The discovery of gold and oil brought settlers of every nationality to Bakersfield and today it is a proudly multi-cultural city. The history of the region is on show at the Kern County Museum, which features 58 historic buildings and Black Gold: The Oil Experience, a science, technology and history interactive exhibit, which opened in November 2002. The California Living Museum is a zoo, botanical garden and natural history museum featuring exhibits native to California.
In the Bakersfield area are the Tule Elk State Reserve, a protected area for native elk, and the Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park at Earlimart, a town with restored 19th-century buildings built by and for African-Americans. The Kern National Wildlife Refuge at Delano is a winter home to wildfowl; the best time for birdwatching is from October to March. The Upper and Lower Kern rivers are popular with whitewater rafters.