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JOURNEYS magazine
Volume III, 2014
From eerie to creepy to just plain bazaar, man has been fascinated with the strange, the unusual and the
unexplainable since time began. In an effort to satisfy our never ending quest for more, below is a list of
five of the most unique museums in the world.
5
The Mütter Museum
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
The Mütter Museum is the finest
museum of medical history in North
America and the vision of Thomas Dent
Mütter, MD, who donated 17,000 objects
and$30,000 to theCollege of Physicians
of Philadelphia in the late 1850’s. Now
featuring over 25,000 objects including
Albert Einstein’s brain, this 19th century
“cabinet museum” houses a beautifully
preserved collection of more than 1,800
wet specimens of human body parts,
thousands of skeletal parts including
several hundred human skulls; oddities
like a 7’6” tall skeleton, and more. Not
for the faint of heart, you’ll love it if you
have a medical background, an interest
in forensics, or are just plain curious.
19 S. 22nd Street
Philadelphia, PA 19108
4
Vancouver Police Museum
Vancouver, Canada
Featuring over 20,000 artifacts, photos
and archived documents, it’s the oldest
police museum in North America and
is located in a former city morgue,
autopsy facility and city crime lab.
The self-guided tour includes a large
collection of police weaponry, uniforms
and equipment, historical recollections,
as well as confiscated weapons and drug
paraphernalia. Permanent and special
exhibits offer a unique perspective of
police work from traffic squads to
mounted patrol, and SWAT teams to
criminal investigation. Take their 90
minute
Sins of the City
walking tour, a
1920’s look at Vancouver’s seedy side.
240 East Cordova Street
Vancouver, BC V6A 1L3
3
Paris Sewer Museum
Paris, France
After you’ve seen the best that Paris
has to offer, venture off the beaten
path to take a look at its underbelly.
This odoriferous underground tour is
open to the public year round and
is entered through a rectangular
maintenance hole. The bulk of Paris’
nearly 1,500 miles of tunnels were built
in the mid to late 1800’s. The one hour
guided tour includes an overview of
its 700+ year old history, displays of
sewer related machinery including a
sewer boat, and a walk through some
of its tunnels. Be sure to check out the
gift shop after your tour!
93 Quai d’Orsay
75007 Paris, France
2
The Old Operating Theatre
Museum and Herb Garrett
London, England
One of London’s most unusual museums
and the oldest operating theater in
Europe. Part of the old St. Thomas
Hospital, the operating theatre was
installed in the 1820’s in the herb garret
of St. Thomas Church which was used
by the hospitals apothecary to store
and cure herbs. The operating theater
provided spectators, including students
of medicine, with a birds-eye view of
surgeries including amputations in the
days before anesthetics and antiseptic
surgery. Collections of surgical tools on
hand reveal the horrors of medicine
before the age of science. A surgical
demonstration takes place each and
every Saturday showcasing 19th century
speed surgery.
9a St. Thomas Street
London SE1 9RY
1
The Museum of Bad Art
(MOBA)
Needham, MAssachusetts
Welcome to the world’s only museum
dedicated to the collection, preservation,
exhibition and celebration of bad art
in all its forms and all its glory. MOBA
opened in 1993 in the basement of a
private home featuring one work of
bad art — an oil painting discovered
in someone’s trash. As its popularity
grew, the museum relocated to the
basement of the Dedham Community
Theater, fittingly next to the entry to
the men’s bathroom. MOBA’s collection
has grown to more than 600 pieces,
although only 25 to 30 are exhibited at
any given time. Admission is free.
DedhamCommunity Theatre Basement
580 High Street
Dedham MA 02026
*There are also locations in the basement
of the Somerville Theatre and the lobby of
Brookline Access Television.
Agent Recommended
The Top 5
Most
Unique
Museums
Written by Joseph Boone
