Florida

The Sporking Life

Skeleton Museum (Museum of Osteology)

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Skeleton Museum
(Museum of Osteology)









441 International Dr Suite 250,
Orlando, FL 32819
407-203-6999


The Museum is open 365 days per year, from 10 am – 10 pm.




AT A GLANCE Museum of Osteology (Skeleton Museum)

Date of Visit:
Saturday, April 8, 2017

Parking
Nearby parking structure.

Amount of time needed to peruse exhibits:
30 – 45 minutes

Amount of time needed for gift shop
25 – 30 minutes

The “must have” souvenir
The penile bone from a coyote, fox, beaver, or mink.

Online shopping
The Skeleton Museum has extensive shopping available online at their website.

Kid friendly shopping
Definitely

Kid friendly
Yes  

Dress code
Casual, but not too tacky.

Be sure to…..
Buy ticket online and save $4.00 off regular price of $19.99, or search Groupon.  As of this writing, Groupon was offering 49% off the admission price.

Nearby/other establishments to visit
The Orlando Eye
Sea Life Aquarium
Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum

Walkability, general downtown area / amount of traffic
The Skeleton Museum is located in a pedestrian-only area.

Safety, in terms of type and number of crimes committed in general area
Generally safe, but keep in mind that Orlando draws 62 million visitors per year.  Some of those visitors might not have your best interests in mind, so stay alert.  Lock your car and put valuables out of sight.  Finally, make a mental note as to where you park so you aren’t wandering aimlessly in the parking structure.







Last week’s discussion on the Sebastian Fish Museum got me thinking about the importance of location.  The physical location of a museum, shop or attraction should render just as much thought as other factors.  Often, it doesn’t.  Since I was thinking about fishing, my mind wandered to a formerly fantastic fish place here in Melbourne, Florida.  Let me tell their story and illustrate why Moon’s Seafood Market is an example of what not to do.  Until recently, Moon’s was located on a somewhat busy street at the entrance to a subdivision.  We used to make stopping at Moon’s a weekly habit for wonderfully fresh fish and felt that fish bought elsewhere wasn’t as good.  Additionally, they had a varied selection of fresh shellfish.  Moon’s was almost always busy because of their selection of fresh seafood, superior customer service and great location.  


Until now.  Moon’s Seafood Market wanted to expand their shop, so they leased a larger building across town located in a mini-mall about five miles from the original location.  They are now located on a road where folks are busy trying to get from one place to another in the shortest time possible.  No incentive exists for customers to casually stop by looking for something to grill.  No other shops in the mini-mall appeal to the same demographics.  What was once a spur of the moment stop is now a planned destination.  We went there a few times and decided that the extra time it took to get to the new location wasn’t worth it.  We mainly buy our seafood from Publix (grocery store) these days.  What happened to make us avoid this unique shop and buy our seafood at the grocery store?  The shop is the same and has the same great customer service, but the location changed.  There weren’t the customary crowds that always seemed to be at their original location.  The fun vibe was gone because the crowds of buying customers were gone.  Making the extra effort to drive to Moon’s isn’t worth the hassle for us anymore.  


While Moon’s Seafood Market is a good example of the negative consequences of a poorly thought decision, this week’s Skeleton Museum provides a positive counterargument.  The Skeleton Museum is located in the tourist district, which is along International Drive in Orlando.  It’s that in-between section of Orlando which is north of Disney World and south of Universal Studios and SeaWorld.     


“The tourist district” is what locals call that area of town, so call it that if you want to sound knowledgeable.


What does this have to do with location?  Quite a bit.  If you’re going to open a “different” museum, location is especially crucial.  Locate it by popular tourist destinations to get their overflow visitors.  The Skeleton Museum is indeed a distinctive museum.  In my opinion, they stretch their advertising dollar by situating themselves near other popular destinations.  Sea Life Aquarium is two doors down from the Skeleton Museum, and four doors away from Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum.  All three museums can easily by visited in one day, with enough time left over to have lunch and to ride the Orland Eye, a gigantic Ferris wheel, located in that same pedestrian area.  Location selection was genius.


