ST. AUGUSTINE -- Pat Croce’s lifelong fascination with buccaneers has come full circle with the opening of his new Pirate and Treasure Museum here. Showcasing more than 800 pirate-related artifacts that Croce has collected over the years, the new facility fulfills his long-held ambition to expose pirate lore to kids.

Here, youngsters can look into a real pirate treasure chest, the only one still known to exist. They can see a pirate’s notorious Jolly Roger flag, one of only two in the world. They can look at gold and silver doubloons brought up from sunken treasure ships, even heft a gold ingot to feel its weight.

Croce had opened the Pirate Soul Museum in Key West in 2005, but decided to move it here when it failed to draw the family audience he sought. Tourists in Key West “just want to party,” explains Croce, entrepreneur and former Philadelphia 76ers president. The new museum is about 25 percent larger than in Key West.

Since Spain settled here in 1565, pirates sacked the city twice — Sir Francis Drake in 1586 and Robert Searles (also known as John Davis) in 1668 — so the museum site is particularly apropos.

“When we were restoring this building for the museum, we found artifacts buried in the ground below,” Croce says. Some of these items, perhaps from the time of the pirate sackings, are on view.

A lot of loot

He won’t say exactly how much the museum cost — “it’s a lot” — but a single exhibit, Thomas Tew’s 17th century treasure chest, is insured for $1 million. The only surviving authentic chest in the world, it has intricate carvings, an elaborate hidden lock mechanism, and weighs 150 pounds empty.

With the move from Key West, two major museum sections were added in the new facility. One displays treasures recovered from sunken ships, loaned by the state of Florida. The other features pirates as depicted in Hollywood movies, complete with some very recognizable props.

Also new are several dioramas, a gun deck and more interactive elements. Children especially like the cannon that erupts with a floor-rattling boom when “fired.”

To further grab kids’ attention, Croce devised Discovery Tours, a sort of scavenger hunt where youngsters uncover more information about pirates. Pirate muskets and flintlock pistols — including one they can “fire” — also capture their imagination, as do the realistic dioramas, spyglasses and other pirate implements on display.

Real and imagined

The new museum is divided into nine sections, starting with a recreated cobblestone street in the one-time pirate haven of Port Royal, Jamaica.

St. Augustine’s pirates are seen in the Rogues Tavern, where eight interactive touchscreens tell pirate stories.

In the Captain’s Cabin, one wall is covered with the rare skull-and-crossbones Jolly Roger flag.

On the Main Deck, visitors can sign on as a crew member and learn the tricks of the trade — knot tying, steering the ship, keeping time and ringing the ship’s bell.

The Main Deck leads to the Gun Deck, where guests can “fire” a real cannon by touching an electronic “fuse” with an electronic “match.”

From there, visitors enter Below Deck, a darkened room created by Disney Imagineers, which tells how the pirate Blackbeard met his end, with appropriate sound effects.