Going to a museum to learn about history and culture can be quite an educational experience. If you are looking for a nontraditional museum experience, visit one of these museums below. They are considered to be some of the weirdest museums in America.
The City Reliquary, Brooklyn, New York
This museum is great for those that want to learn about history, architecture, geology and all things New York City. Here you can find items having to do with landmarks, the World’s Fair, sports teams and a lot of items dealing with the Statue of Liberty. If you are looking for a particular piece of memorabilia dealing with New York City, there’s a good chance you can find it here. In addition to viewing the actual pieces of art the museum puts on backyard concerts and block parties.
The Warren Anatomical Museum, Boston, Massachusetts
You will mainly find items related to medicine and anatomy here. There are over 15,000 artifacts that include anatomical models made out of everything from wax to paper mache, medical instruments and even photographs. One of the most famous collections is from the surgeon who was the pioneer of using anesthesia in surgery, John Collins Warren. He donated some of his personal research about using anesthesia in the 1800s.
Barnum Museum, Bridgeport Connecticut
This museum has a large collection of odd things. There’s very small items like Tom Thumb’s artifacts or a vaudeville performer that was just 35 inches talk. You can also see items like Victorian-era toys and dinosaur fossils. What makes this museum so strange is the variety of items that can be found here. It’s like going to a thrift shop- you never know what unique thing you might find.
The Salt And Pepper Shaker Museum, Gatlinburg, Tennessee
Like to put salt and pepper on your food? Then you really should visit this museum. It’s filled with more than 20,000 pairs of salt and pepper shakers as well as 15,000 pepper mills. The proprietors of this museum, a husband and wife team, started their collection over 25 years ago.
Barney Smith’s Toilet Seat Art Museum, San Antonio, Texas
Toilet seats come in more varieties than just white or black, regular or elongated. The creator of this museum, Barney Smith, was a master plumber and has collected many different toilet seats over the years. As of May 2016 there were 1,230 toilet seats including one with trolls adorning it and another with a beehive. Currently they are all mounted to the steel walls of a detached garage that you can visit for free.
