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Strange Museums

Browse documented strange museums from across America.

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Strange Museums

Ripley’s Ocean City

Ocean City, Maryland

A giant shark appears to crash through the Ocean City Boardwalk building that houses shrunken heads, odd artifacts, strange art, and hundreds of exhibits designed around…

Strange Museums

Wilhelm Reich Museum

Rangeley, Maine

Deep in western Maine, Wilhelm Reich's former laboratory preserves orgone energy accumulators, atmospheric experiments, and the story of a machine he believed could influence the weather.

Strange Museums

Phineas Gage

Massachusetts

In 1848, railroad foreman Phineas Gage survived an accident that should have been unsurvivable. An explosion drove an iron tamping rod through his head. The rod…

Strange Museums

National Museum of Funeral History

Houston, Texas

More than 30,000 square feet of hearses, caskets, embalming equipment, mourning objects, and funeral-industry history make death the main attraction at this Houston museum.

Strange Museums

Wolf Park

Battle Ground, Indiana

A research and education park where guided visits bring guests close to wolves, foxes, and bison in spacious habitats.

Strange Museums

Bonnie & Clyde Ambush Museum

Gibsland, Louisiana

A former cafe tied to Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow's final hours holds ambush artifacts, a death-car replica, and the story of the roadside trap waiting…

Historic Oddities

Grotto of the Redemption

West Bend, Iowa

Built from millions of gemstones, fossils, and minerals gathered from around the world, the Grotto of the Redemption is one of the largest man-made grottos on…

Strange Museums

Wyoming Dinosaur Center

Thermopolis, Wyoming

A small Wyoming town displays a 106-foot Supersaurus and lets visitors work at active dinosaur dig sites.

Strange Museums

Abita Mystery House

Abita Springs, Louisiana

Tucked away in the Louisiana town of Abita Springs, the Abita Mystery House is a wonderfully strange collection of homemade inventions, folk art, found objects, and…

Strange Museums

Umbrella Cover Museum

Peaks Island, Maine

A tiny island museum turned the disposable sleeve from an umbrella into a collection, a world record, a guided show, and an excuse to play accordion.

Strange Museums

Jake the Alligator Man

Long Beach, Washington

A shriveled half-man, half-alligator sideshow creature named Jake presides over a free museum packed with strange animals, antique machines, and decades of roadside clutter.

Historic Oddities

John J. Makinen Bottle House

Kaleva, Michigan

Built from more than 65,000 glass bottles, the John J. Makinen Bottle House is one of Michigan's most unusual historic structures. Constructed in Kaleva during the…