Summer is in full swing, and several Los Angeles museums are opening

their doors to showcase new exhibits for visitors.

The Petersen Automotive Museum opened its ‘?Presidents, Popes, and

Potentates: Cars of Heads of State’ exhibit’#8200;June 18.

Museum Curator Leslie Kendall said the vehicles on display belonged

to leaders from all eras and political persuasions.

The 25-vehicle showcase, which runs through January 2006, features

the 1912 Baker Electric that was used by former President William H.

Taft, the 1953 Cadillac El Dorado that President Dwight D. Eisenhower

rode to his inauguration, and a 1986 Cadillac presidential limousine.

Other displayed vehicles include those used by Pope John Paul II and

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, as well as a 1959 Rolls Royce used by Queen

Elizabeth II, Prince Charles and Princess Diana.

‘?The only time people would have seen them is in a parade or a state

function,’ Kendall said. ‘?Otherwise, forget about it.’

The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday,

and admission is $5 for students with a college ID.

The J. Paul Getty Museum opened its ‘?Rembrandt’s Late Religious

Portraits’ exhibit in June. The exhibit features pieces that focus on

the artist’s portraits of various evangelists, apostles and religious

figures.

According to Associate Curator Anne Woollett, the pieces focus

primarily on the end of Rembrandt’s career.

‘?These are human representations and are very moving,’ Woollett

said. ‘?They give visitors an in-depth look at a specific time.’

Additionally, Woollett said this showing in particular stands out

against other exhibits because it is in the main exhibit space.

‘?It’s an internationally known exhibit,’ Woollett said.

Admission to the Getty is free. The museum is open Tuesday through

Sunday.

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art opened its ‘?King Tutankhamen

and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs’ exhibit June 16.

According to LACMA, the exhibit includes more than 130 treasures

from the tomb of King Tut and other Valley of the Kings tombs. Objects

in the exhibit include King Tut’s royal diadem, or crown, and

coffinettes that previously held his mummified organs. The pieces are

between 3,300 and 3,500 years old.

LACMA was chosen as the first U.S. venue for a 27-month national

tour of the King Tut artifacts. The exhibit will run through Nov. 15.

The National History Museum of Los Angeles County has a new summer

exhibit called the ‘?Robinsons-May Pavilion of Wings’ that will run

through Sept. 5.

According to Tyieshia Armstrong, assistant manager of guest

relations at the museum, there will be more than 200 butterfly species

on display by the end of July.

The exhibit will show a butterfly’s development and its interaction

with plants, among other things.

Brian Koehler, guest relations supervisor for the museum, said

summer tends to bring more families to area museums. In turn, the

museum likes to schedule special exhibits for these families to enjoy

in the summer.

He said this particular exhibit is important because it is an annual

exhibit that is only open in the summer.

‘?We have people that travel here just

for’ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘

(the Pavilion of’#8200;Wings),’ Koehler said.

Admission is $2 for students for this exhibit only, in addition to

the regular museum admission fee.

The California Science Center is hosting ‘?Robots+Us’ through Sept.

5. Visitors can view the different ways real-life robot designers are

learning from insects like cockroaches in their project developments.

Visitors can also see how the machines being built compare with the

human species, and learn how to build a robot of their own. Hours of

operation are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Sunday, and admission is

free.

The Museum of Latin American Art will showcase ‘?Jose Luis Cuevas: In

Drawing and Sculpture/En El Dibujo y La Escultura’ through Aug. 28.

According to MoLAA, the 85-piece artwork display showcases Cuevas, a

painter and sculptor from Mexico, and his work from the last three

decades. Cuevas’s pieces often depict grotesque characters using

techniques of artistic disproportion.

Additionally, MoLAA hosts a workshop every Sunday based on the

exhibit.

‘?It’s a hands-on workshop,’ said Hugo Alvarran, visitor services

supervisor for the museum. ‘?(The workshops) are based on an artist’s

style.’

Students pay $3 for admission Tuesday through Sunday. Admission is

free on Fridays.