Permian Basin Petroleum Museum

Top choice in Panhandle Plains


This museum is worth a stop even if you're not utterly fascinated with the oil business, for it's as much a history and geology museum as a shrine to the prominent local industry (it has a hall of fame and an ironically entertaining 1970s sensibility). Follow the steps needed to discover oil and see a small collection of Chaparral race cars.

Outside is a big collection of antique oil-drilling equipment. Inside, interactive exhibits include one in which players can drill their own wells and another that simulates the roar of a blowout, an oil well gone wild.


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