The Best Offbeat Museum to Visit in All 50 States

Don’t get us wrong: We love museums devoted to art, history, and science as much as the next person (and maybe more than the next person). But sometimes, our curiosity demands quirkier territory. Here are our favorite institutions devoted to the stranger things in life.

1. Alabama // The Drive-Thru Museum
2. Alaska // Fairbanks Ice Museum
3. Arizona // The Mini Time Machine Museum of Miniatures
4. Arkansas // Funeral Services Museum
5. California // Aftel Archive of Curious Scents
6. Colorado // Washing Machine Museum
7. Connecticut // Lock Museum of America
8. Delaware // Discoversea Shipwreck Museum
9. Florida // History of Diving Museum
10. Georgia // Center for Puppetry Arts
11. Hawaii // The Pacific Fleet Submarine Museum
12. Idaho // EBR-I Atomic Museum
13. Illinois // The Sock Monkey Museum
14. Indiana // Dr. Ted’s Musical Marvels
15. Iowa // Iowa 80 Trucking Museum
16. Kansas // Strataca Underground Salt Museum
17. Kentucky // National Corvette Museum
18. Louisiana // Abita Mystery House
19. Maine // The Umbrella Cover Museum
20. Maryland // Witch Board Museum
21. Massachusetts // Plum Island Museum of Lost Toys & Curiosities
22. Michigan // The Wacky Taxidermy & Miniatures Museum
23. Minnesota // SPAM Museum
24. Mississippi // Apron Museum
25. Missouri // Leila’s Hair Museum
26. Montana // Miracle of America Museum
27. Nebraska // Pedal Clinic 
28. Nevada // Goldwell Open Air Museum
29. New Hampshire // America’s Credit Union Museum
30. New Jersey // Silverball Museum Arcade
31. New Mexico // Johnnie Meier Classical Gas Museum
32. New York // Mmuseumm 
33. North Carolina // Museum of the Bizarre
34. North Dakota // North Dakota State Hospital Museum
35. Ohio // American Sign Museum
36. Oklahoma // Shattuck Windmill Museum
37. Oregon // Portland Puppet Museum
38. Pennsylvania // Mütter Museum
39. Rhode Island // Rhode Island Computer Museum
40. South Carolina // The Button Museum
41. South Dakota // South Dakota Tractor Museum
42. Tennessee // Titanic Museum
43. Texas // Santa Claus Museum
44. Utah // Mountain America Museum of Ancient Life
45. Vermont // Estey Organ Museum
46. Virginia // Roanoke Pinball Museum
47. Washington // Museum of Glass
48. West Virginia // Mothman Museum
49. Wisconsin // National Mustard Museum
50. Wyoming // Museum of the Mountain Man
51. Washington, D.C. // National Bonsai and Penjing Museum

Alabama // The Drive-Thru Museum

The Drive-Through Museum in Seale, Alabama, is part of the Museum of Wonder, a collection of taxidermy, art, curiosities, and more by Butch Anthony. Roughly a mile from the main building is a path made up of giant shipping containers with windows cut into them so vehicles can drive through and observe Anthony’s aesthetic, which he calls “intertwangleism.” You’ll find animal parts merged with found objects as well as other forms of mixed media. While the main museum is by appointment only, you can hit the drive-through 24 hours a day.

Alaska // Fairbanks Ice Museum

The Fairbanks Ice Museum located in Fairbanks, Alaska, features amazing ice sculptures, an ice slide, an ice bar, and even ice sculpting demonstrations. Just remember to bring a jacket, because ice museums are not exactly tropical.

Arizona // The Mini Time Machine Museum of Miniatures

If you want to think small, you might consider heading to the Mini Time Machine Museum of Miniatures in Tucson, Arizona. The museum features hundreds of miniature dollhouses and roomboxes, each of which tell a story. Some are devoted to fiction, while others portray people and events in a historical context. You’ll find everything from Japanese farmhouses to 18th century violin shops.

Arkansas // Funeral Services Museum

If you’d like to get a better idea of the funereal environment without grieving, you should head to Newport, Arkansas, where Jackson’s Funeral Homes hosts the Funeral Services Museum. The exhibit features vintage coffins, retro embalming equipment, horse-drawn hearses, and even caskets that featured viewing windows so mourners could see the face of the departed.

