Everything you ever wanted to know about windmills but didn’t know to ask is available in a museum in Lubbock, Texas, known as the American Wind Power Center.  Located on a series of lightly rolling hills, the center was once known as the National Windmill Project but changed its name in order to suggest a more expansive approach to the history of wind power.  The purpose of the museum is to display the history of the American Style Water Pumping Windmill as well as other exhibits related to generating wind electricity.  Open since June of 1998, the museum has displays of over ninety rare and unique windmills.  Some of the energy-producing devices, with a diameter of twenty-five feet, have been built over wells and tanks outside in groups or individually in the Linebery Windmill Park.  Aside from the windmills, the Center also contains a collection of models, drawings and photography in the Windmiller’s Art Gallery, alongside other windmill artifacts.  These include the Elmer and Melvyn Miller Windmill Weight Collection, a display area built to exhibit windmill weights.  In addition to these items, there’s an exhibit titled 80 John which examines the history of early Black Texas Ranchers.  If you’re looking for a gift shop specializing in windmill souvenirs, then take a look into the Windsmith museum store.

The main museum sits on a hilltop surrounded by a number of windmills of different shapes, colors and sizes.  Inside, you’ll find the ninety  rare windmills, in a twist of fate, now protected from the weather.  The artwork and cast iron figures in the gift shop are unlike anything you’ll find elsewhere, in the state of Texas and beyond.  There’s also an outdoor exhibit with a large, industrial-scaled wind turbine, generating energy which is measured by a panel inside the main building, so guests can see exactly what these machines do.  There’s a second wind turbine, dismantled, so that people can see the inside workings of these huge commercial turbines.

If you’re planning a trip to the Lubbock area, you’ll find a surprising number of family friendly museums and attractions, from the Buddy Holly Center to Joyland Amuseument Park to the Silent Wings Museum.  For a place to stay, click here.  Then start exploring the area.  The museum is open from Tuesday through Saturday, from ten in the morning to five in the afternoon the entire year.  It’s closed on Mondays.  And the rates are extremely reasonable: Five dollars per person, or ten dollars for a family of four.