How the West Was--And Is : * The Gene Autry Western Heritage Museum offers a look at its legacy from prehistoric times to the present.

On a 13-acre site in Griffith Park near the zoo, equestrian trails and a golf course, the Gene Autry Western Heritage Museum is the manifestation of a long-held dream of famed West ern star and singing cowboy Gene Autry.

Opened by the Autry Foundation in 1988, the museum’s mission is to present the cultural and historical legacy of the West from prehistoric times to the present. Objects relating to the everyday lives and occupations of the American West’s inhabitants--such as tools, transportation modes, clothing, toys, firearms and furnishings--make up the heart of its collections.

Additionally, a large gallery on the main level called “Spirit of Imagination” is devoted to the mythical West as portrayed through film, television, radio, advertising and the memorabilia spawned by movie and TV Westerns. In this gallery, you can get in the saddle and put yourself in a movie.

This museum wants you to have some fun while you learn about the West. Its seven permanent theme galleries offer a deliriously delightful array of artifacts. Some of the exhibits are interactive. There’s also a hands-on gallery for children. Outside is a nicely landscaped park and picnic area.

This three-hour tour begins at 10 a.m., when the museum opens, on the main level in the George Montgomery Gallery--one of two special galleries for changing shows. The current exhibit, “Beyond the Prison Gates: The Fort Marion Experience and Its Artistic Legacy,” takes viewers on the journey of 72 Southern Plains Indians who were removed to the fort and held prisoner there by the U.S. government in the 1870s. Almost 30 of them produced artwork, some of it on view here, reflecting the experience. The show closes Jan. 9.

You could spend an hour in the Montgomery Gallery alone, or any of the other galleries. This tour is designed to acquaint you with each of them.

10:30 a.m.: Leave the Montgomery Gallery and enter the Spirit of Discovery gallery. You’ll find an introduction to the wildlife, plants and people of the New World that 16th-Century European explorers encountered when they arrived. Among a wide range of objects are paintings that reflect the influence of Spanish exploration and conquest of the Americas, hunting tools, clothes, a swanky suit of armor, and two mahogany and rosewood “buffalo chairs.” Made in Scotland in 1842, these elegant likenesses of buffalo that conform to a chair shape come with hoofs, horns and glass eyes that stare back at you.

10:45 a.m.: Go down one floor to the lower level. First, step outside to the Trails West area, which offers a sampling of Western environments from deserts to mountains. Then return inside to the Heritage Court, where a 140-foot-long mural depicts the various peoples who shaped the West.

11 a.m.: Enter the Spirit of Opportunity gallery, where you’ll be introduced to the trappers, traders, miners and settlers who pulled up roots in the early 19th Century and moved West before it was settled.

11:15 a.m.: Proceed to the Spirit of Conquest, which describes the mass killings of the buffalo, an animal of great significance to native people’s lives, and the U.S. government’s confinement of native people to reservations. Along with a large, real stuffed buffalo are other symbols of the transformation of the West--items from the railroad, telegraph and other transportation and communication lines.

11:30 a.m.: The next gallery, Spirit of Community, focuses on a range of institutions that serviced settlers, from schools and churches to saloons and jails. Not far from a circa 1865 Whig Rose pattern quilt and a Silsby Steam Pump fire engine of 1873 are re-creations of a bar and gambling hall, and the shootout at the OK Corral.

11:45 a.m.: Anyone interested in firearms will want to see the extensive display of Colt models in the area, “Colt: Old West--New Frontier,” either before or after perusing the Spirit of the Cowboy gallery. There you will see a real chuck wagon, several examples of all the cowboy apparatuses--saddles, bridles, ropes, chaps, boots, clothes, etc.--and an area that focuses on modern cowboys.

Noon: Stop next at the Los Angeles Times Children’s Discovery Gallery to let kids take in the “Portrait of a Family” exhibit. They can learn about Southwestern history through heirlooms of the Ruelas family, a Mexican-American family of cattle ranchers in Arizona whose history in the area dates back five generations. Or they can just play in the re-created rooms of the family’s town home and ranch house.

12:15 p.m.: Return to the main level, and enter the Spirit of Romance gallery. Noted artists Frederic Remington and Charles Russell are represented here with their paintings and sculpture. Dime novels share space with pictures and items from Buffalo Bill’s Wild West shows. A video on Buffalo Bill includes Edison’s 1902 film footage of Buffalo Bill performing. A photograph of Annie Oakley is accompanied by the engraved, doubled-barreled shotgun in the picture.

12:30 p.m.: Stroll down a typical movie Main Street of the Old West in the Spirit of Imagination gallery. Ride the bronco that will put you in the movies, and then relive the tales of the West as told to you by Hollywood. Throughout this area, there are video presentations with film clips on such topics as Western film stunts, singing cowboys, women and minorities in Westerns, epic Westerns and TV Westerns.

12:45 p.m.: Last stop, the Museum Store. If you’re hungry, there’s the Golden Spur cafe in the main plaza.

WHERE AND WHEN

What: Gene Autry Western Heritage Museum, 4700 Western Heritage Way, Griffith Park, Los Angeles.

Hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays. Closed Christmas Day.

Price: $7 general, $5 seniors and students with I.D., $3 children 2 to 12. Parking free.

Call: (213) 667-2000.