California // Aftel Archive of Curious Scents

Some museums don’t need to depend on visual exhibits to attract visitors. In Berkeley, California, the Aftel Archive of Curious Scents curates hundreds of unique fragrances from all corners of the world. Want to sniff an exotic flower? Or maybe the musk of an animal? All sorts of things make up the olfactory world, and the archive has a lot of them, all housed in a charmingly tiny cottage. 

According to owner and perfumer Mandy Aftel, the most exceptional smell might be ambrein, which is traditionally derived from something produced by the digestive system of a sperm whale—which end is a matter of some debate, but it’s probably the back. Despite that, it’s sometimes described as having a sweet smell after aging, though when its used it’s to make scents last longer than for the actual smell.. You can even try the museum’s very own in-house perfume and take home other samples.

Colorado // Washing Machine Museum

If you want a clean museum, head to Eaton, Colorado, home to the Washing Machine Museum. Operated by washing machine historian Lee Maxwell, the museum boasts of over 1500 machines Lee began collecting back in 1985, an assortment that now fills two giant warehouses. Lee restores and cleans virtually all of them. For models he’s researched but can’t find, he builds scale replicas. There’s even a washer from the 1800s connected to a wooden treadmill that’s reputed to have been powered by a jogging goat. 

If you’re lucky, Lee will also show off his collection of butter churners. But fair warning—the museum is for guided tours only, with a flat $125 fee. It’s better to bring a group. And no, you cannot bring your dirty clothes.

Connecticut // Lock Museum of America

We don’t think much about locks, but they’re a huge part of our lives. They keep us safe, they keep us out, and they keep locksmiths in business. The Lock Museum of America in Terryville, Connecticut, pays tribute to these tumblers with an array of vintage sets, including an Egyptian lock thought to be over 4000 years old. There’s also an escape room adventure in which participants can use items in the museum to find clues to Pharaoh’s Gold.

Delaware // Discoversea Shipwreck Museum

Sometimes you wake up and wonder, “Where can I see a walrus penis bone?” If you’re at Fenwick Island in Delaware, your search has come to an end. The walrus appendage is just one of many items you can find at the Discoversea Shipwreck Museum, which houses thousands of objects recovered from wrecks. There’s even a Feejee mermaid, which was a hoax that involved monkey corpses being sewn onto the tails of fish.

Florida // History of Diving Museum

There are plenty of space museums, but not too many devoted to that other inhospitable zone—the ocean depths. The History of Diving Museum in Islamorada, Florida, features an ode to diving history, from oversized helmets to suits to diving bells. While you’re in Islamorada, you can also stop by to gawk at Betsy the Lobster, a 30-foot-tall crustacean. Betsy is just a sculpture, so don’t bring any butter.

Georgia // Center for Puppetry Arts

Puppets. Some of us love them. Others fear them. But we’re all impressed with the artistry and imagination that goes into puppeteers making us believe a pile of felt feels real. The Center for Puppetry Arts in Atlanta, Georgia, celebrates the craft, with original Muppets from Jim Henson on display, workshops, and even some live performances. You can also visit their Create-A-Puppet Workshop, which, let’s be honest, blows Build-A-Bear out of the water.

Hawaii // The Pacific Fleet Submarine Museum

Most of us have driven cars and flown in planes, but relatively few of us are going to join the military and get an opportunity to get into a submarine. Fortunately, the Pacific Fleet Submarine Museumin Honolulu, Hawaii, offers a pretty rich history of the USS Bowfin, an attack sub that was put in service during World War II. You’ll find plenty of info about subs in wartime, including their role in the Cold War.

Idaho // EBR-I Atomic Museum

Sure, you could visit any number of potato-related attractions in Idaho. But if you want to avoid the spud crowd, head to the EBR-I Atomic Museum on U.S. Highway 20/26 between Idaho Falls and Arco. Visitors can see four nuclear reactors and interactive displays detailing the EBR-I, which was the world’s first atomic power plant to produce electricity. Don’t worry, it’s no longer in operation.

Illinois // The Sock Monkey Museum

If you visit the Sock Monkey Museum in Long Grove you can learn how to turn a pair of socks into a sock monkey. And if examining the 2200 sock monkeys starts to get a bit much, you can also learn about the history of the socks themselves.

Indiana // Dr. Ted’s Musical Marvels

The place to go for mechanical musical instruments is Dr. Ted’s Musical Marvels, a modest museum in Dale, Indiana, that’s home to plenty of vintage novelty machines that once populated amusement parks and carnivals. You definitely won’t want to miss the Decap Belgian Dance Organ that stands 12 feet tall. And yes, Dr. Ted is a real physician.

