irrational method on Nostr: So the museum was the house of the Rice family whose collection was the original ...

So the museum was the house of the Rice family whose collection was the original start of the museum.  

(Not all theirs though, some of the collection , like the petrified wood, crab fossils above, were donated by other collectors.)

They built their house in the 1950s with the intent of displaying their collection, and it's a beautiful bit of mid-century architecture. After they moved out in the 1990s, the museum was opened to the public.

For example - their basement bar: