Wacky, Weird Museums to Visit in the U.S.

by Noreen Kompanik
Last updated: 12:00 PM ET, Fri July 4, 2025

Museums are great places to visit. But sometimes, we need a break from the typical art, archeology, aviation, science, and history repositories. We need unique, different, wacky and odd. After all, these are places we never quite forget.

We’ve pulled together some of our favorite weird and quirky museums that offers a whole different perspective on the complicated but fascinating world we live in. Those that even beg the question “How did they even come up with that?”

Well, they did, and obviously a lot of people love it.

Museum of the Weird, Austin

The name alone begs a visit. I remember my first time in Austin many years ago when I walked past this museum. It was so intriguing with its bizarre signage and gruesome figures that I decided to step inside.

The museum on Austin’s legendary 6^th Street is a quirky blend of oddities, carnival curious and sideshow flare. You’ll find bizarre displays like shrunken heads, Fiji mermaids, mummies, fur-covered trout, wax monsters and preserved specimens. If you’re into weird, come for a visit and embrace the kitschy, campy energy of this most unusual place, a great example of the many things that “Keep Austin Weird,” the city’s famous moniker.

Mütter Museum- Philadelphia

Talk about bizarre. This place is definitely for the fan of the macabre and esoteric. The museum, part of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia opened in 1863 with a mission to display medical curiosities and specimens designed for research purposes.

It houses over 25,000 anatomical specimens, medical instruments, skulls and skeletons with rare disorders. Around 1,500 jars contain tumors, preserved organs and unique pathologies. Items range from the Soap Lady (the preserved body of a woman who died of yellow fever and underwent a rare medical process turning her body into a soap-like substance) conjoint twin organs, a tumor from Grover Cleveland’s palate to a vertebra from John Wilkes Booth. Can’t say we didn’t warn you.

Las Vegas' Neon Boneyard Museum at Night

Neon Museum, Las Vegas

Just a mile north of downtown, the Neon Museum and Boneyard has one of the most extensive collections of neon signs in Las Vegas from casinos, hotels, wedding chapels, restaurants and other historic businesses. The nonprofit cultural landmark is dedicated to preserving the vibrant neon signs that once lit up the Las Vegas Strip.

Its meandering trails past iconic signs are literally a walk down memory lane. With more than 200 vintage signs in view, guided tours give visitors the opportunity to turn back the hands of time to the days of yesteryear in Old Vegas.

Founded in 1996, the 2.25-acre museum is housed inside the former La Concha Motel Lobby and includes the outdoor Neon Boneyard where the neon structures are located. These include iconic signs from Caesars Palace, Stardust, Flamingo, Tropicana, the Silver Slipper and more.

International UFO Museum, Roswell

If you’re intrigued by UFOs — especially the famous 1947 Roswell Incident, this museum in Roswell, New Mexico is fascinating.

Located in a restored 1930s movie theater, the museum that receives around 220,000 visitors a year includes declassified documents, debris photos, eyewitness testimonies and an exhibit timeline of the 1947 crash. Displays also cover crop circles, Area 51, ancient astronaut theories and alien abduction accounts. Because the museum does not push a single belief, but rather balanced perspectives —from conspiracy theories to skeptical rebuttals—this allows visitors to draw your own conclusions.

International UFO Museum and Research Center

National Museum of Funeral History, Houston

Home to the country’s largest collection of historic funeral service items and mortuary artifacts like caskets, coffins and hearses, this Houston-based museum offers 19 exhibits that include embalming, the history of cremation and history of mourning photos.

Its mission is educating the public and preserving the heritage of death care, celebrating compassion and rituals surrounding death. Exhibit highlights include Abraham Lincoln’s death mask and a lock of his hair, replicas of Egyptian tombs and a diverse array of funeral programs from famous people.

Musée Mécanique, San Francisco

If you happen to be in Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco, you don’t want to miss this vintage arcade, tinkerer’s paradise housing over 300 coin-operated mechanical wonders, including century-old music boxes, fortune-tellers, dioramas and penny arcade classics.

Founded by Ed Zelinsky, who began collecting at age 11 in the 1920, the bizarre but amazing museum, packed wall-to-wall with oddities includes 'Laffing Sal', a creepy 6-foot laughing automaton, a carnival diorama with Ferris wheel and intricate models built by Alcatraz inmates. A living time capsule, every machine works and will cost between one to two quarters to play. If you’re into quirky vintage mechanics, you’ll love this hidden gem. But word of warning: this treasure trove can easily occupy 1-2 hours or more, so, allow enough time to explore.

The Museum of Bad Art, Boston

Dedicated to yes, the collection of bad art, this museum, housed in the Dorchester Brewing Company in Boston includes over 900 art pieces from artists, amateurs, anonymous creators, art purchased in thrift stores and pieces gifted to the museum.

Admission to this delightful, tongue-in-cheek celebration of gloriously flawed artwork is free. So, what exactly constitutes “bad art?” According to the museum, poorly drawn portraits, bizarre color choices and questionable anatomy representing serious artistic efforts that went delightfully awry.

Museum of Death, Hollywood

This spine-chilling museum centers around mortality, crime and death-related artifacts. The repository includes hundreds of death-related objects such as antique mortician tools. But even more disturbing, but fascinating, are the letters and drawings from notorious criminals like Charles Manson and John Wayne Gacy, the original beds from the Heaven’s Gate mass suicide room and a suicide machine built by Jack Kevorkian.

Surprisingly, the museum is a popular date night spot, further cementing society’s curiosity of the morbid or a place that certainly makes people happy to be alive.

Expedition: Bigfoot! The Sasquatch Museum, Ellijay

Ellijay is a small Georgia Appalachian town with numerous reported Bigfoot sightings. Those into the Sasquatch theory will enjoy a visit to the largest Bigfoot museum in the South to learn about the sightings in the dark and shadowy North Georgia woodlands.

The museum includes the country’s largest permanent display of Bigfoot artifacts, life sized exhibits, photos, sketches, large up-to-date sightings maps and the World’s only Bigfoot Research and Tech Vehicle. The Sasquatch Theater onsite offers about 20 minutes of multimedia content, setting the stage before heading to the museum exhibits.

Expedition Bigfoot! The Sasquatch Museum, Ellijay, GA

North American Bigfoot Center, Boring

It’s impossible to mention Bigfoot without talking about the legends that live on the other side of the country as well.

Located in Boring, Oregon, just 25 minutes outside of Portland the North American Bigfoot Center is a museum and research hub dedicated to the legendary lore, culture, artifacts and gatherings associated with the Sasquatch. The center features informational displays, interactive exhibits and replicas focused on studying the elusive creature. The mythical Bigfoot and its folklore have long been associated with the Pacific Northwest, with many locals considering Bigfoot to be the region’s unofficial mascot.

Whether you’re a die-hard Sasquatch enthusiast, a skeptic, or simply a visitor from out of town, the North American Bigfoot Center is a great place for everyone to come together and learn about this mythological creature associated with the Pacific Northwest and the way it has become ingrained in the culture.

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