The Venango Area Chamber of Commerce has named the Venango Museum of Art, Science and Industry its 2025 Partner in Business, recognizing the museum’s growing impact on tourism, education, and community engagement across Venango County.
Often described as “one of the region’s best kept secrets,” the Venango Museum is becoming increasingly visible under the leadership of Executive Director Brandon Boocks. In recent years, the museum has undergone a series of thoughtful improvements that have strengthened both its physical presence and its role as a community partner. New illuminated signage along Route 8 now invites travelers into Oil City’s North Side, while a freshly cleaned exterior and new awning highlight the stately building at 270 Seneca Street.
Inside the museum, exhibits continue to evolve, dynamically sharing the story of the region’s industrial, cultural, and artistic history. Programming runs from April through December, with a significant number of visitors coming from local schools, reinforcing the museum’s role as an educational resource. Partnerships remain central to its success, including ongoing collaborations with the Venango Historical Society and the DeBence Antique Music World.
Among the museum’s most popular annual initiatives is the Best Sandwich in the County fundraiser, which encourages residents and visitors to explore local restaurants while supporting the museum’s mission. To keep supporters informed and engaged, the Museum also publishes the Venango Viper, a distinctive “zine”-style newsletter as well as short-form video essay series A Minute in History.
The museum welcomed approximately 4,000 visitors in 2025, drawing guests from across Pennsylvania and neighboring states and noting a significant shift in age demographics among visitors. The under 40 age group now represents the museum’s majority of daily visitors.
Its busiest season remains the summer months, particularly with visitors from the Pittsburgh, Erie, and Cleveland areas. Outdoor enthusiasts also frequent the Oil City Visitor Center housed within the museum, which offers free admission and offers merchandise and gifts for residents and visitors.
During the 2025 season, the museum featured the limited-time exhibit Oil Boom Spectacular: Entertainment in the Oil Region, highlighting some of the many theaters, circuses, performers, and more throughout the region’s history in connection to its industrial past. When the museum reopens in April 2026, a new limited-time exhibit will debut, titled Before the Boom.
Beyond exhibits, the museum offers a wide range of programs and events, from children’s tours and Summer STEM, art, and music workshops to concerts by the Erie Philharmonic. In 2025, guests enjoyed a series of sold-out silent film presentations accompanied live by the museum’s historic 1928 Wurlitzer Theater Organ. Restoration of the organ is projected to be finished in the first half of the year as the Silent Film Series will be returning in 2026.
By blending history, education, arts, and tourism while actively partnering with local organizations and businesses the Venango Museum exemplifies the spirit of collaboration celebrated by the Venango Area Chamber’s Partner in Business award. The Chamber congratulates the Venango Museum for showcasing the region’s rich heritage in creative, engaging, and economically impactful ways.
The Venango Museum will reopen for the 2026 season in early April. Regular hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., April through December. Admission is $7 for adults, $5 for seniors and students, and free for children 5 and under and museum members. For more information, visit venangomuseum.org, email venangomuseum@gmail.com, or call (814) 676-2007.
Congratulations to the Venango Museum!
Learn more about the Venango Museum at:
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CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR 2025 AWARD WINNERS:
We are looking forward to our Annual Dinner on February 25, where in addition to the Venango Museum, we will celebrate our Citizen of the Year – Warren Thomas, our Business of the Year – Woods & River Coffee, and our Volunteer of the Year (to be announced that evening).
This article was published in the Venango Chamber’s February 2026 VenangoWorks! Newsletter.