Visiting the Museum of the Weird, one of America’s last ‘dime museums’

The Museum of the Weird is a “dime museum” located in Austin, Texas. Wondering what a “dime museum” could be? Read on!

What is a “dime museum,” anyway?

Dime museums have a fascinating history as precursors to today’s modern entertainment and curiosity exhibits.

The first dime museum, “The American Museum,” was opened in 1841 by the iconic showman P.T. Barnum in New York City. These museums were designed to appeal to working-class audiences by offering an affordable entry fee—often just a dime—to view a collection of unusual exhibits.

Displays inside the dime museums ranged from oddities and “humbugs” (Barnum’s term for hoaxes) to real scientific instruments and exotic animals. Barnum’s museum was incredibly popular, but it tragically burned down in 1865, marking the beginning of the end of the dime museum era.

Education and spectacle

Dime museums thrived throughout the 19th century. They offered a mix of education, entertainment, and sheer spectacle. By the 1920s, however, most had disappeared, replaced by movie houses and other forms of entertainment.

A few dime museums, like New York City’s Hubert’s Museum, managed to persist into the 20th century before finally closing in the late 1960s. Attempts to revive the concept have been rare and unsuccessful.

Spirit of the dime museum lives on

Today, dime museums are nearly extinct, but their spirit survives in places like Austin, Texas, at the Museum of the Weird. Founded by artist Steve Busti, this museum preserves the dime museum tradition with its eclectic collection of strange artifacts.

What you’ll see

Visitors can marvel at exhibits such as a jackalope, a cyclops pig, and a variety of shrunken heads. A highlight of the museum is the Minnesota Iceman, a cryptic figure encased in ice with a mysterious backstory.

The museum also offers live sideshow performances featuring performers like “The Black Scorpion” and “The Amazing Face,” showcasing the interactive and quirky entertainment that once defined dime museums.

Visit The Museum of the Weird

• Open Monday – Thursday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Friday – Saturday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
• Tickets are available at $12.99 for adults and $8.99 for children 8 and under. You can purchase tickets online.
• Note that not all of the museum is wheelchair accessible as there are some stairs throughout.

For more information check out the museum’s website.

More museums you may like:

• Visit the best vintage car and trailer museums in the U.S.
• Discover secrets of the Mob at Las Vegas’ Mob Museum, real speakeasy and all
• Henry Ford Museum a ‘must see’
• Travel plans? Don’t miss the brand-new poop museum!

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