Iowa // Iowa 80 Trucking Museum

We’re all fascinated by trucks and truckers living that romantic trucker lifestyle. The Iowa 80 Trucking Museum in Walcott, Iowa, helps illustrate the history of trucking, including vintage trucks that once toted everything from gas to milk. If you’ve ever swooned over a toy truck, this place will be paradise.

Kansas // Strataca Underground Salt Museum

Not many museums require you to descend 650 feet underground, which is what makes the Strataca Underground Salt Museum in Hutchinson, Kansas, so alluring. Once you take the elevator (or hoist) down—which takes about 90 seconds—you’ll be immersed in a salt mine. You’ll be able to take a tram throughout and learn about salt mining.

Kentucky // National Corvette Museum

Few cars are as iconic as the Corvette, one of the sleekest American rides of all time. And while it may be a classic now, General Motors had a hard time selling the first 300 they made back in 1953. People eventually caught on, and it’s been in production ever since. At the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky, visitors can check out its history, and do intensive research in their archives. The highlight is the tour of the Corvette manufacturing plant (when it’s running—the tours are frequently suspended).

Louisiana // Abita Mystery House

It’s kind of exhilarating when a museum’s name doesn’t even tell you what you’ll find inside, and that’s the case with the Abita Mystery House in Abita Springs, Louisiana, also known as the UCM (or “you-see-em”) Museum. And perhaps its name is so mysterious because it contains too many disparate items to condensely sum up. In this 100-year-old cottage, you’ll find a collection of over 50,000 objects, from bottle caps to moving dioramas to antique barbed wire. There are also some interesting animals that are part-taxidermy-part-art, including Darrell, the “dogigator” with an alligator head and doglike body.

Maine // The Umbrella Cover Museum

If you take the ferry from Portland, Maine to Peaks Island, you’ll find the winner of the Guinness World Record for “the largest collection of umbrella sleeves.” It’s the Umbrella Cover Museum, which now contains over 2000 of them. The museum was founded after Nancy 3. Hoffman realized she was accumulating a collection of umbrella covers that she didn’t have use for. Now, people send her covers from all over the world. Apparently Hoffman will show you around the museum herself along with a performance of “Let A Smile Be Your Umbrella” on accordion. 

Maryland // Witch Board Museum

There are two Witch Board Museums in the United States. One of the locations is pretty self-explanatory: Salem, Massachusetts. But the other may surprise you: Baltimore, Maryland. It turns out that Baltimore has a deep history with Ouija, the board that supposedly gives you the ability to communicate with spirits. The original company that originally manufactured the boards was based in Baltimore. At this museum, you can learn more about that local history and see plenty of historic artifacts. Then, if you dare, sit in their designated Ouija nook and try to connect with the other side.

Massachusetts // Plum Island Museum of Lost Toys & Curiosities

And speaking of Massachusetts, once you see their Witch Board Museum, you can head about 45 minutes north to another unique museum: the Plum Island Museum of Lost Toys & Curiosities. It isn’t actually on Plum Island—it’s in nearby Amesbury—but what’s in the museum comes from Plum Island. It’s run by Corinn Flaherty, who walks the local beach almost every day and has created a museum dedicated to all of the objects she’s found washed up there, from goggles to tennis balls to Happy Meal toys. Her goal is to raise awareness about pollution and how plastic negatively impacts our environment.

Michigan // The Wacky Taxidermy & Miniatures Museum

If you’ve ever wanted to see a diorama of a tattoo parlor containing one taxidermied mouse tattooing another taxidermied mouse, look no further than the Wacky Taxidermy & Miniatures Museum. This unique spot, located in Mackinaw City, Michigan, has over 60 such dioramas, with taxidermied mice, squirrels, chipmunks, and raccoons. You’ll find them doing everything you could dream of: playing poker, lifting weights, enjoying a day at the beach, and more.

Minnesota // SPAM Museum

Everything you’ve ever wanted to know about SPAM can be discovered at the 14,000-square-foot SPAM Museum in Austin, Minnesota—including the meaning of the word SPAM, a question employees estimate they get up to 50 times a day. Here’s the answer, so you can spend your time perusing the exhibits, checking out the 12-foot-tall SPAM rocket, and enjoying the full set of bluegrass instruments made from SPAM cans: It’s almost certainly that the sp- in the word are for spiced and the -am are for ham, but Hormel’s official position is that “The real answer is known by only a small circle of former Hormel Foods executives. And probably Nostradamus.”

