San Jose - Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum & Planetarium

Within the Rosicrucian Park, you can step into the world of ancient Egypt at the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum. Modeled after the temple of Karnak in Luxor, Egypt, the museum definitely stands out from its surroundings. Inside visitors are treated to an extensive collection of artifacts from pre dynastic times through until the early Islamist era.

The museum opened in November, 1966 and has grown over the years to now include over 4000 artifacts. One of the most popular collections is one concerning cats, with felines made of wood, stone and bronze. Also on display are cat mummies. Entrance to the Planetarium is included with your admission fee to the museum and shows generally take place on weekends only. A museum store is on site and features take home reproductions of many of the popular artifacts.

In Rosicrucian Park is the headquarters of the Union of Rosicrucians of international freemasonry. The movement owes its origin to anonymous 17th century writings, based on the life of the knight Christianus Rosencreitz (14th century) and his brotherhood of men, which spread the concept of neoplatonic, alchemic and mystic thought.