Czech Heritage Museum and Genealogy Center - Temple (TX)

3 /5 Stacy Luebbe: This museum is beautiful with beautiful items. I truly enjoyed the items. The gentleman who was going to give us a tour was very nice and passionate about this museum which is a big plus....however very talkative.. just to get through the front part of the museum which should have taken 10 to 15 mins at most took almost 30 minutes. I kind of was bored after all these dates and facts. 2 people entered the museum after we started so we had to wait for him to catch them up and go through everything he just told us. Well then we were gonna go to the next part and watch a 9 minute video but the tour guide and the 2 other people got to talking and wouldnt stop. My mom and I walked around the entire museum. 30 to 45 minutes later he came and found us at the end of the museum and ushered us back to watch the video. We left after that. Kind of a waste to go back through the museum again. My guess is the complete tour takes 2 to 3 hrs so make sure you make enough time to visit

5 /5 Michael Miller: I had a lovely visit to the museum today. I ended up gabbing with the docent for a good 30 minutes, but we shared some interesting connections to the Czech culture (I am not Czech). One particularly impressive part of the collection was the assortment of marionettes that are a good 150 years old but still in great condition with intricate detailing. For the low admission fee, its worth a visit.

5 /5 Peter Babel: Definitely a stop you shouldnt miss if you are in the area. My wife and I are from Czechoslovakia (it was that when we were born), but you dont have to be to thoroughly enjoy this small museum and its beautiful exhibits. Ken, the proprietor, will walk you through the history, enlighten you with cool stories of other visitors, and youll definitely get a lot of recommendations for other Czech-and-Slovak-related sights and activities in the area, such as dance halls, or stores and restaurants with delicious Czech foods. I never knew Texas has such a rich Czech and Slovak history. The museum itself is very small, so if you only have an hour or two to spare, you can easily get through it, if you walk and read fast. The museum was not busy at all on Saturday around 1pm (there were only 2 other people there). Its definitely suitable and exciting for kids too, but keep in mind that there are things within reach they shouldnt touch and handle. The exhibits on loutky (puppets), kroje - the traditional clothing, and old farm and household equipment from the Old World is pretty neat to see (in great condition, too). They dedicated a few exhibits to the Sokol athletic movement, Tomáš Gariggue Masaryk, Václav Havel, Ján Hus and other statesmen, and influential figures.

3 /5 Uncle Tut: Nice little museum. The elderly museum worker talked my ear off and wouldnt stop. I avoided him on the way out. Other than that its worth a visit on a nothing to do day. The video had an interesting fact. I always thought that traditional Mexican music sounded similar to the German Polka music my dad listen to when I was growing up. In the video it explains that Czech Polka and Mexican bands played together and influenced each other. So that explains the similarity. :-)

5 /5 Ryan Janek: Very well educated staff. Found out my family came over on a boat and ported in Galveston. It was very well put together with a lot of Czech paintings and art. I really enjoyed myself and plan on being back for another visit real soon.