Current Exhibit
This award-winning exhibit reveals the fascinating story of Marco Island’s original residents, from the people who occupied Horr’s Island 5,000 years ago to the Muspa and Calusa.
The powerful and creative Calusa dominated Florida’s Southwest Coast for centuries. They thrived, living in harmony with their environment. The Calusa were skilled artisans and produced hand-carved and painted ceremonial objects, tools and more from wood and shells. They left behind a priceless legacy of artifacts that revealed clues to their daily lives, customs, and rituals.
Stroll through the life-size Key Marco Village and experience the sights and sounds of busy village life, nature, and Calusa-inspired music. The exhibit also includes more than 300 Indigenous artifacts, stunning original artwork, state-of-the-art graphic projections, and interactive activity stations that further illuminate the story of Marco Island’s early peoples.
connectorshare
THE CALUSA GALLERY GIFT OF
Rene and Tish Champagne
FUNDING FOR THIS EXHIBIT GENEROUSLY PROVIDED BY
City of Marco Island, Collier County Tourist Development Council, Aldo and Mary Pat Palombo, Island Country Club Charitable Foundation
KEY MARCO VILLAGE EXHIBIT DONORS
Shirlee Vann Barcic, Rene and Tish Champagne, George and Carol Engstrom, Dave and Ellie Everitt, Lavern Norris Gaynor, Jean D. King, Jon and Sonja Laidig, Myrt Rose, Alan and Linda Sandlin, The Village of Goodland
Exhibit Photo gallery
Pendants/plummets of stone and shell. Caxambas, Key Marco, and Goodland, 500 B.C. - A.D. 1500. MIHS 2014-08-17-033, 98.05.001, 2018-01-038.
Bronze casting of the Key Marco Cat by sculptor Samuel Murray (1869-1941), ca. 1896-1900. MIHS 2015-62-001.
Ceramic potsherd, Fort Drum Incised. Addison Bay, A.D. 500-700. MIHS 97.08.194.
Mastodon vertebra. Collier County, Florida, Pleistocene period (2.6 million - 11,700 years ago). MIHS 2014-04-001.
Reconstructed ceramic vessel. Key Marco, A.D. 665-775. MIHS 2014-12-08-001.
awards
Paradise Found: 6,000 Years of People on Marco Island is the recipient of the 2015 Florida Association of Museums (FAM) Museum Excellence Award and the 2019 Southeastern Museums Conference (SEMC) Excellence in Exhibitions Award in the over $100,000 category.
Bringing History
& Community
Together
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