The Art and Science of Museum Gift Shops

by Marianne Ilunga and Baileigh Johnson
photographs by Rafael Tongol

It’s always a unique experience, a bit like assembling your own mini-exhibition, when you explore a museum’s gift shop. And since the shops help to support their host museums, you’re making a contribution to the cause, be it art, science or historical preservation, when you buy a gift or a memento. Here are some artsy artifacts we discovered in local shops.

Orange County Regional History Center
Timepiece paperweight (above), $9.99; secret tribal box (right), $11.95; King Tut Egyptian bangles (below), $16.99 each; Victorian cameos (far right), $27.99 each; book assortment (bottom), The First Hollywood, $27.50; The Cracker Kitchen, $45; Florida: Mapping The Sunshine State Through History, $24.95; Historic Photos of Orlando, $39.95; Orlando Then and Now, $18.95.

Mennello Museum of American Art
(Top, clockwise from top left): Wooden Shaker boxes, $30-$85; toy farm set, $5.50; Winslow Homer notecard set, $14.95; hand-carved horse, $55.95; William H. Richardson hand-painted wood-box primitives by Kathy, $10 each.

Lowndes Shakespeare Center
(Bottom, clockwise from right): Shakespearean pill box, $12.95; Shakespearean quote coasters, $12.95 each; disappearing-wife coffee mug, $10.95; English Breakfast Tea box, $6.95.

Orlando Museum of Art
(Clockwise from upper left): Marce Swing amber shawl necklace, $50; Karie Brown feather hair clip, $25; purple bead drop earrings, $32, and purple beaded bracelet, $125, are by Joyce Eaton Brady; Allie Pohl wood pendant necklace, $78; Lori Mirisola ceramic and velvet peep-toe decorative shoe, $190.

Orlando Science Center
(Clockwise from above): Agate rock coasters, $6.95 each; large blue agate rock plate, $24.95; Love, Hope and Faith rock necklaces, $7.99 each; What Einstein Told His Barber book, $15; Albert Einstein doll, $19.99; space calendar, $13.99; robot pendant necklaces, $6.99 each; red baseball cap, $24.99; space T-shirt, $24.99; silicone black-and-white snap-on watches, $19.98 each.

Morse Museum of American Art
(Clockwise from right): Rachel McDaniel peacock necklace, $245; men’s blue silk tie, $50; women’s purple scarf, $50; Stewart/Stand stainless steel clutch, $320; David Changar Tiffany-inspired ceramic vases, $28 each; Gregg Hessel hand-hammered copper candle holders, $170-$218.