The grand opening of the International Cryptozoology Museum in Portland, Maine, the “world’s first cryptozoology museum” took place the first week of November 2009.

More than 300 people turned out for the long awaited event, including State of Maine Representative Herb Adams. California Bigfoot investigator, Jim McClarin, was also available to answer questions at the opening.

Cryptozoologist, author, and museum curator Loren Coleman admits to his prejudices toward mammalians and primates. Therefore, the International Cryptozoology Museum in downtown Portland features Bigfoot as its main celebrity.

Inside the front door, the first sight to greet your eyes is an eight foot tall, 400 pound Bigfoot replica. Plaster casts of the Yeti’s footprints line the museum shelves by the dozens. You can also find hair and excrement from the huge creature in the museum.

Loren Coleman has been collecting cryptozoological relics for half a century, and hundreds of cryptid artifacts are available for your perusal at the museum including Hollywood props such as “P.T. Barnum’s 3.5 feet tall Feejee Mermaid,” and the eleven feet long “Mystery Civil War Pterodactyl” from the TV series Freakylinks.

Many artists display their cryptid-based artwork including drawings, paintings, and sculptures at the museum.

The museum also houses a huge display of various skulls from Gigantopithecus, Paranthropus, Australopithecus, Panthera atrox, and many more.

You can examine a full-scale six-foot-long coelacanth “living fossil” modeled from an actual specimen donated to the museum anonymously.

Many cryptid toys and souvenirs collected by Loren from all over the world are on display at the museum too.

You are welcome to visit the museum located at 661 Congress Street in Portland from 11 am to 6 pm Wednesdays through Saturdays, and Noon to 5 pm on Sundays.

Founder and operator of the museum, Loren Coleman, has written quite a few books on the subject of cryptozoology. His work was invaluable to me as I wrote my first book, The Weiser Field Guide to Cryptozoology: Werewolves, Dragons, Sky Fish, Lizard Men, and Other Fascinating Creatures Real and Mysterious which (I’m very excited to say) will be out sometime in late February. If you would like, you can currently check it out for preorder on Amazon.

References:

http://cryptozoologymuseum.com/

http://upsidedownhippo.com/archives/2009/11/01/the_crypto_keeper/