October marks Museum Madness, a collaboration between the Beaumont Convention and Visitors Bureau and multiple museums and organizations in Beaumont. The month includes various activities held across the city for attendees of all ages.
The program originally started as a collaboration between the Art Museum of Southeast Texas and the Texas Energy Museum.
Andy Gardner, AMSET deputy director of education and operations, said they combined the museum’s Family Arts Day: Eat-A-Bug with the Energy Museum’s Dinosaur Day, and he called around and asked other museums — the McFaddin-Ward House and the Fire Museum — and asked them to join in.
“It’s probably now been about 20 years or more, and it just consistently grew once we partnered up with the CVB,” he said.
This year, the 10 organizations involved include AMSET, the Texas Energy Museum, the McFaddin-Ward House, the Fire Museum of Texas, the Beaumont Botanical Gardens, Temple to the Brave, the Tyrell Park Nature Center, the Beaumont Children’s Museum, the Beaumont Heritage Society, the Jefferson County Historical Commission, and the Spindletop Boomtown Museum.
“October is a very busy time in Beaumont, and a lot of the museums are putting stuff on,” John Beaver, CVB director of tourism, said. “So this is just a way to kind of get it all in one place so people can look at what’s going on.”
Events and activities range in price, with most being free, Beaver said.
“(Gardner) wanted it to be accessible whenever it started,” Beaver said. “So, that’s a very important piece of it — keeping it low cost for the community.”
Museum Madness aims to take away the cost barrier to allow people to experience new things in Beaumont, Gardner said.
“Speaking from the Art Museum perspective, I’m amazed at how many people don’t know what we do,” he said. “We’re hoping Museum Madness brings awareness to all of the different organizations and what we have to offer for the community.”
The program is not exclusive to Beaumont residents but invites attendees from all over, Beaver said.
“Another thing that the Convention and Visitors Bureau has tried to do is not only highlight it to our locals in our community, but also to outside the community and draw folks in to come visit Beaumont, see the great museums we have,” he said. “Beaumont has the highest amount of museums per capita in Texas. So, we’re kind of like the museum capital of Texas.”
Depending on the organization, activities range from being for children, adults or for the whole family. The events range in themes, with some focusing on educating about Beaumont itself and others embracing the Halloween season.
“The Energy Museum, the Art Museum, the Fire Museum, the McFaddin-Ward House, the John Jay French — we’re all different organizations that bring a whole different perspective of Beaumont,” Gardner said. “So, I think it’s great to get out and see what’s available in your community.”
The preparation process and workload for Museum Madness depends on the organization. Gardner said AMSET’s preparations began last year due to the large scale of their events during the month.
Beaver said he is appreciative of the people who are willing to come together and make Museum Madness work.
“I love working on this, and I know it’s a lot more work on the organizations,” he said. “It’s people like Andy who want to provide something to the community and to provide it in a way that everyone can enjoy it, not just a certain group of people. It’s just nice to see everybody working together towards one common goal of giving folks a fun time in town.”
AMSET, along with the other organizations, are searching for volunteers for Museum Madness. To volunteer with AMSET, sign up at amset.org/education before Oct. 14. To volunteer with the other organizations, Beaver said to reach out to the CVB for contacts.
For the full Museum Madness schedule, visit beaumontcvb.com/mmm2026. Times, target demographics and prices can be found under each event.
