Fall for family fun at Besser Museum’s Fall Harvest Fossil Fest
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ALPENA -- Besser Museum for Northeast Michigan is gearing up for fall family fun.
Besser Museum's annual Fall Harvest Fossil Fest will be held from noon to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 7. This is one of the few times when visitors can tour the historic buildings. The Girl Scouts of St. Paul Lutheran Church will provide old-fashioned games, crafts, and sing-a-longs in the 1912 Spratt Church.
Visitors will also have an opportunity to board the 1928 Katherine V wooden fish tug and the retired DNR Chinook Research Vessel.
This year, the Besser Museum and Holcim will be offering opportunities to tour the limestone quarry.
"This year, we are excited to be able to partner with Holcim to offer bus tours to the quarry, and with Alpena Community College's World Center for Concrete Technology, so visitors can tour their facility and learn more about the block-making industry," said Besser Museum Executive Director Chris Witulski.
To participate in the bus tours to the Holcim quarry, tickets are $5 per person and must be purchased at the museum during Fall Harvest. The bus tickets are limited and will only be available on a first-come, first-served basis. The bus will depart from the museum and travel to Holcim quarry and back. The tours are scheduled for 12:15 p.m., 1:15 p.m., 2:15 p.m., and 3:15 p.m. This unique tour will offer a behind-the-scenes look at Alpena's cement industry and the process of mining limestone.
As part of the Besser Museum Fall Harvest Fossil Fest activities, museum guests can also drive over to the Alpena Community College's World Center for Concrete Technology for a guided tour. The WCCT is located on Johnson Street next door to the Besser Museum. The WCCT is a state-of-the-art facility for training, education, research, and testing for concrete-related industries.
Built in 2000, the WCCT is an $8 million premier research and educational facility unique to the concrete industry. At over 42, 000 square feet, the WCCT is one of the few training facilities in the world that provides hands-on, material-based training and research using their product testing and manufacturing areas. For those specifically interested in the concrete masonry industry, the WCCT has under its roof a complete, fully computerized, state-of-the-art Besser V3-12 production plant for both research and training.
Fall Harvest Fossil Fest will also have unique crafters and rock vendors.Jordan and Zara Pride from Michigan Gems will be one of the vendors with a display of rocks and minerals, including Yooperlites. These experts will be ready to talk to people and answer questions about rock hounding. They will also have a variety of lapidary work available for purchase.
Refreshments will be available for purchase. There will be hotdogs, pop, and popcorn, along with some fall flavored donuts and cider from AJ's Berry Farm. Please bring cash to purchase refreshments.
General Admission to the museum is $5 per adult, $3 per senior, $3 per child age 6 to 18, and $20 per family of up to six people.
Museum members and children under age 5 get into the museum for free.
The following activities are included with general admission:
¯ Pumpkin patch for kids.
¯ Face painting.
¯ Sea lamprey display from Hammond Bay Biological Station.
¯ Spinning, weaving, and blacksmith demonstrations. There will be a variety of forged metal art for purchase.
¯ Themed story time and craft for kids.
¯ Old-fashioned games and sing-a-longs in the 1912 Spratt Church hosted by the Girl Scouts of St. Paul Lutheran Church.
¯ Katherine V. wooden fish tug tours.
¯ Chinook Research Vessel tours.
¯ Historic village tours.
¯ Devonian fossil hunting.
¯ Rock vendor displays with Jordan and Zara Pride from Michigan Gems.
¯ Painted rock scavenger hunt (while supplies last).
A special planetarium show will be available for $1 per person.