Mustard, UFOs, barbed wire, hammers, advertising neon lights, salt shakers… Some American museums are interested in improbable themes that are completely unexpected. Overview of these places like no other.
Do you want to change traditional cultural visits during your stay in the United States? By their theme, their location or their architecture, some unique American museums attract many curious people from all over the country every year. From the smallest museum in the world in New York to the UFO museum in Roswell via the Neon Museum in Las Vegas, head for these establishments really like no other.
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Mmuseumm in New York, the smallest museum in the world
This museum has settled in a narrow freight elevator overlooking a street in the TriBeCa district of New York. The exhibition wants to embody a new form of journalism by presenting objects that invite reflection on society, for example the receipts of the last meals of death row inmates in the USA or a Molotov cocktail used during the riots in Hong Kong in 2019.
Mmuseumm, 4 Cortlandt Alley, New York, NY 10013. Open Fridays and Saturdays, spring through early winter, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Admission: donation of $8 per person. Website
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Spy Museum in Washington, nest of spies
The Spy Museum in Washington lifts the lid on the murky world of espionage with accounts of the most resounding operations and an extensive collection of artifacts. Special mention for this authentic Bulgarian umbrella with a syringe filled with cyanide! Different workshops invite everyone to test their skills to become a perfect spy. The beginning of vocations?
Spy Museum, 700 L’Enfant Plaza SW, Washington, DC 20024. Open daily 9am-7pm (8pm Friday-Sunday). Admission: $26.95 ($16.95 for children ages 7 to 12 and $23.95 for seniors). Website
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Museum of Funeral History in Houston, death with great fanfare
Founded in 1992, the Museum of Funeral History in Houston highlights the discreet work of funeral directors. The visit is organized into 17 thematic exhibits, from the burials of American presidents to the culture of funerals in Japan or ancient Egypt. Something to reflect on the museum’s motto: “every day spent out of the ground is a good day!” »
National Museum of Funeral History, 415 Barren Springs Drive, Houston, TX 77090. Open daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (until 5 p.m. Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday). Admission: $10 ($7 for children aged 6 to 11 and $9 for those over 55). Website
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UFO Museum in Roswell, a museum of the 3rd kind
Are we alone in space? The Flying Saucer Museum in Roswell clearly answers in the negative by recounting in great detail what it presents as the crash of a spacecraft in the desert of New Mexico in 1947, beating the official version of a lost sounding balloon. Do not miss a visit to the shop, which multiplies the gadgets from space!
UFO Museum, 114 N Main Street, Roswell, NM 88203. Open daily 9am-5pm. Admission: $5 ($2 for children aged 5 to 15, $3 for seniors). Website
National Mustard Museum, when the mustard goes to the nose
Barry Levenson embarked on the singular collection of mustard pots in 1986, while wandering through a supermarket, devastated by the defeat of his favorite baseball team. Nearly 40 years later, the prank has spawned one of the most popular museums in Wisconsin, with more than 6,000 jars from more than 70 countries.
National Mustard Museum, Hubbard Avenue, Middleton, WI 53562. Open daily 10am-5pm. Free admission but visitors are encouraged to donate. Website
Hammer Museum in Alaska, a completely hammer museum
Dave Phal left his native Ohio in 1973 to rebuild his life in Alaska, as a blacksmith. In love with his trade and his tools, he created the first museum dedicated to the hammer in 2002. The collection today exceeds 12,000 hammers, including an ancient model used by the builders of the pyramid of Mykerinos, in Egypt. Striking!
Hammer Museum, 108 Main Street, Haines, AK 99827. Open Wednesdays and Thursdays, mid-May through mid-September, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Admission: $7 (free for children under 12). Website
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Kansas Barbed Wire Museum, Wire
In 1874, businessman and farmer Joseph Glidden patented barbed wire. The invention will radically change the life of the pioneers of the conquest of the West and their management of the cattle. An epic adventure told by this small museum located in the middle of the plains of Kansas and rich in more than 2400 different models.
Kansas Barbed Wire Museum, 120 W 1st Street, La Crosse, KS 67548. Open daily, May 1 through early September, 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (from 1 p.m. Sunday). Admission is free but donations are encouraged. Website
Idaho Potato Museum, all about the potato
Providing almost a third of American potato production, Idaho also boasts a museum entirely dedicated to the tuber. The Idaho Potato Museum opened in 1989 in Blackfoot, the self-proclaimed “Potato Capital of the World.” The museum tells the story of the potato, the production techniques and even exhibits the largest potato chip in the world.
Idaho Potato Museum, 130 Northwest Main Street, Blackfoot, ID 83221. Open Monday through Saturday, 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. (until 7 p.m. including Sunday, June through August). Admission: $6 ($3 for children 5 to 12 years old, $5.50 for seniors). Website
Neon Museum in Las Vegas, a brilliant museum
Since 1996, the Neon Museum has been collecting decommissioned Las Vegas advertising neon lights. The main collection, 200 panels strong, is presented outside, along the Neon Boneyard, the neon cemetery. A tip: opt for a guided tour after dark, when the neon lights come on.
Neon Museum, 770 Las Vegas Boulevard North, Las Vegas, NV 89101. Open daily from 4 p.m. to midnight in the summer (2 p.m. to 10 p.m. in the winter). Admission: $20 ($10 for children aged 7 to 17 and $16 for those over 65). Website
Salt and Pepper Shaker Museum, a museum that does not lack salt
An archaeologist by training, Andrea Ludden fell in love with salt and pepper shakers. Its collection now exceeds 20,000 objects, including some pieces dating from the early 16th century. The display cases, classified by theme and color, line up a number of curiosities, such as this salt and pepper shaker in Braille.
Salt and Pepper Shaker Museum, 461 Brookside Village Way, Gatlinburg, TN 37738. Open daily 10am-4pm (until 2pm Sunday). Admission: $3 (free for children under 12). Website
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