Matagorda County Museum

Closed December 30th - January 2nd
*Note - Our regular weekly hours that we are open to the public are Wed. - Sat., 1 - 4 PM

We wish you a healthy, hopeful and Happy New Year!

To those of you that decorated a tree for "The Festival of Trees," THANK YOU SO MUCH, but now the time has come to take them down. This can be done this week, today, Wednesday, December 27th - Friday, December 29th, and next week, Wednesday, January 3rd and Thursday, January 4th. Your tree absolutely MUST be down by close of business (4pm) on January 4th!

Once again, thank you for participating in this awesome offering to the community. We appreciate you and hope you will participate again in 2024!

Closed December 23rd
Closed December 30th - January 2nd
*Note - Our regular weekly hours that we are opened to the public are Wed. - Sat., 1 - 4 PM

We wish you a blessed and safe holiday season and a very merry Christmas!

**FUN FACT FRIDAY**

Did you know that while Italian innovator Antonio Meucci is credited with inventing the first basic phone in 1849, and Frenchman Charles Bourseul devised a phone in 1854, Alexander Graham Bell won the first U.S. patent for the device in 1876.

Come and explore this and other facts at our "Gem of a Museum!"

A big congratulations to our two stocking winners! Just look at those beautiful, happy faces.

CONGRATULATIONS!

CONGRATULATIONS!
There was a tie for 2nd, so no 3rd place awarded.

**DATE CHANGE**

FYI - The Festival of Trees will be coming down on December 27, 2023.

If you haven't already done so, come in and stroll through the trees and vote for your favorite in the three categories.

These two youngsters say "Yippee Ki-Yay" to their fun day at the museum. They sure look happy in their cowboy hats and bandanas from the gift shop. Why not do some of your Christmas shopping with us?

**FUN FACT FRIDAY**

Did you know that as part of the La Salle Odyssey, the Matagorda County Museum shares the story of the La Salle Odyssey with six other museums: Corpus Christi, Edna, Palacios, Port Lavaca, Rockport, and Victoria? Each of these museums tells a different part of the story, so be sure to follow La Salle's Odyssey from museum to museum!

Come and explore this and other facts at our "Gem of a Museum!"

Note - The Bullock Texas State History Museum has a large and extensive exhibit on the ship La Belle.

https://www.thestoryoftexas.com/la-belle/the-exhibit

Join us Thursday night at the Museum and take the opportunity to see all the Christmas trees on display! Matagorda County Museum

We wish you a safe and blessed Thanksgiving!

Thank you to everyone who dropped in. Last night's attendance for the "Festival of Trees" open house during the Christmas on the Square event was simply fabulous! We don't know if the headcount of 360 is a record, but it definitely blew last year's attendance out of the eggnog! We invite you to drop in during our regular operating hours to vote for your favorite tree in each category.

**FUN FACT FRIDAY**

The gazebo in our Children's Museum is fashioned after the full sized bandstand gazebo in Liberty Park, which is located on the corner of 6th St. and Ave. L., Bay City, Texas. Did you know that the gazebo was built in 1907 and originally sat on the grounds of the courthouse lawn? It was moved to Liberty Park in 1963, where it continues to reside.

Come and explore this and other facts at our "Gem of a Museum!"

The "Festival of Trees" are ready for tomorrow night's open house during Christmas Around the Square. Be sure to drop in to enjoy our Christmas exhibits, decorations, and to vote for your favorite tree!

Tomorrow is Bay City's annual "Christmas on the Square" event, which means the Matagorda County Museum is full of beautiful trees decorated by local businesses and organizations. 🎄 I decorated a tree again this year, so if you happen to make your way to the museum tomorrow evening, take a selfie with my tree and post in the comments below! One of you will win a free dozen Christmas cookies! 😁

**FUN FACT FRIDAY**

These large spoons that are engraved "Hodges" were used at the Colorado House, Matagorda, which was built in 1852. More information is available on the history and owners.

Come and explore this and other facts at our "Gem of a Museum!"

FRIENDLY REMINDER - All trees need to be fully decorated by November 15th. We have 40 trees up. 31 groups/businesses/individuals have signed up for a tree. Of those, only 21 have actually picked out/tagged their tree. Currently only 11 trees have actually been decorated! There are still 9 trees available for the taking.

Helps us light up the Stanley-Humphries Room with seasonal beauty and spread some Christmas cheer to the community!

Women's Pregnancy Center
Bay City Public Library - Main Branch
Bay City Lady Lions Club

In honor of our museum mascot, Laineux Mammouth, we are hiding a small mammoth in the exhibits and are regularly moving him about the museum. This is meant to be a fun little scavenger hunt for adults and kiddos alike. Kiddos get a sticker for hunting and finding him. He just moved from the chuckwagon to a new hiding place. Do you think you can find him?

**FUN FACT FRIDAY**

This beautiful case was donated to the museum by BCISD in 1989. It had been tucked away out of sight for quite some time, but that's no longer the case! It recently went through some slight modifications by the talented Greg Chitwood and was moved to the main floor area. It will house a permanent exhibit of some of the choice pieces that were displayed in our temporary "School Spirit" exhibit.

Our temporary "School Spirit" exhibit has come down to make way for our "Sights of the Season" Christmas exhibit, which is currently being worked on and will be in it's full glory for viewing November 16th - January 12th.

Come and explore this and other facts at our "Gem of a Museum!"

Work has begun on the upper floor of the museum to transform it into a useable space that will expand our exhibit capacity.