Sandusky Merry-Go-Round Museum {Review}

Sandusky Merry-Go-Round Museum {Review}

As a homeschool family, we’ve visited a lot of museums over the years. But I’ve never been to a carousel museum, until I visited the Sandusky Merry-Go-Round Museum right down the road from Cedar Point!

First off, you can’t miss the unique building it’s housed in, as it used to be a US Post Office and is completely round! Once you walk up the steps to the front door, you immediately get a view of horses, lights, and of course, the carousel in the middle of the building.

 

We were treated to a wonderful tour by a volunteer named Judy who seemed to know a whole lot about merry-go-rounds and their history. She related to us all kinds of facts and figures for the different horses, locations, and designers of the original styles of carousels and their animals.

I loved all the details that we were treated to up close, like hidden surprises that you may miss on first glance like a scary face or bunch of grapes carved into a saddle or the reigns of the horse. Each animal had a story or unique fact that was shared, like English merry-go-rounds go in the opposite direction than in America, so their animals face the other way! Or that by carving the horse’s legs outward, as if in mid-jump, not only made it seem to be in mid-flight but actually made it easier to stack and move to the next location!

Many of the pieces were donated from various collections and had signs that gave information about what collection, the age, and any restoration work that had been performed on them. Not only were the carousel animals out on display, but also an example of tools, the mirrors and light panels, as well as signs and advertisements from back in the hay day of their time.

Probably one of the highlights was being able to watch and interact with a carver that does her work right there on the museum floor, not upstairs in a private room. We were able to view this year’s Raffle Horse, being done with a Halloween theme, as it was being painted. Beautiful style, again with those funny hidden details, and plenty of contrasting colors. And they even had a design for the next year’s Raffle Horse on display; I can’t wait to see it in person next year! By the way, you can enter to win the Raffle Horse by mail if you aren’t nearby.

Finally, they saved the best for last. With your entry ticket, everyone receives a wooden token to ride the merry-go-round! They had horses, frogs, pigs, you name it, to choose from. Even some smaller versions for the youngest of your group. I loved the “lead horse” Stargazer, for the red, white, and blue colors as it seems to keep an eye on the stars as it spins round and round. The delight on people’s faces was unmistakable as everyone picked a creature to ride, or took a seat on one of the benches, while the carousel started to spin.

I’m definitely planning to go back if you couldn’t already tell, and I encourage anyone passing near Sandusky to do the same! You can even rent out the museum for special events, like a wedding or surprise party, how fun would that be?!

You can find out more on the Sandusky Merry-Go-Round Museum website and find them on Facebook and YouTube.

Disclaimer: I received free tickets from Shores and Islands in exchange for an honest review during a recent visit. My opinions are my own and were not influenced by the free tickets.