In America things differ, museums stray from offering visitors just so much more than what they actually expect and if you’re planning a visit, do add the Bad Art Museum in Boston, UFO Museum in New Mexico and some of the other unusual museums on our list to ensure you’ll remember your trip for many years to come.
Boston’s Museum of Bad Art
While most art pieces are subjective, the opposite is true in Boston’s Bad Art Museum where the pieces are objectively appalling. The museum is home to paintings in which the artists completely missed the mark, and the art pieces are divided according to their problem areas. These include the unseen forces section in which paintings and sculptures represent the human psyche in the most bizarre form. There is also the portraiture section hosting paintings and drawings of distorted faces and to make this visit even more worthwhile every painting or other artform displayed highlights the pieces questionable origins via a narrative.
Philadelphia’s Mutter Museum
It’s a museum for the brave and the ones with a strong stomach. The Mutter Museum features loads of pathological and anatomical specimens. It is managed by the College of Physicians of Philadelphia. The collections also feature 130 skulls as well as a bit of the neck tissue of John Wilkes. If you brave it out, you can get up really close to the tallest skeleton ever displayed and browse the instruments used for medical procedures in the 19th century.
Alexandria’s Stabler-Leadbeater Apothecary Museum
Established in 1792, the Stabler-Leadbeater Apothecary Museum in Alexandria is worth-while visiting since it takes visitors back in time. It was the apothecary shop of choice for important clients such as Robert E Lee and Martha Washington. Now it is the museum, home to the historic collection of memorabilia and medical equipment, where visitors get to browse the largest selection in the world of apothecary bottles.
Mount Horeb’s The National Mustard Museum
The idea of a Wisconsin National Mustard Museum was that of Barry Levenson. It first started during a trip to a supermarket that remained open all night. Once he had the idea, he started collecting over 5,000 jars of mustard from well over seventy different countries. Now visitors to his museum can taste different flavours at the tasting bar. It includes wasabi, tequila, spicy and sweet and it’s a delight no matter your preference.
Burlingame’s Pez Memorabilia Museum
At the Burlingame Museum of Pez Memorabilia, you get to treat your inner child, since the two-room museum is tiny and offers the most colourful Pez collection of 1950’s dispensers. This is also where you get to view the largest Pez dispensing machine in the world, towering like a white snowman and Gary Doss who is the owner offer private tours to visitors.
Independence’s Hair Museum
Anyone who loves going to the hair salon will enjoy the visit to the Hair Museum of Leila, where an impressive collection of art on display are created from human hair. The collection available to visitors include wreaths and jewellery dating as far back as the Victorian period, while the rate collections section features locks of hair of celebrities. Some of the rarest pieces include the mourning brooch featuring strands from an early statesman of America as well as the hair of Michael Jackson framed.