Mississippi // Apron Museum

You can experience history through aprons at the Apron Museum in Iuka, Mississippi. There, you’ll find around 3500 aprons, including ones from all around the world, and going back to the Civil War era. But this museum is about more than just looking at aprons. You can discover information about how they’re designed as well as how needlework has changed over the years.

Missouri // Leila’s Hair Museum

Ever hear of hair art? Between the Middle Ages and the 1800s, people made it to honor the dead, incorporating a lock of the deceased’s hair into art, like wreaths or jewelry. And at Leila’s Hair Museum in Independence, Missouri, there are more than 600 hair wreaths and 2000 pieces of jewelry, from history through today. There’s also some famous hair, including locks from Elvis Presley and almost every U.S. president.

Montana // Miracle of America Museum

What do a 65-foot tugboat, an 1880s hearse, and a manual tooth drill have in common? Pretty much nothing, except that they can all be viewed at the Miracle of America Museum in Polson, Montana. This collection of over 340,000 items, spread across more than 40 buildings and the surrounding area, is a journey through American history via artifacts. There’s even an entire pioneer village, complete with a log cabin, school, and jail. That’s not to mention the alien and UFO. There’s a lot going on, hence its nickname: the “Smithsonian of the West.”

Nebraska // Pedal Clinic 

At the Pedal Clinic in Pawnee City, Nebraska, you’ll find over 500 pedal cars and tractors—often with a doll in the driver’s seat. The toys were acquired by a married couple over decades. As for why it’s a “clinic,” the collection is housed in a former medical clinic. Though it’s by appointment only if you can get an appointment.

Nevada // Goldwell Open Air Museum

Near the California-Nevada border, there is a life-size Last Supper in the desert. The 15-acre Goldwell Open Air Museum of outdoor sculptures near the ghost town of Rhyolite, Nevada traces its history to 1984 when an artist felt it was the perfect site for his Last Supper sculpture. In addition to “The Last Supper,” featuring large ghostly figures posed like the original Leonardo Da Vinci painting, there’s a metal origami crane, a piece made of car parts called “Desert Flower,” and a female Icarus statue named “Icara.”

New Hampshire // America’s Credit Union Museum

New Hampshire has no shortage of quirky museums, but one of the most random is America’s Credit Union Museum, located on the site of what they say is America’s first credit union in Manchester, New Hampshire. The museum has exhibits dedicated to the history of the credit union and historical artifacts related to them.

New Jersey // Silverball Museum Arcade

You could walk into the Silverball Museum Arcade in Asbury Park, New Jersey, and mistake it for just your regular arcade—albeit one with an above-average amount of pinball machines at a count of around 200. But, when you took a closer look, you’d see that each pinball machine has a placard hanging above it, explaining the history of the game. This impressive institution rotates pinball machines onto the arcade floor from a full collection of 600. At any given time, you’ll find machines from all eras. Perhaps the Evel Knievel pinball machine, or The Godfather, or The Sopranos. And don’t worry, at this museum, you can touch—or play—the artifacts.

New Mexico // Johnnie Meier Classical Gas Museum

One theme that emerges in these weird museums is just “some person’s collection that they wanted to share with the world” and that is the case with the Johnnie Meier Classical Gas Museum in Embudo, New Mexico. Meier’s museum-slash-home displays all of his travel and gas station related items, including a line up of antique gas pumps and vintage cars outside. When you head indoors, you’ll find vintage neon signs, motor oil cans, and all sorts of paraphernalia.

New York // Mmuseumm 

There are plenty of museums in New York City that you could spend an entire day in and still feel like you haven’t seen it all. If you’re chasing the opposite feeling, check out Tribeca’s Mmuseumm, located in a 36-square-foot freight elevator shaft. Its website describes it as “exploring the modern world and the human condition.” Their exhibitions over the years have included everyday knock-off items (like a box of Oleos cookies), perfume bottles shaped like women’s bodies, and benign items that were mistaken to be bombs at some point in time.

North Carolina // Museum of the Bizarre

If you live near Wilmington, North Carolina, and you have some item you need to get out of your home because you believe it may be haunted, try donating it to the Museum of the Bizarre. That’s exactly what happened with their haunted clown. Its original owner said it was moving around the house and creeping them out, so the museum’s owner took it off their hands. At the museum, you’ll find a fair share of spooky items, from an Annabelle doll to Houdini’s Ouija Board. But you’ll also just see some interesting artifacts, like an alleged imprint of Bigfoot’s foot and some vintage medical equipment. And if you’re worried that you’ll bring any bad energy home with you, there are Amish hex signs throughout the museum specifically to prevent that.

