Czech Center Museum Houston facts for kids
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| Established | 1995 |
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| Focus | Multifunctional organization focusing on culture, art, history, and community |
| Location |
Houston, Texas
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| Address | 4920 San Jacinto Street |
The Czech Center Museum Houston is a special place in Houston, Texas. It's also known as the Czech Cultural & Community Center. This museum helps people learn about and celebrate the amazing culture, art, and history of the Czech and Slovak people. You can find it in the Houston Museum District. The museum building is quite large, covering about 20,000 square feet.
Contents
Discovering the Museum's History
The Czech Center Museum Houston started in 1995. It was first called the Czech Cultural & Community Center. Bill Rosene and Effie Rosene, along with many other dedicated people, worked hard to create it. The Rosene family managed the museum's daily activities for many years.
The museum was first located in The Northwest Mall. Then, in 2002, construction began on its new and current building at 4920 San Jacinto Street. After becoming part of the Houston Museum District, the name changed to Czech Center Museum Houston. In 2005, they started building a third floor, which was finished in 2009. This new floor allowed the museum to show even more items. It now holds the largest collection of Art Deco art from Czechoslovakia in the United States. This collection was kindly given by Eric Ottervik.
Exploring the Museum's Design
The building for the Czech Center Museum Houston was designed just for the museum. Its style is inspired by old Czech villas from the 1800s. You can see beautiful details like baroque-style decorations, colorful stained glass, and real Bohemian crystal chandeliers.
The museum has three floors. The first two floors are called Prague Hall and Brno Gallery. These names come from the two biggest cities in the Czech Republic. These halls are used for fun cultural events, where local and international artists and musicians perform. The third floor has Pilsen Hall, which is the main area for exhibits. It also has the Comenius Library, full of interesting books.
A Look at the Art Collection
The Czech Center Museum Houston has a collection of over 5,000 items. These pieces show the rich Czech and Slovak culture, art, and history from the last two centuries.
The collection includes:
- Folk art from Bohemia, Moravia, Silesia, and Slovakia, dating from the 1700s to 1980. This includes jewelry, traditional clothing called kroje, textiles, sculptures, and old decorations.
- Paintings and posters from the Czech and Slovak regions that tell stories about the history of people in Eastern Europe.
- Beautiful Bohemian Glass, crystal perfume bottles, and crystal chandeliers from the late 1800s to today.
- A large library with many books, from the time of Austria-Hungary to modern times.
- Old Czech dolls and antique pottery and porcelain.
The Moon Landscape Drawing
In 2018, astronaut Andrew Feustel took a copy of a drawing called Moon Landscape by Petr Ginz to the International Space Station. On February 1, 2020, Feustel gave this copy to the Czech Center Museum Houston. You can now see it on display on the third floor. This gift was made to remember the victims of the Holocaust and the brave crew of Space Shuttle Columbia.
The story behind the drawing is very touching. Ilan Ramon, an astronaut whose family members were lost in the Holocaust, took the original Moon Landscape with him on Space Shuttle Columbia. Sadly, the shuttle, its crew, and the drawing were lost when it returned to Earth.
