Equipped with 11 different souvenir locations, including the ZAGAT-rated ZooStore, you can find animal-specific gifts for your loved ones, especially including (but not limited to) primates, pandas, reptiles, koalas, elephants, and polar bears.

MoPA

The Museum of Photographic Arts provides photography enthusiasts with a wide variety of books and DVDs from their favorite artists as well as fun photography-themed apparel and accessories, including vintage Polaroid pillows.

Lux Art Institute

As well as displaying its own exclusive merchandise, the Lux store collaborates with local artists and artisans to provide unique treasures ranging from handmade to mass-produced, a few dollars to a few hundred dollars, all keeping within the spirit of the museum experience and local artistry.

MCASD

The Museum of Contemporary Art’s X-Store features a great selection of books on a variety of contemporary artistic mediums and culture. Additionally the X-Store sells home and office supplies, children’s items, and MCASD accessories.

California Surf Museum

This Oceanside surf Mecca carries a variety of ocean art, vintage posters, and books, as well as surf apparel and accessories.

Reuben H. Fleet Science Center

The North Star Science Store provides endless fun and educational gift ideas for both kids and adults. IMAX films, glow-in-the-dark trinkets, and astronaut ice cream are featured in the wide variety of science-related products and activities available at the store.

Birch Aquarium

The gift shop offers extended opportunities for sea life education and fun with a selection of books, jewelry, stuffed animals, and more, including their featured book What Color Would You Be to Hide in the Sea?

Library Shop

This quaint boutique inside the new Central Library downtown offers a bevy of cute gift ideas like stationery by Rifle Paper Co., arts and crafts projects for kids, baby onsies, calendars, and more.

San Diego Central Library

copyright: John Durant

The California Surf Museum in Oceanside

The post The ‘Art’ of Giving appeared first on San Diego Magazine.

The Siege of Aleppo

The Siege of Aleppo | Photo by Javier Manzano

On Friday, I attended the opening of the new Pictures of the Year International exhibit at the Museum of Photographic Arts in Balboa Park. The show displays fist-in-the-gut pics by top photojournalists from around the world. You’ll see war-torn villages, poverty-stricken tribes, painted warriors, Olympians in action, you name it. We’re lucky to have these award-winning images available to view in person.

One of my favorites was taken from a hovering helicopter above Manhattan, when the nighttime city was half-lit and half-dark from Hurricane Sandy. You may recognize it from New York Magazine—the image, by Iwan Baan, led the magazine to win ASME’s Cover of the Year award.

Another was of America’s Cup sailors flying off a sailboat in the middle of a race. So many moving images! Click on the slideshow below for just a small taste. If you enjoy photography at all (and who doesn’t?), high-tail it to MOPA before September 22.

The post See This Now! appeared first on San Diego Magazine.