North Dakota // North Dakota State Hospital Museum

Speaking of vintage medical equipment, you can learn the over 125-year history of the North Dakota State Hospital in their designated museum. The display is a fascinating, and sometimes dismal, journey through the methods of how we’ve treated patients over the years. You’ll see an autopsy table, straight jackets, record books, and even wicker furniture created by past patients in occupational therapy.

Ohio // American Sign Museum

If you’re waiting for a sign to visit Ohio, there’s an entire museum dedicated to them in Cincinnati. The American Sign Museum was founded by a long-time editor of Signs of the Times, a trade magazine aimed at sign industry insiders. After debuting as the National Signs of the Times Museum in 1999, the attraction was renamed and re-opened as the American Sign Museum in 2005. Today it houses over a century’s worth of collectible signage, including an indoor “Main Street” made up of store-less storefronts.

Oklahoma // Shattuck Windmill Museum

The Shattuck Windmill Museum is the perfect attraction to visit on a nice day—just make sure there’s a bit of a breeze when you go. The outdoor museum in northwestern Oklahoma is home to more than 50 historic windmills. The towering contraptions were built from the mid-19th to the mid-20th centuries, and they come in a variety of sizes and designs. If you’re traveling through Shattuck in December, you may even catch the windmills decked out in string lights for the holidays.

Oregon // Portland Puppet Museum

In 2012, a former corner store in Portland’s Sellwood neighborhood was transformed into the only permanent puppet museum on the West Coast. The Portland Puppet Museum features rare hand puppets, ventriloquist dummies, and marionettes from around the world, as well as familiar faces like an original Miss Piggy. The pieces come largely from founder Steven Overton’s personal puppet collection, which is too large to display all at once. Instead, a few hundred of the roughly 2000 puppets are featured at any given time in rotating exhibitions.

Pennsylvania // Mütter Museum

Like many museums, the Mütter Museum in Philadelphia started as an eccentric personal collection. After receiving a donation of medical anomalies from surgeon Thomas Dent Mütter in 1858, the College of Physicians of Philadelphia turned it into a museum for the public. The institution has continued to collect noteworthy specimens over the decades, including an 8-foot-long megacolon, books bound in human skin, and slides of Albert Einstein’s brain tissue. The exhibits aren’t for the squeamish; even seemingly ordinary objects, like small toys and office supplies ingested by patients, take on a new meaning in context.

Rhode Island // Rhode Island Computer Museum

The machines at the Rhode Island Computer Museum aren’t old compared to some museum collections, but in the tech world they’re ancient artifacts. The nonprofit organization was founded in 1999 to preserve computer history, and it has since expanded to include calculators, video game consoles, and other vintage gadgets. Though the majority of the items come from the latter half of the 20th century, a few objects—like an old punch card machine—date back farther.

South Carolina // The Button Museum

The Button Museum in Bishopville, South Carolina, is less about buttons than it is about one man’s insomnia-fueled obsession. While struggling with sleepless nights, Dalton Stevens passed the time by attaching buttons to anything he could get his hands on. He started by sewing over 16,000 buttons onto a suit, and once that project was complete, he glued buttons onto shoes, instruments, and eventually his 1983 Chevy Chevette. When his collection of buttoned-up items became too big to keep at home, he opened the Button Museum in a nearby building in 2008. Stevens sadly passed away in 2016, and the offbeat attraction he left behind is now open on an irregular basis.

South Dakota // South Dakota Tractor Museum

The South Dakota Tractor Museum in Kimball covers more than a 100 years of farming equipment history. In addition to their impressive collection of tractors, the museum is home to hog oilers, hay-baling machines, and a corn-kernel remover that predate modern machinery. After getting a taste of life on the farm in the early 1900s, you can check out their authentic one-room schoolhouse, which was disassembled and reconstructed on the property by the museum’s volunteers. 

Tennessee // Titanic Museum

What’s often billed as the world’s largest permanent Titanic museum is located a couple hundred miles inland in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. The attraction turns the 1912 maritime disaster into an immersive experience. As soon as they enter, guests are given a boarding pass with the name of an actual Titanic guest or crewmember. Interactive exhibits include actual-sized lifeboats, a replica boiler room, and sloping decks that recreate the ocean liner’s final moments. If that’s not how you prefer to remember an event that killed 1500 people, you can drive by and appreciate the museum’s exterior, which is a recreation of the ship built at half the scale.

