Dinosaurs fascinate my little one. When the Port Huron Museum hosted the "Paleomania" exhibit through his birthday, a visit became a no-brainer. There's a certain charm to small town museums, especially in cities like Port Huron where local history runs deep and belies their regional importance. Just take a look at some of those gorgeous Victorian homes and a highly developed downtown if you wonder whether the city has anything interesting.
Port Huron Museum occupies a grand old building, probably a stately home for a lumber baron or shipping magnate, with modern additions and renovations. During the time of our visit, the second floor was under reconstruction all the way to the original brick walls and it was actually as fascinating as any exhibit. Don't be put off by the petite lobby or the twisty labyrinth of stairs; they conceal some definite little gems.
Admission is fairly reasonable, going towards the maintenance of the collection, special exhibitions, and friendly staff. A pint-sized gift shop behind the main desk contains gifts mostly aimed at the younger set, including typical science-based toys, stuffed animals, and keychains or postcards.
We popped up to the Paleomania exhibit on the third floor, taking up the whole space with museum-grade reproductions gathered from across the world. The showpiece was a triceratops-like relative at full size, and a mature tyrannosaur skull grinning at all the visitors threading their way through the open space. Photographs were not permitted, but we got some lovely sights from the earliest fossil finds from ancient epochs up to modern man. The majority of the collection split between the Permian up to the end of the Cretaceous period, including fossilized fish, insects, plants, and reptiles along with beloved giants. I was thrilled to see a reproduction of the archaeopteryx, the revolutionary discovery in a German limestone quarry of a dinosaur that was clearly feathered and winged. The owner is a former actor who took up amateur fossil hunting and contacted private collections and museums around the world (definite European, Australian, and North American focus though) to make casts and copies. It's the closest you'll get to the real thing without seeing Berlin, Sydney, Toronto, or London and the quality was fantastic. And all this in Port Huron!
The velociraptor mounted mid-run on wires above a fancy fireplace mantle was also fantastic, someone clearly having a sense of humour.
The upper floor contained an exhibition dedicated to the shipwrecks of Lake Huron and the local area, a poignant reminder of the economic engines driving Michigan and southwestern Ontario's development through the centuries. Especially interesting are the bells and recovered bits from various wrecks, which add a human dimension even kids can appreciate.
Downstairs contains larger areas reserved for art classes, youth events, and meetings. It's a pleasure to see such an old dame restored and cared for lovingly through the years. They apparently host scouting events and local school tours, among other events, which is a great outreach.
For a small scale museum, Port Huron stands above many of its peers with a knowledgeable, friendly staff and a pretty setting. read more
