In early October, the Crane Point Hammock Museum & Nature Center debuted some renovations across the museum, offering guests more interactive exhibits to learn about sea life at the Marathon, Florida, destination. To match the museum renovations, the attraction also revamped its gift shop to provide a consistent look and experience throughout the attraction.
Crane Point Hammock Museum & Nature Center offers exhibits on wildlife in the Florida Keys, nature trails and a spot for guests to enjoy fish pedicures. Earlier this year, the museum and nature center received a grant from the Monroe County Tourist Development Council for just over $300,000 to renovate the museum. As renovations began, CEO Charlotte Quinn says she decided the gift shop could benefit from new fixtures and flooring to match the rest of the museum.
“I decided to follow through with the museum design, color scheme and flooring into the gift shop,” she explains.
The gift shop went from having wood panel walls and tan fixtures to white slat wall and black and gray fixtures and flooring for a more modern look. Quinn says new fixtures also provided her with a little additional space to showcase merchandise, allowing her to expand the product mix.
“We have some souvenirs with the Florida Keys name drop on it and a lot of stuffed animals and puppets for the kids, but we also are more of a boutique,” she says, noting that the store also carries some higher end gift items that appeal to locals who visit more frequently. “We carry Charla, Barlow Designs, Onboard Band-it, Sand Cloud. We sell sun bags, beach bags and then a ton of books.”
Quinn adds that visitors have enjoyed the renovated museum and gift shop this month. “Kids are loving the more interactive games in the museum, adults are too,” she says. “The locals really have noticed the changes in the gift shop, noticing the new products I’ve brought in.”
The Crane Point Museum & Nature Center has a few more changes in the works for 2026, but in the meantime, Quinn says she hopes the most current renovations and revamped gift shop are a draw for tourists and locals alike. She says, “My goal for the shop is for it to supplement our income here and to give our visitors something really nice yet affordable.”
