Chaffey Community Museum of Art. Both museums are co-located and visitors can access galleries at both institutions during the festival. The partnership enables joint exhibition access and shared programming.
• Institute of Museum and Library ServicesmajorOthers · 1 January 2018Awarded Museums for America grant to the Ontario Museum of History & Art in 2018 for development of the Built on Water permanent exhibition.
• Ontario Municipal Utilities CompanysupportingOthers · 1 January 2017Co-funded the Built on Water: Ontario and Inland Southern California exhibition along with the City of Ontario.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Regional players

• San Bernardino County Museum: Regional museum in the Inland Empire serving San Bernardino County with permanent and rotating exhibitions focused on regional history, natural sciences, and cultural heritage. Larger in scale but operates in the same Inland Empire catchment area.
• Yorba Linda Heritage Museum: Small local history museum in Orange County, CA focused on preserving and interpreting the city's pioneer history. Directly comparable in scale and small-city museum operating model.
• Riverside Metropolitan Museum: Municipal museum in nearby Riverside, CA with a similar mission of preserving and interpreting regional history and cultural heritage. Directly comparable as a city-operated, free-admission museum in the Inland Empire region.
• Claremont Museum of Art: Small community art museum in nearby Claremont, CA featuring exhibitions of regional artists and educational programming. Comparable size, community focus, and Inland Empire-adjacent region.
• American Museum of Ceramic Art (AMOCA): Specialized ceramics art museum in Pomona, CA (Inland Empire) with rotating exhibitions, education programs, and community events. Comparable small-to-mid-sized regional museum model with similar community-led programming.
• La Habra Children's Museum: Small community museum in Orange County focused on hands-on educational programming for children and families. Comparable small municipal museum with educational programming focus.

Direct peers

• Pasadena Museum of History: Mid-sized community history museum in Pasadena, CA with permanent and rotating exhibitions, education programs, and curated research collections. Comparable mix of regional history, exhibitions, and educational programming.
• Heritage Square Museum: Small historic-house museum in Los Angeles preserving and interpreting Victorian-era architecture and regional history. Closely comparable in scale and mission to a small municipal history and heritage museum.
• Chaffey Community Museum of Art: Co-located museum in Ontario, CA that co-produces the Ontario Arts Festival with the Ontario Museum of History & Art. Operates as a small community art museum in the same Inland Empire market with a similar community-led, free-admission model.

Broad incumbents

• Bowers Museum: Large regional cultural museum in Santa Ana, CA with rotating art and cultural exhibitions, educational programming, and community events. Comparable broad arts and culture mission but at substantially larger scale.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ontario-museum-of-history-&-art

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Ontario Museum of History & Art