Shipwreck & Beach-Combing Museum in Texel, Netherlands

A visit to Texel is not complete without a visit to the Shipwreck & Beach-Combing Museum in Texel, Netherlands. When you pull up you’ll wonder if I’ve sent you to the right place. The museum is in fact just a collection of items that have been found on the beaches and shores of Texel. It really could be just a museum full of trash. This museum, however, gives the trash a life that makes them immensely interesting.

There is plenty for everyone to enjoy here. The museum is even able to turn old ropes into something quite beautiful. Once you get used to being surrounded by so much stuff the beauty starts to peek out.

The items are grouped by type and placed in amusing ways. These buoy trees were perfect for running around and noticing the simple differences in orange buoys that had washed up on the shores of Texel.

Every angle here is incredible. Visiting with kids will only enhance the sense of wonder. They notice the best angles of all this junk. “Look mom. Large Christmas tree ornaments.”

The museum has fun photo opportunities already set up, that we just had to take advantage of.

There are kids games set up everywhere. The big boys loved finding these games hidden among the junk collections and playing with them.

There are several full scale boats you’re encouraged to climb on and explore. Jeff’s favorite boat was an actual lifeboat from a container ship.

The best part though was a scavenger hunt the kids were sent on when we arrived. In each room are hidden letters you have to find. This hunt can be done even with no understanding of the language. The hunt is hard as there is just so much stuff the letter plaques blend in to the mix.

The kids worked together to search out the letters. Our Big Little was able to write the letters in the blocks on his own, making both of our big kids feel really important.

While the boys searched the rooms for the missing letters Jeff and I were able to find our favorite objects and read about their history. I was taken by this raincoat found on the beach and traced it back to a specific ship.

Equally as fascinating is the vast collection of rope, hung as if it was a backdrop for a photo shoot.

As if that wasn’t enough we emerged out of the back of the museum onto an amazing playground. The playground has some traditional play equipment, a zipline and a collection of old seafaring vehicles to climb in and explore.

The kids’ favorite was the rescue pod. They took turns pretending to drive and transporting daddy for medical care.

This wonderfully weird place is a must see for Texel visitors.

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Our trip to Texel was sponsored by the Texel VVV. They arranged our entrance into museums around the island so we could provide an honest review of our experience. 

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