14 Unique Museums Around the World Worth a Visit

Sometimes museums can begin to blur together when traveling; artifacts and paintings lose their magic when tacking one museum onto another to fit everything into one trip. But there are some museums challenging this with unique and quirky approaches, showcasing exhibits and themes you wouldn’t expect to see in a museum.

Museum of Money in Dallas, Texas

This new museum takes an unconventional approach by transforming financial literacy into a hands-on gallery of economic oddities. Expect interactive exhibits like cash grab machines, counterfeit labs and barter challenges.

JELL-O Gallery Museum, Greater Niagara, New York

Yes, you read that right. This museum is located in the birthplace of JELL-O, and you can explore the story of America’s most famous gelatin dessert since its creation in 1897. Wander through vintage advertising, collectible molds, recipe books and more.

Bailey-Matthews Nation Shell Museum, Fort Myers, Florida

If you love collecting seashells at the beach, you’ll want to make for this museum, the only in the country with a collection devoted solely to shells and the mollusks producing them. Expect more than 600,000 seashells and 50 mollusk species in different tanks. The museum also offers guided sunrise shell-collection walks, expeditions to the Everglades and more.

ESSE Purse Museum, Little Rock, Arkansas

One of just two purse museums in the world, this museum also houses a permanent exhibit, A Century of Women and Handbags 1900–1999, exploring the evolution of the 20^th-century American woman through handbags and their contents, one decade at a time. Of course, the museum shop is also worth a peek inside …

“The Wizard of Oz” Museum and Van Gogh, Space Coast, Florida

Explore more than 2,000 pieces of memorabilia, film history and immersive art from The Wizard of Oz, including Dorothy’s dress. The museum is also home to an immersive Van Gogh exhibit.

Dennos Museum © Visit Traverse City

Music House and Dennos Museum Center, Traverse City, Michigan

At Music House Museum, you can listen to antique player pianos, music boxes and orchestrions in action. Be sure to also visit Dennos Museum Center with its extensive array of Inuit art.

Core Sound Waterfowl Museum, Crystal Coast, North Carolina

This Harkers Island museum celebrates the cultural history of the coastal community through living traditions of decoy carving, boat-building and commercial fishing.

Sailing Museum, Newport, Rhode Island

See why Newport is a world-renowned sailing destination through hands-on activities and exhibits at this state-of-the-art museum. Test your sailing skills, learn the importance of teamwork, and discover the history and innovation behind the sport.

World Famous Crochet Museum, Joshua Tree, California

Just the size of a sprinter van, this quaint museum is free to visit, hoping solely to inspire you to create a little craft of your own. While items on display aren’t for sale, a museum gift shop next door awaits.

Larrakia Cultural Centre, Darwin, Australia

Twenty years in the making, this center connects visitors with the history, culture and traditions of the Larrakia people, the Traditional Owners of the Darwin region. Explore Indigenous art, cultural experiences and a garden.

International Tennis Hall of Fame, Newport, Rhode Island

This center preserves tennis’s rich heritage through immersive exhibits; interactive displays; rare memorabilia; and items from the center’s most recent inductee, Roger Federer.

© Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec

Musée National Des Beaux-Arts du Québec, Canada

Just opened this October, this museum is the new permanent home for Espace Riopelle – Pavilion Michael Audain, featuring an exhibition tracing Riopelle’s architectural triumph.

Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum, Pomona, California

This museum is named for Wally Parks, who helped take drag racing from its amateur days on the street to a professional sport, and you’ll see this journey at the museum. Admire historic dragsters and hot rods, as well as vintage land speed racers and the first automobile driven by an American to break the 400-mph barrier.

Original American Kazoo Company Museum, Greater Niagara, New York

Located in Eden, the home of the first kazoo production facility in 1916, this museum shares the history of the instrument and even gives visitors the chance to craft their own to take home.