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Ocean Star Offshore Drilling Rig & Museum

Harborside Drive & 20th St, 20th Street at Harborside Drive, Galveston, Galveston Island, TX 77550
409/766-7827
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Ranked #5 of 45 attractions in Galveston
Type: Museums
Owner description: The Ocean Star is a retired jackup drilling rig that offers a fun, hands on way to learn about the offshore oil and gas industry in a comfortable and... more » Owner description: The Ocean Star is a retired jackup drilling rig that offers a fun, hands on way to learn about the offshore oil and gas industry in a comfortable and accessible facility. The museum features three floors of models, exhibits, equipment and interactive displays illustrating the story of offshore exploration and production. This self guided museum is open seven days a week and offers visitors the unique opportunity to board an actual offshore rig. Welcome Aboard! « less
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142 reviews from our community

Visitor rating
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Date Rating
Dallas, Texas
Senior Reviewer
6 reviews 6 reviews
3 attraction reviews
5 helpful votes 5 helpful votes
5 of 5 stars Reviewed 15 June 2013 NEW

This museum was a big hit for our family. We all had a lot of fun learning, seeing, touching how oil rigs work out in the deep blue sea. There were things for our young children to do like dress up like they're on the oil rig crew, do crayon rubbings, climb on a rescue rope contraption, watch a short... More

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See 5 more reviews by G G for Galveston
Allen, Texas
Senior Reviewer
8 reviews 8 reviews
Reviews in 4 cities Reviews in 4 cities
3 helpful votes 3 helpful votes
5 of 5 stars Reviewed 7 June 2013

While walking the wharf, we stumbled upon this museum and decided to take the tour. I was amazed at how nice this museum is and it is a Rig turned into museum. Great learning experience and very informative.

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See 4 more reviews by Nancy H for Galveston
Houston, Texas
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4 reviews 4 reviews
Reviews in 4 cities Reviews in 4 cities
5 of 5 stars Reviewed 1 June 2013

Second trip to this museum was just as interesting as the first. Informative displays and great views of the channel. About two hours of sights to explore. Parking is conveniently located but expensive. Take your parking ticket with you, we ate at Fisherman's Wharf afterwards- they would validate a couple hours of parking.

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Mpls, MN
Top Contributor
197 reviews 197 reviews
75 attraction reviews
Reviews in 116 cities Reviews in 116 cities
102 helpful votes 102 helpful votes
5 of 5 stars Reviewed 25 May 2013

The exhibits here are very well done. There is a 15 minute movie and several interactive stations. We spent about 2 hours touring the museum. Well worth the cost.

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See 2 more reviews by MNroadtrippers66 for Galveston
Katy, Texas
Reviewer
5 reviews 5 reviews
4 attraction reviews
5 of 5 stars Reviewed 20 May 2013

The we loved visiting the Rig and looking out at the cruise ships from the top! There is alot of information to be learned and things to touch and see.

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See 4 more reviews by AbbyAndrewmom for Galveston
Southampton, United Kingdom
Contributor
11 reviews 11 reviews
3 attraction reviews
Reviews in 6 cities Reviews in 6 cities
3 helpful votes 3 helpful votes
5 of 5 stars Reviewed 17 May 2013

Lots of fun and a great way to find out how oil was made and how we find it and bring it back to the surface. The rig is a old jack up one but the information is bang up to date. Well worth a visit.(excuse the pun). If you put the details in you satnav it takes you to... More

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Tucson, Arizona
Senior Contributor
41 reviews 41 reviews
20 attraction reviews
Reviews in 30 cities Reviews in 30 cities
25 helpful votes 25 helpful votes
5 of 5 stars Reviewed 14 May 2013

The design of the exhibits is well done with directional speakers in the ceiling to allow considerable content in a relatively small space over three floors. The museum explains all the aspects of operation and off shore oil exploration. The myriad of jobs involved and diversity of workers was well explained in the interactive portions of the museum. The models... More

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See 2 more reviews by Prussik for Galveston
Houston, Texas
Senior Contributor
21 reviews 21 reviews
4 attraction reviews
Reviews in 10 cities Reviews in 10 cities
8 helpful votes 8 helpful votes
3 of 5 stars Reviewed 6 May 2013

We are not from TX and nor do we know anything about drilling rigs, so we thought this would be a unique experience. It was less about the rig and interesting facts and came across a little more about propoganda on why rigs are ok. I wouldn't say I learned too much in the way of interesting facts or information... More

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See 4 more reviews by NCTexan2011 for Galveston
Gladstone, Missouri, United States
Contributor
11 reviews 11 reviews
8 attraction reviews
Reviews in 4 cities Reviews in 4 cities
5 of 5 stars Reviewed 21 April 2013

This was probably the most interesting museum I've ever been in. You leave with a much greater understanding of what is involved in bringing oil to us all. Also, you get a great view of the Harbor from the platforms.

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See 2 more reviews by Eileen M for Galveston
Green Bay, Wisconsin
Contributor
12 reviews 12 reviews
8 attraction reviews
Reviews in 3 cities Reviews in 3 cities
2 helpful votes 2 helpful votes
4 of 5 stars Reviewed 14 April 2013

We travel often and go to local museums wherever we go. This is an unusual opportunity. We all learned a lot about what is involved in offshore drilling and the life of the employees. Although they have interactive displays, this is a museum for people like us who are patient with detailed museums. There is also a feel of promoting... More

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See 7 more reviews by Kim1093 for Galveston

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