5975. Go to the Rahr-West Art Museum in Manitowoc

 Since the hubby had softball in Manitowoc, I decided it was a good day to keep exploring. I discovered that the Rahr-West Art Museum was within walking distance of the park and every since hearing that it had a replica of the piece of Sputnik inside, I wanted to go.

The Rahr-West Art Museum is located in front of the Sputnik Crash Site. It is open Tue-Friday 10-4 and Sat-Sun 11-4. It is free to visit and donations are gladly accepted.  The museum itself is the former home of Joseph Vilas Jr. 

Their current exhibit was probably my favorite. It is Really BIG Prints. It is a biennial print making event which is sponsored in part by Hamilton Wood Type & Printing Museum. The prints were of fossils and other natural things like fish. Definitely worth seeing.

The Sputnik Replica was in the hall. It also gave general history of the crash. It was not as impressive as I thought it was going to be.

Since I am not big on art, I just wandering around looking for cool pieces of art. I found several. 

I also attempted the scavenger hunt which was nearly impossible and I gave up. I "might" have found 2 or 3 of them. They just gave you a little snippet of the art work. Definitely not something for a non-art museum patron but it was fun trying to find them.

You can also take a self-guided Mansion Tour. I didn't really read about the house or the family but I definitely enjoyed the Victorian era rooms and Queen Anne Architecture. 

There was this really cool Mirro company exhibit showcasing metal kitchen items that the Mirro company made including a fun selfie spot. 

Another really fascinating part of the museum is the open storage area where items are on display while in storage. It's fun to see what other objects the museum might have acquired over the years but not really part of a current exhibit. It reminded me of the John Michael Kohler Art Preserve in Sheboygan.

Overall it was a quick visit. I really hate exploring museums, especially art museums, by myself. However, it is definitely worth checking out if you are ever in Manitowoc. The mansion alone is worth the visit.