Petroleum Museum Midland Texas

After our delicious lunch at Abuelo’s we headed to the Permian Basin Petroleum Museum Midland Texas, to learn more about the area.

Entry area of the Petroleum Museum Midland Texas

Welcome to the Petroleum Museum Midland Texas

Petroleum Museum entrance with glass double doors, in Midland Texas

Entrance to the Permian Basin Petroleum Museum

Midland Texas is oil territory! At this amazing museum we discovered tons of information about the petroleum industry and the Permian Basin’s role. Visiting the Petroleum Museum is an amazing journey through over 230 million years of history.

History

The museum was founded in 1975 by more than 500 community leaders, under the guidance of George T. Abell. It has become America’s largest museum dedicated to the petroleum industry and its pioneers. In 2016, the Petroleum Museum finished a renovation of its petroleum exhibits enabling it to better reflect the ever changing landscape of the energy industry.

Exhibits

Oil Patch

A wooden structure that's a 1923 oil rig on display at Petroleum Museum Midland Texas

Santa Rita #2 – this rig has been restored to its 1923 appearance by Shorty Hall of Odessa TX

Very tall modern metal drilling rig on display at the Petroleum Museum Midland Texas

Modern Rotary Rig – this triple mast rig is capable of drilling to depths of over 14,000 feet!

1950s drilling pumps on display at the Petroleum Museum Midland Texas

National No. 3 – dates back to the early 1950s

Before you even enter the Petroleum Museum Midland Texas, you will notice quite a few oil related items on display. This is where you can see the evolution of the mechanics and engineering through the collection of antique equipment outside.

After purchasing our tickets we were guided to the Mythcrackers Theater to see a film that cracks som basic myths about the petroleum industry. From there we could easily follow the circular path that lead us from exhibit to exhibit.

Permian Sea

The first exhibit was about the Permian Sea. There we stepped back to a time over 250 million years ago, when the area was underwater and known as the Permian Sea. As the water receded the Permian Basin was formed and we learned the story of the formation of oil from microscopic creatures.

Boom Town

Old trunk containing family clothing and other items on display at the Petroleum Museum Midland Texas

This trunk belonged to an oil field worker and his family when they came to the Permian Basin.

Antique gas pump and replica of the Land and Title Office on display at the Petroleum Museum Midland Texas

Land and Title office replica and an old gas pump

Antique household items on display at the Petroleum Museum Midland Texas

Household items of a bygone era on display

Cooking tools and irons on display at the Petroleum Museum Midland Texas

Antique cooking and ironing implements on display

An assortment of antique household items on display

Antique pistol and revolver on display at the Petroleum Museum Midland Texas

Antique weapons – looks like that revolver slipped off its mounting!

Replica of a dress emporium at the Petroleum Museum Midland Texas

Shop til you drop!

From there we explored a 1920s era boom town, where we could “meet” the people instrumental in the birth of the petroleum industry in the Permian Basin. Featured in the Boom Town exhibit were a kabob infuse and the General Store. Collections of items from the early days of settling the vast Permian Basin were on display.

Growth of an Industry

Red neon pegasus on display at the Petroleum Museum Midland Texas

Midland’s own Pegasus Gas (now Mobil)

Bright yellow 1932 Model A4 International truck on display at the Petroleum Museum Midland Texas

1932 Model A4 International truck was one of the first acidizing trucks used by Dowell.

Old blue Chevy pick up truck loaded with explosives on display at the Petroleum Museum Midland Texas

Old Chevy truck used by “shooters”, the men who exploded nitro-glycerin in wells.

This exhibit celebrates the growth of America’s petroleum industry. On display here are icons like Midland’s own Pegasus, drill bits and meticulously restored gas pumps from this era.

Geology

Old TVs on display showing ads for petroleum companies at the Petroleum Museum Midland Texas

Petroleum on the Air

Logos from old petroleum companies on display at the Petroleum Museum Midland Texas

Old Petroleum Company Logos

The new logos evolve from the old ones at the Petroleum Museum Midland Texas

Current Logos from Petroleum Companies

In this exhibit we explored the fascinating field of geology and the important role it plays in the petroleum industry. We learned how oil is formed, the concepts of porosity and permeability and the rocks that contain this precious resource.

Drilling and Seismic

This interactive exhibit allows you to select your own drilling location anywhere in the world. You can drill vertically or horizontally. Will you be successful or run into trouble? You have 3 minutes to give you time to size up your options to drill. Then continue exploring the fields of seismic technology, reservoir management and perforating.

Supplemental Energies

In this exhibit we discovered options on how we might power our cities in the future. We were able to explore the world of supplemental energies to find out what might work, what the obstacles might be and what opportunities there are for growth.

Energy City

This was a really fun area for the kid in all of us! Here you could power a city, build a car and take a photo with the museum’s Energy Superheroes. Actual children will surely enjoy exploring this space complete with park benches, cars to play in and their own recycle bin.

Mineral Gallery

Large rock with big chunks of blue sodalite mineral on display at the Petroleum Museum Midland Texas

Sodalite from Afghanistan

Pink, yellow, gold and black minerals on display at the Petroleum Museum Midland Texas

Fluorite and Barite on Sphalerite minerals from Tennessee

Gold, white, burgundy and turquoise minerals on display at the Petroleum Museum Midland Texas

Tourmaline on Quartz with Albite minerals from Brazil

Aqua, white, green and turquoise minerals on display at the Petroleum Museum Midland Texas

An assortment of minerals in my favorite hue

This was one of my personal favorites! The breath taking beauty of nature at its finest displayed in the form of colorful and exquisite minerals. There were specimens from across the globe in this exquisite exhibit. And while enjoying the huge collection of gorgeous minerals we were treated to an original soundtrack written by songwriter Don MacBain. This soundtrack of his compositions evoked a feeling of longing and calling, water and wind.

Abell Family Gallery

Painting by Tom Lovell capturing Permian Basin life in background behind bronze sculpture of men working the oil fields.

In this exhibit the cultural history of the Permian Basin is shown by award winning artist Tom Lovell. From early Indian cultures to cowboys, as well as geologists and landmen, captivating works of art depict the people and landscape of the Permian Basin.

Chaparral Gallery

If you are feeling the need for speed, this will be your favorite exhibit! But I’m not going to tell you about it today. Sorry, but you will just have to be patient and wait for my next post!!!