What is real name of this museum?  It depends.  In normal conversation call it the “Skeleton Museum;” else it’s the Museum of Osteology.  Since this is a normal conversation, let’s agree to call it the Skeleton Museum.  The Orlando Skeleton Museum opened in 2015, being only the second such museum in the United States.  The first one opened several years ago in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and is run by the same family.  The issue I have with this is that admission to the Oklahoma location is $8, while it’s $19.99 for the one in Orlando.  As much as I grumble about the steep admission charge, I have to admire the Skeleton Museum for understanding the dynamics of Orlando’s tourist industry.  This part of the state targets out-of-town visitors with unique things to do and experience.  Orlando’s 62-million yearly visitors is one of the highest visitor counts in the world, and the Skeleton Museum makes that an advantage.  Orlando, Florida is one of those destination spots where folks know upfront that it’s going to be more of a costly vacation than visiting a quiet lakeshore.  Using that perspective, $19.99 doesn’t seem expensive, especially when compared against Disney’s $125+ admission. 


I wasn’t certain that I wanted to visit a bone museum.  In addition to earning my bachelor’s degree in wildlife biology, I was the senior nature director at a Boy Scout Camp for four summers and believe me when I say I have seen more than my share of skulls and skeletons.  After some time, the uniqueness of it starts to fade.  Enter the Skeleton Museum and get a good chuckle out of the first two skeletons on display.  The first is a human skeleton doing a funky yoga position and the second is that of a jockey on a race horse.  I never saw anything like that, and I wanted to see more of the displays.  I loved the coyote skeleton posed mid-howl, and the bird skeletons posed in flight.  Bone structure made more sense to me than the way I had learned in college. 


Besides selecting a fantastic location, and incorporating whimsical skeleton poses in the museum, branding is another thing the Skeleton Museum does well.  Take a look at my photos of the displays inside of the Museum, and notice their logo in many of them.  There is no doubt as to where you were.  The same thing holds true in the gift shop. 





Speaking of the gift shop, I was pleasantly surprised by the variety and quality of items for sale.  For example, real skulls, claws and bones are available for purchase.  Seriously, where else could someone purchase the penile bone of a mink?  Such a good story arises when folks ask about that odd bone you have on your desk at work or at home.  The Skeleton Museum gift shop has items for sale that are suitable for all ages, genders, and skill level.  In all honesty, I would just as soon buy a few books than one of those “put-it-together” skeletons.  As I said:  all skill levels.  This is a wonderful place to purchase stocking stuffers for the holidays.  It has cute and small items to buy as personal souvenirs: bookmarkers, bottle openers, refrigerator magnets, art work, socks, or posters.  It took me a few trips around the gift shop to see everything, so take some time to look around here.  Even though I have absolutely no place to put it, I would have loved the lava lamp that had octopi / squid blobs bobbing up and down instead of the round, pedestrian blobs. 


Please practice the rule of good gift giving:  if you buy a gift for someone else, you must purchase one for yourself.  Technically, it’s our unspoken rule, but it’s a good one.



Ready for lunch?  There are many options located within the pedestrian area that houses the Skeleton Museum.  Some cater toward children and families, some cater to the barbeque enthusiast, and some are local chains of national eateries.  We selected Paramount Restaurant, for no other reason than it looked like a nice place.  Thank goodness we weren’t wrong.  We discovered Paramount specialized in Middle Eastern food, something that we have missed since leaving the Metro Detroit area.  Paramount had falafel, gyros, kebab, hummus, and many tempting desserts to select from.  It’s a good restaurant for families or for the solo traveler.  Settle in, have an adult beverage or iced tea, and check out the menu for authentic ethnic dishes.   Give it a try, because I heartedly recommend it.  When finished with lunch, go outside and explore the great location around the Skeleton Museum.  You won’t be bored.







A primer for iced tea in the South: 
Sweet tea is a very sweet tea, just like what its name suggests. There are two alternatives, though.  One is to order a drink called the Arnold Palmer which consists of ½ iced tea and ½ lemonade.  The other option is to order unsweet tea, which has no sugar added.  I find that the sweetness extremes between sweet and unsweet tea are too much for me, and I have since learned to order unsweet tea provided extra sugar packets are next to the salt and pepper shakers.  Start with adding two or three packets and adjust from there.







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