Besser Museum for Northeast Michigan facts for kids
The Besser Museum for Northeast Michigan is a fun community museum in Alpena, a port city on Lake Huron. It helps everyone in Alpena County and nearby areas learn about history and culture. The museum works to save, protect, and share the stories of Northern Michigan and the amazing Great Lakes. It even has its own planetarium where you can explore the stars!
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Discover the Besser Museum
The Besser Museum started thanks to a generous gift from Jesse Besser (1882-1970). He was the person who created Besser block, a company in Alpena that made machines for making concrete blocks. These blocks became super important for building things all over the world, especially after World War II.
In 1964, Jesse Besser's gift helped create the museum. It was first called the Jesse Besser Museum. This gift allowed the museum to hire experts and become officially recognized by the American Alliance of Museums. It's still the only museum in Northern Michigan with this special accreditation. The museum is proud to have one of the best collections of Great Lakes Indian artifacts in the whole country!
The museum campus has old historical buildings that have been fixed up. The Besser Museum also works closely with the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary, which protects shipwrecks in Lake Huron.
What's Inside the Museum?
The main museum building is quite large, about 42,000 square feet. As of 2020, it held 47,000 different items! Outside, there's an 8-acre campus with outdoor exhibits and other buildings.
When you walk into the lobby, you'll see a two-story Foucault pendulum. This cool device shows how the Earth rotates. The museum also has a renovated planetarium with a full-dome screen. It shows amazing films and exhibits about space.
Outside, the Lafarge Fossil Park exhibit lets you explore Devonian fossils. The museum also has beautiful fine art, including works by famous artists like Paul Cézanne, Pablo Picasso, and Pierre-Auguste Renoir. The Besser Museum helps tell the story of Alpena, including its history with fishing, logging, mining, and making concrete. It's located in an area known as "Shipwreck Alley" because of all the shipwrecks in Lake Huron!
There's a special outdoor mural by artist Judy Dawley that shows what the Devonian Period looked like. The original painting is inside the museum.
The museum also has a reconstructed "Avenue of Shops." This includes a 1890s pharmacy display window and 11 other shops. You can see old medicine bottles and other items from that time.
Great Lakes Fishing History
The Besser Museum is part of the Great Lakes Fisheries Heritage Trail. This trail connects historical items, fishing boats, and dock sites that were important to the commercial fishing industry on Lake Huron. The museum also shows how sport fishing and the environment of the Great Lakes have changed over time.
One special exhibit is the Fishing Tug Katherine V. This boat, named US 228069, is believed to be the last complete wooden fishing tug left from the Great Lakes. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2003. The Katherine V is unique because it spent its whole fishing career in the waters off northeastern Lower Peninsula of Michigan. It's a great example of the wooden shipbuilding skills from that time.
The Story of Concrete
You can see the original Besser block machine at the Besser Museum. Jesse Besser's father, Herman Besser, was involved with the Alpena Portland Cement company. In 1904, Jesse Besser invented the first hand-tamp block machine. This invention completely changed the way concrete blocks were made! The Besser Company is still a leader in making block machinery today, and its main office is in Alpena.
The museum often hosts a "Fall Harvest Festival." During this event, visitors can take tours of the limestone quarry, which is where they dig up Alpena Limestone and Rockport Quarry Limestone and gypsum. They also show how the fossilized limestone from the quarry is turned into cement. You can even learn about the technology and jobs in the concrete industry. At the museum's Fossil Park, visitors can look for fossils from the Devonian Period.
Ancient Fossils
The limestone found around Alpena comes from the Devonian Period. This was about 416 to 358 million years ago, and it's often called the "Age of the Fishes." During this time, the oceans were full of many different kinds of marine life.
Most fossils from this area are from "filter feeding" creatures. However, you can also find fossils from a meat-eating fish called Dunkleosteus (pronounced DUNKLE-OSTEUS). This huge fish had bony armor on its head and front body, and bony structures that worked like teeth to cut its prey. Scientists believe the Dunkleosteus could grow up to 33 feet long! A picture of this amazing fish is in the mural outside the Besser Museum, painted by Judy Dawley, near the museum's Fossil Dig Park.
Fun Activities at the Museum
At the Besser Museum, you can sometimes watch people make fudge and learn about the history of this sweet treat in Northern Michigan. You can also visit the restored backyard Historic Village and the expanded Fisheries Heritage exhibits. They often offer apple cider and doughnuts too!
The museum also hosts art shows where artists can display their work.
In December 2022, the museum received a huge collection of Christmas trees and decorations from the Alpena Mall when it closed. The museum now uses these to create a wonderful holiday exhibit!
Explore the Planetarium
In 2016, the museum worked with donors to upgrade its planetarium. The old equipment, which had been there for 50 years, was replaced with new digital technology. Now, the planetarium has a full-dome digital sky theater! A new Spitz Digital Dome planetarium projector was installed, which meant the museum hired more staff. The planetarium first opened in 1966. It has a dome that is 9.1 meters wide and 51 seats.
Visiting the Museum
There is a small fee to enter the museum. One cool item you can see for free is the large bow anchor from the 19th-century steamship SS Pewabic. This ship sank in a sad collision in 1865.
Books by the Museum
The museum has published a book called The Town That Wouldn't Die: A Photographic History of Alpena, Michigan from Its Beginnings Through 1940.
