Charles M. Schulz Museum and Research Center

The Charles M. Schulz Museum and Research Center is a museum in Santa Rosa, California, dedicated to the life and work of Charles M. Schulz, creator of the Peanuts comic strip. Opened on August 17, 2002, two years after Schulz's death, the institution preserves and displays original artwork, personal effects, and archival materials related to one of the most influential cartoonists in history. Located in the city where Schulz lived and worked for much of his life, the museum serves as both a public exhibition space and a research facility for scholars studying his legacy.

The museum opened on August 17, 2002, in Santa Rosa, California, where Schulz had resided and maintained his studio. Its establishment came two years after Schulz's death, reflecting a community and family effort to preserve his artistic legacy in the region most closely associated with his creative life. The institution was designed to function as both a museum and a research center, indicating from its inception a dual mission of public education and scholarly access to Schulz's materials.

The museum's holdings center on original Peanuts comic strips and other artwork by Schulz, forming the core of its permanent collection. The institution also maintains Schulz's personal studio as a permanent exhibit, offering visitors insight into his working environment. Three rotating galleries present temporary exhibitions that change every six months, allowing for varied programming and the display of different aspects of the collection over time. The museum additionally holds foreign language editions of Peanuts books and tributes to Schulz from other artists, broadening its scope beyond the artist's own hand to include global reception and artistic influence.

The Great Hall features two monumental works by Japanese artist Yoshiteru Otani: a 3.5-ton wood sculpture depicting the evolution of Snoopy, and a 22-foot (6.7 m) ceramic mural composed of 3,588 Peanuts strips that together form the image of Lucy van Pelt holding the football for Charlie Brown. The permanent collection also includes a work by Christo showing Snoopy's doghouse wrapped, a conceptual piece that engages with both Schulz's imagery and Christo's own practice of environmental wrapping. These large-scale installations complement the intimate scale of the original comic strips and studio materials.

The museum is situated in Santa Rosa, California, the city that served as Schulz's home base during his most productive years. While specific architectural details of the building are not documented in the available sources, the physical layout includes a Great Hall designed to accommodate the Otani installations, as well as dedicated spaces for the three rotating galleries, the permanent studio exhibit, and research functions. The site choice reflects the institution's grounding in the local community where Schulz lived and worked.

The Charles M. Schulz Museum and Research Center is located in Santa Rosa, California, United States. The museum is open daily except Tuesdays, from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Its official website is schulzmuseum.org. The institution continues to serve as the primary public venue for viewing Schulz's original artwork and for accessing research materials related to his career, functioning as both a tourist destination for Peanuts enthusiasts and a scholarly resource.