The Mütter Museum in Philadelphia

Sitting along the banks of Philadelphia’s Schuylkill River is an institution not intended for the squeamish — the Mütter Museum of Medical History. What started as a collection of medical specimens donated by Dr. Thomas Mürrwe in 1958, intended solely for the purposes of biomedical research, this museum has since expanded and become open to the general public.

For just $15, visitors can feast their eyes upon this cabinet museum setting with an overwhelming array of bone displays, organs in jars and other sectioned pieces of the human anatomy, as well as some terrifyingly outdated Victorian instruments.

While the museum often hosts new, temporary exhibitions, they also have year-round displays like an enormous wall of skulls, many of which once belonged to the criminally insane, and the body of the famous Philadelphia “soap lady” whose body was accidentally mummified upon burial in grave wax. Other exhibitions include the tallest skeleton in North America, a Civil War injury exhibit and an amazing cross section of Albert Einstein’s real brain. While the Mütter Museum is not recommended for small children, those looking to explore the fascinating and eerie world of 19^th-century medical science will feel right at home.