Whatever floats your boat–maybe it’s mustard, salt and pepper shakers, toilet seats, or hair–you better believe that America has a museum dedicated to it. And, oddly enough, you’ll find these peculiar institutions both mesmerizing and informative. Stay weird, America!
1. National Mustard Museum (Middleton, Wisconsin)
Barry Levenson gave up his job as Assistant Attorney General for the State of Wisconsin to open up his National Mustard Museum. It’s pretty safe to say, mustard is his passion, and after a visit here–where you can check out 5,992 mustards from all 50 states and more than 70 countries–it might become yours, too. There is also a quirky onsite gift shop, so you can pick up a few treats for the mustard-lover in your life.
2. Mütter Museum (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
Not for the faint-hearted, but definitely for the morbidly curious, the Mütter Museum (part of The College of Physicians of Philadelphia) hosts a cornucopia of unusual medical oddities such as pieces of Einstein’s brain, jars of human skin, and feet, a genital warts necklace, the world’s largest colon, and much, much more. Probably not the best place to take someone on a first date, unless he or she is really into medical oddities and specimens.
3. The Museum of Bad Art (Boston, Massachusetts)
Remember when you were a kid, and your art teacher said there is no bad or ugly art? She lied. The Museum of Bad Art houses masterpieces so bad that they might actually be good.
It’s heartening to see an institution that’s dedicated to collecting, preserving, and exhibiting these, um, works of art. A warning, however, some of these masterpieces cannot be unseen. The Museum of Bad Art is currently renovating and should reopen shortly.
4. Museum of Salt and Pepper Shakers (Gatlinburg, Tennessee)
The humble duo graces the table of every American household, and it’s easy to take it for granted.
Take a trip to this shaker shrine, where visitors can admire over 20,000 pairs of shakers. Some of them date as far back as the 1500s! This weird museum will teach you all sorts of surprising facts, like the story behind the number of holes on each shaker, for example.
The Museum of Salt and Pepper Shakers is a real labor of love, and you’ll no doubt come to appreciate the dynamic duo that truly comes in all shapes and sizes.
5. International UFO Museum & Research Center (Roswell, New Mexico)
Take us to your leader! The International UFO Museum and Research Center’s primary focus is on the 1947 Roswell Crash. It is a wild place where you’ll be privy to a collection of artifacts and theories, both plausible and outlandish! Come with an open mind, and you too may fall under the strange spell of UFO theories.
6. National Museum of Funeral History (Houston, Texas)
Dying to learn about the history of embalming and cremation, strange funeral and mourning practices, or maybe you just want to see outlandish fantasy coffins and hearses? Don’t think it’s all morbid or that you’ll be bored to death, the museum is very well organized, and, surprisingly, America’s funeral industry is kind of fascinating. If you are in the Houston area or on a weird America tour, the National Museum of Funeral History is a must.
7. Neon Museum (Las Vegas, Nevada)
Gone but not forgotten, Las Vegas’ Neon Museum houses retired and defunct flashy neon signs (Caesars Palace, Binion’s Horseshoe, Hacienda Resort, the Golden Nugget, and the Stardust) that once lit up the Las Vegas Strip.
The museum visitor center features the restored lobby shell from the former La Concha Motel, a stunning example of mid-century modern architecture. The museum also has a number of fiberglass sculptures, among them the massive skull from the Treasure Island Hotel and Casino. Take a nightly tour of the aptly named “Neon Boneyard,” where you can best appreciate these glitzy wonders in their final resting place.
8. Barney Smith’s Toilet Seat Art Museum (San Antonio, Texas)
When toilet seat lids are your canvas, anything is possible, like, for example, decorating them with trolls, wasp nests, volcanic ash, fragments from NASA’s 1986 space shuttle, and shredded money from the Federal Reserve Bank in San Antonio. This weird museum should definitely be on your list. Move over, Duchamp!
9. Spam Museum (Austin, Minnesota)
Mystery meat no more, a trip to the Spam Museum will reveal its strangely rich history (we’re talking 14,000 square feet and seven galleries rich) of America’s–and apparently the world’s–favorite canned meat. That is, if you really want to know what’s inside! The Spam Museum is an excellent place for families as most of the exhibits are interactive or hands-on, plus there is always someone handing out Spam samples.
10. Leila’s Hair Museum (Independence, Missouri)
Here’s the thing about hair: it’s one of those things that you either have or you don’t. You flaunt it or you try your best to hide it. Or, you open a museum dedicated solely to someone else’s really old hair, as in 17th century old.
Leila’s Hair Museum is the world’s first hair art institution that showcases human hair as a medium to make jewelry, wreaths, and even paintings. The practice traces back to the 12th century but it’s during the Victorian era that hair art has its heyday. Strange, maybe, but the stories behind these “hair pieces” are so captivating, it won’t be hard to see why someone would dedicate her life to sharing them.
Ready to book your weird museum vacation? Start your flight search below! 👇