Texas // Santa Claus Museum

When Mary Elizabeth Youens Hopkins passed away in 1990, she left behind an extensive collection of Santa Claus memorabilia. It was donated to the Columbus Historical Preservation Trust and turned into the Santa Claus Museum in Columbus, Texas. Knick-knacks depicting the patron saint of Christmas may seem like an odd thing to collect, but Mary Elizabeth wasn’t alone in her hobby. In 2019, two more families donated their Santa Claus collections to the museum, and today it comprises more than 3000 items. The Santa Claus museum is open in early December, and visitors looking to come in the off-season should call ahead to make an appointment.

Utah // Mountain America Museum of Ancient Life

There are plenty of natural history museums in the U.S., but the Museum of Ancient Life in Lehi, Utah, stands out. Founded by paleontologist Cliff Miles, it claims to house one of the largest collection of mounted dinosaur specimens on Earth. Fossils on display include a a non-dinosaur Quetzalcoatlus with a 40-foot wingspan, two T. rexes, and many more. While the exhibits are world-class, the museum maintains the charming feel of a remote roadside attraction, with retro dioramas and an interactive dig pit.

Vermont // Estey Organ Museum

For decades, Brattleboro, Vermont, was home to one of the most productive organ factories on the planet. The Estey Organ Company no longer supplies instruments to the world’s organists, and its former location is now a museum dedicated to its history. Most of the reed, pipe, and electric organs on the premises were manufactured by Estey between 1846 and 1960. Visitors are encouraged to play any instrument they see, regardless of their musical talent or lack thereof.  

Virginia // Roanoke Pinball Museum

Instead of hogging your local dive bar’s pinball machine all night, consider a trip to the Roanoke Pinball Museum in Virginia. The $15 admission fee gets you all-day access to their collection of more than 75 playable pinball machines. The vintage games date back to 1935, and they’re more than just a fun way to spend an afternoon. The attraction is an interactive look at arcade history, with machines featuring retro pop culture tie-ins and defunct features like flippers that point out instead of in. So even if you don’t make it on the leaderboard, at least you can walk away from a game feeling cultured.

Washington // Museum of Glass

At the Museum of Glass in Tacoma, Washington, guests should definitely keep their hands to themselves. The cultural institution explores the full potential of the delicate artwork, from luxurious home goods to outdoor sculptures. The museum is just as dedicated to the process of glassmaking as it is to the final product. In between exploring exhibits, guests can catch live glassmaking demonstrations at the on-site Hot Shop, which hosts visiting artists from around the world.

West Virginia // Mothman Museum

The existence of Mothman may be up for debate, but the Mothman Museum in Point Pleasant, West Virginia, is very real. The attraction traces the history of the cryptid since reported sightings of a red-eyed, winged creature exploded in the area in the 1960s. Even if you don’t subscribe to the urban legend, you may be tempted to grab some Mothman merch from the museum’s gift shop. 

Wisconsin // National Mustard Museum

The collection at the National Mustard Museum in Middleton, Wisconsin, likely rivals what you have in the door of your fridge at home. Over 6000 containers of the condiments are on display, originating from more than 70 countries and all 50 states. Some vintage vessels date back over a century, but if you want something fresher to put on your sandwich, the museum also sells products that haven’t expired.

Wyoming // Museum of the Mountain Man

If you’ve ever wondered what it was like to live in the wilderness at the height of the fur trade in the 19th century, the Museum of the Mountain Man paints a clear picture. The Sublette County Historical Society opened the Pinedale, Wyoming, institution in 1990. The exhibitions include life-sized dioramas of mountain life, vintage hunting rifles, and Native American artifacts. Before opening the museum, the Sublette County Historical Society hosted historical reenactments of fur trader meetups—an annual tradition that continues today.

Washington, D.C. // National Bonsai and Penjing Museum

Our nation's capital is overstuffed with world-renowned museums and opulent art collections. Think of the National Bonsai and Penjing Museum as an antidote to the big, crowd-pleasing collections on the Mall. (Penjing is the Chinese version of Japanese bonsai). In this small, peaceful gallery on the grounds of the National Arboretum, you can browse the outdoor display of teeny-tiny trees and marvel at their resilience. Some bonsai have been “trained”—carefully shaped and pruned to a miniature size—for more than a century.

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A version of this story ran in 2019; it has been updated from a YouTube script for the List Show in 2025. Don’t forget to subscribe to Mental Floss for new videos every week.