Exploring the strange, the unusual, and the truly bizarre – welcome to a world of Museums of Oddities! Whether it is collecting, preserving, and curating the oddities of the past, or showcasing the oddities of nature, there are museums all over the world that specialize in the notion of the unconventional. Step into the world of the weird and wonderful, and take a look at some of the more unique collections in the world today.
1. The Curious World of Museums of Oddities: Unveiling Unusual Collections from Around the Globe
From mysterious artifacts to strange taxidermy displays, museums of oddities around the world showcase some of the most fascinating and peculiar collections. Spanning centuries and continents, these places offer insight into a range of peculiar and image-provoking worlds. Here’s a look at five unique museums and their curious collections.
Museum of Vampires and Legendary Creatures, Paris, France
Located in the Lovers of the Gothic area of the French capital, the Museum of Vampires and Legendary Creatures houses an arsenal of odd objects and curiosities. With displays ranging from vampire and witchhunting to werewolves, it’s the perfect place for a gothic fan. Wall-mounted taxidermy heads featuring mythological beasts and relics related to the occult are just a few items to explore. The museum also boasts a vast library of esoteric and occult books.
Musée des Arts Forains, Paris, France
This museum is dedicated to the celebration of traditional amusement fairs. Set up like a vintage carnival, it houses an array of old-fashioned attractions including a vintage carousel, a funhouse, and a menagerie of rare and vintage games. The museum holds an extensive collection of artifacts from the 19th century, such as mechanical organ-grinders, calliopes, automata, and rare artifacts. It offers visitors a unique journey back in time as they explore its retro-chic displays.
Morbid Anatomy Museum, Brooklyn, USA
This Brooklyn-based museum houses an impressive collection of oddities from around the world. Explore collections of anatomical models, medical instruments, funeral memorabilia, and more. The museum also features a library full of books related to alternative health practices, folk medicine, and the history of medicine. With events such as Cocktail Sketches and After Hours Tours, the museum allows visitors to delve into its macabre and mystical sides.
Museum of Old and New Art, Hobart, Australia
This science-meets-art museum houses modern and ancient collections of sculptures, artifacts, and commissioned pieces. With its diverse range of objects from around the world, it showcases pieces that explore the boundaries of art, science, and history. These include a life-sized wooly mammoth skeleton, a 22-tonne boulder, and a massive collection of skulls and artifacts from Pacific cultures.
Coney Island Museum, New York, USA
This museum celebrates the heyday of Coney Island with its extensive collection of carnival-style memorabilia. Housed in a turn-of-the-century building, the museum features vintage sideshow posters, postcards, photographs and ephemera, classic amusement park posters, boardwalk artifacts, and more. If you’re a fan of old-time attractions, this museum’s collection of nostalgic oddities is sure to delight.
2. Beyond the Ordinary: A Journey into the Unconventional and Bizarre Collections of Museums of Oddities
If you’re looking for something truly extraordinary, one of the best places to start is the unconventional and bizarre museums of oddities. These attractions are havens of intricate artifacts, from scientific oddities to fortean strange and rather peculiar pieces.
Some feature collections of skeletal specimens, showcasing all sorts of bones from the smallest mammal to the biggest whale. Others compile more interesting specimens like deformed horns, antique tools, stuffed two-headed animals, tarot paintings, and much more. There’s also that one museum of local myth and legend, where you can find cases of Jacob’s Ladder, snow-made totems, and the eerie invention of herring oil lamps.
Museums of oddities not only can provide a one-of-a-kind experience, but they can serve as excellent learning opportunities. People can study a wide range of oddities and gain a different perspective on scientific information. Here’s what you can find inside:
- Dinosaurs
- Books on dark science and the occult
- Prehistoric artifacts preserved for centuries old
- Medical oddities that reveal the medical secrets of centuries past
If this sounds interesting to you, then you’ll be glad to know that there are many places where you can visit and explore these unique collections. Depending on the location, some oddities museums may feature special events and activities so you can truly appreciate the odd museum experience. So, don’t be afraid to explore the weird and wonderful world of museums of oddities.
