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 | |
| Address | 4920 San Jacinto Street |
The Czech Center Museum Houston is a special place in Houston, Texas. It's a big museum that celebrates the culture, art, and history of the Czech Republic and Slovakia. This museum helps people learn about these countries and their rich traditions. It is located in the Museum District and covers about 20,000-square-foot (1,900 m2) of space.
Contents
Discovering the Museum's History
The Czech Center Museum Houston started in 1995. It was first called the Czech Cultural & Community Center. Bill and Effie Rosene, along with many others, worked hard to create it. They managed the museum every day for many years.
The museum first opened in The Northwest Mall. In 2002, they began building a new home at 4920 San Jacinto Street. The name changed to Czech Center Museum Houston after it joined the Houston Museum District. In 2005, they added a third floor, which finished in 2009. This extra space allowed the museum to show more items. It now holds the largest Czechoslovakian Art Deco Collection in the USA. This amazing collection was given to the museum by Eric Ottervik.
Exploring the Museum's Architecture
The building for the Czech Center Museum Houston was designed just for the museum. Its style is like old Czech villas from the 1800s. You can see beautiful details like baroque-style decorations and colorful stained glass. Inside, there are 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. Local and international artists and musicians perform here. The third floor has Pilsen Hall, which is the main exhibit area. It also has the Comenius Library, full of interesting books.
Discovering the Art Collection
The Czech Center Museum Houston has a huge collection of over 5,000 items. These pieces show the Czech and Slovak culture, art, and history from the last two centuries. The collection includes many different types of art and historical objects:
- Folk art from Bohemia, Moravia, Silesia, and Slovakia. This art dates from the 1700s to 1980. It includes jewelry, kroje (traditional folk costumes), textiles, sculptures, and old decorations.
- Paintings and posters from the Czech and Slovak regions. These artworks show the history of people from Eastern Europe.
- Beautiful Bohemian Glass, crystal perfume bottles, and crystal chandeliers. These items range from the late 1800s to modern times.
- A very large library with books from the time of Austria-Hungary to today.
- Old Czech dolls and antique pottery and porcelain items.
The Moon Landscape Drawing by Petr Ginz
In 2018, astronaut Andrew Feustel took a copy of a drawing called Moon Landscape to the International Space Station. This drawing was made by a young artist named Petr Ginz. 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 donation was made to remember victims of the Holocaust and the crew of Space Shuttle Columbia. Another astronaut, Ilan Ramon, had taken the original Moon Landscape drawing with him on Space Shuttle Columbia. Sadly, the shuttle and its crew were lost, and the original drawing was also destroyed. The museum's copy helps keep Petr Ginz's story alive.
