Ohr–O'Keefe Museum Of Art Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids
Ohr–O'Keefe Museum of Art
_{Observation Tower, Mississippi Sound Welcome Center}

Established	1989 (present location 2010)
Location	386 Beach Boulevard, Biloxi, Mississippi

The Ohr–O'Keefe Museum Of Art is a special art museum in Biloxi, Mississippi. It's all about the amazing pottery made by George E. Ohr. He called himself the "Mad Potter of Biloxi"! The museum is named after him and also Annette O'Keefe. She was the wife of a former mayor and helped raise lots of money for the museum.

Designing the Museum
Learning and Creating
Museum Buildings Gallery
See also

Designing the Museum

The museum has five unique buildings. They were designed by a very famous architect named Frank Gehry. He made them look like they are "dancing" around the old live oak trees on the museum's land.

Construction on the buildings started in 2004. But in August 2005, a big storm called Hurricane Katrina hit. A huge casino boat even landed on the museum while it was still being built! This caused some damage.

Aerial view of the casino boat that landed on the museum site after Hurricane Katrina in 2005

A company from Kansas City, Missouri, called Zahner helped build the museum's cool, curving metal parts. They look like shiny "pods" that dance among the trees.

On November 8, 2010, three of the museum buildings opened. They showed off some great art, including George Ohr's pottery. The Mississippi Sound Welcome Center, the IP Casino Resort & Spa Exhibitions Gallery, and the Gallery of African American Art were among the first to open. You can also visit the Pleasant Reed Interpretive Center. The City of Biloxi Center for Ceramics opened in September 2012. This center has a modern studio and classrooms for pottery.

Learning and Creating

The museum offers fun pottery classes at the Center for Ceramics. They have special programs for kids and adults called OOMA-Ed. During the summer, there are also youth programs (SOOMA) held there.

In 2011, the museum needed some help with money. The Biloxi City Council decided to give the museum financial support. They hoped the museum would become a big attraction for visitors.