Turtle Bay: 20 Years and Counting

Article by Janae Easlon

Making memories has been the core of Turtle Bay Museum’s mission since it opened its doors in 2002 along the Sacramento River. 

Twenty years later, the epicenter of science, art, history, and culture is celebrating a much-anticipated anniversary. While the museum went through initial growing pains, Turtle Bay continues to break attendance goals month after month. 

“People were happy to see the Museum that they had been hearing about for years was finally open,” says Julia Cronin, Turtle Bay’s Curator of Collections and Exhibits. “We didn’t have quite the initial attendance we had predicted based on studies done by an outside company that perhaps overestimated the attraction. The Sundial Bridge was two years from opening and lent an air of ‘under construction’ that didn’t help matters. Our loyal members and community members sustained us as we experienced the growing pains from which any new institution suffers. It takes work to be beloved by a community!”

The first exhibition was the in-house curated Journey to Justice: The People and the Salmon and Ansel Adams: Masterworks. Journey was about the legacy of the Winemum Wintu of the McCloud River and their efforts to gain Federal Recognition as a tribe. Alongside the stories of the Wintu people, the exhibition featured the challenges facing local salmon of the McCloud River area in the Sacramento Valley, a foodway essential to the Wintu people. Journey to Justice later went on to win a prestigious museum prize, says Cronin.

Exhibitions from around the world began to be featured over time as Turtle Bay gained momentum. 

“People always mention Titanic and Frogs: A Chorus of Colors as crowd favorites,” says Cronin. “A T. Rex Named Sue paired with Art of the Brick was also a wildly successful summer. Right now, Tutankhamun: Wonderful Things is getting a lot of positive feedback. It always warms my heart when people reminisce about how much they like our in-house shows. The comment book for last year’s, Redding in the Roaring ‘20s was particularly smile-inducing.”     

 While exhibitions brought new people through the door, the permanent exhibits also feature lots to wonder about and return to. The Wintu Bark House, created by Wintu knowledge expert Ted Dawson, stands tall in the center of the museum, while the Shasta Caverns-replica leads to the 22,000-gallon freshwater aquarium that lots of creatures call home. 

As Turtle Bay Museum looks to the future, the most exciting developments include the introduction of a new day-to-night, grab-and-go bistro where Sundial Cafe used to be. The space will feature a table wrapped around a tree, branch chandeliers, lawn games, a children’s area, and more.