The United States is one of the biggest countries in the world, with its continental forty-eight alone stretching nearly 3,000 miles from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Amidst this country’s many twists and turns lie an array of strange and indescribable sites and weird museums. One can stop to admire the Grand Canyon, breathe the misty air at Niagara Falls, or enjoy historical culture at Colonial Williamsburg.
Or you could stop in at the Museum of Bad Art, a site dedicated to the collection and preservation of art too terrible not to be seen.
The nation possesses a number of such gems across its many regions. Whether or not you think that these establishments are worth your time (I, myself, plan to frequent at least a few on an imagined future cross-country road trip), their existence undeniably adds to the quirky melting-pot culture of this country.
Museum Of Bad Art
The aforementioned museum has three galleries located in Boston, Massachusetts. The collection, numbering around 600 pieces, is also available for viewing on their website, with around 50 to 70 items shown in-house at a time. Some of the highlights featured on their site include “Two Trees in Love” and “Head from Hell (Not Suitable for Children).”
As odd as it might seem, the Museum of Bad Art was recognized by the Times of London as one of the 50 Greatest Museums in the World.
Museum of Mountain Bike Art and Technology
Here’s an exciting pit-stop for those who can see the beauty in what others may see as simply utilitarian (or if you just like biking). Located in Statesville, North Carolina, MOMBAT is dedicated to showing the best and brightest in mountain bike art and technology. Whether it’s the “radius of a fillet” or the “hydraulic disc brakes,” the museum’s administration is sure that something will inspire you.
A good indicator for how much fun you’ll have on a visit here could be whether or not you know what a fillet or a disc brake even are.
CRRA Garbage Museum
The Connecticut Resources Recovery Authority took a unique route in their quest to change how people think about their trash. Visitors to their Garbage Museum in Hartford will enjoy an array of educational exhibits all beginning at the Temple of Trash itself. From there, the tour showcases a single-stream recycling establishment in action, a series of works on climate change, and a mural by artist Ted Esselstyn that displays the history of trash management.
All jokes aside, the museum will open your eyes to the environmental issues of trash in a fun, enjoyable way for the whole family.
Museum of Jurassic Technology
The opening page to their website has a quote: “…guided along as it were a chain of flowers into the mysteries of life.”
Despite its name, this is not a museum about dinosaurs with gadgets. Located in Culver City, California, the site describes itself as an education museum for the advancement of knowledge about the Lower Jurassic. But to understand the strangeness of this museum, a thorough look around it’s ambiguous website is necessary, yet even that doesn’t truly seem to explain it.
Among the museum’s exhibits are the Tula Tea Room with complimentary Georgian Black Tea and cookies, and the Borzoi Kabinet Theater that screens films such as Levsha: The Tale of a Cross-eyed Lefty from Tula and the Steel Flea.
Washington Banana Museum
Did you know that bananas were introduced to the American public at the same time as the telephone? If you didn’t, that’s only one of the banana-related factoids that you will learn at Washington’s Banana Museum in Auburn, WA. More than 6,000 banana-related artifacts can also be viewed on their website.
Hey, bananas are the #1 selling fruit in the US–they deserve some enshrined recognition.
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