3. Oddities Unleashed: Exploring the Hidden Gems of Unusual Artifacts and Curiosities in Museums Worldwide
In the world of weird and wonderful artifacts, museums represent a goldmine of unusual objects and curiosities just waiting to be explored. From ancient relics tucked away in forgotten corners to modern oddities that capture the imagination, let’s take a journey to uncover some of the hidden gems waiting to be discovered.
Lush Lushan Palace
Sitting atop a mountain-top in Jiangxi, China is Lushan Palace. Built during the Tang Dynasty, this striking palace is home to a number of strange items, many of which were commissioned by the Empress Wu Zetian. Among them is a 12 foot high mechanical tree that winds its way up to the ceiling in a peculiar dance of metal and cogs. The palace also houses an impressive array of ancient relics including musical instruments, Buddhist statues, and rare manuscripts. All are presented in an ancient and almost mystical atmosphere that takes visitors to a faraway place and time.
Sorbonne Museum of Natural History
Walk into the Sorbonne Museum of Natural History in Paris, and you will find yourself surrounded by the strange and the strange-er. Highlights include a two-headed calf, reconstructed human and animal skeletons, fossils of pre-historic creatures, and even the contents of a 19th century beastly medical cabinet featuring pickled organs, test tubes filled with liquids, and dissections of fetuses. A true must-see for the curious Museum-seeker.
Museo Pignatelli Cortese
In the city of Naples, Italy, lies Museo Pignatelli Cortese. This grand palace stores curiosities both new and old, and awes with its wide selection of curious and wonderful items that span hundreds of years. From ancient Greek pottery to exaggerated wallpapers, the collection of oddities extends to strange works of art like a Victorian torso made of wax and marble, a pin headed man, and a pair of snarling embalmed Borzois All of this and more is presented in a gorgeous interior that combines art and history for a truly unique experience.
The Mutter Museum
Last, but certainly not least, is The Mutter Museum in Philadelphia. This museum is a repository of thousands of medical anomalies and specimens, all presented in a way that is equal parts fascinating and spooky. Among the more notable items is a collection of skulls that belonged to historic figures, a set of sculptures made from human hair, the skeleton of a giant, and the body of a woman with half a brain. It is an intentionally eerie and unsettling museum that is sure to leave you with a greater appreciation of the bizarre.
4. Unveiling the Extraordinary: Discovering the Weird and Wonderful World of Museums dedicated to Oddities and Quirky Collections
From festive-colored clothing made of bottle caps to life-size alien sculptures, it’s easy to be amazed by the extraordinary items showcased in the world’s quirkiest museums.
Let’s take a look at some of these out-of-this-world collections!
Take the Museum of Bad Art in Massachusetts, for example: countless pieces of bad art are proudly exhibited in this museum, all categorized according to their outstanding ineptitude. Humor Development Director, Louise Reilly Sacco, says visitors to the museum come to be shocked, and to laugh their way through the collections.
The Mommy’s Little Angel Exhibit is another delightfully peculiar museum. Located in Arizona, the museum houses thousands of baby costumes and items used to dress infants in various cultures around the world. From the spooky to the whimsical, all items in the museum are handmade by the museum’s owner, David Hayes.
If you’d like a livelier experience, you can visit Raleigh’s Underwater Pirate & Mermaid Museum in North Carolina. This exhibit celebrates all things mythical, with collections of mermaids and freshwater fish set up in a giant aquarium that’s open to the public, and you can even take a class in mermaiding!
These are just a few of the many quirky museums around the world dedicated to oddities and unusual collections. Here are some of the many others to explore:
- Museum of Impossible Objects in Toronto, Canada
- Museum of Censored Art in Los Angeles, USA
- Cabinet des Fées in Paris, France
- London Museum of Unnatural History, UK
From pirate ships to mermaids and even censored art, let the extraordinary collections within these quirky museums captivate you as you explore their weird and wonderful worlds.
From Brazil’s Casa das Máquinas museum of antique typewriters to the beloved Mills Brothers’ Museum of Ventriloquism in Ohio, the world’s curious assortment of museums of oddities are a delight to explore. With these eclectic wonders, we uncover a new appreciation for the unlikely, the macabre, and the unimaginable.