Things to Do

Museum of the Weird: A Texas Museum for the Strange and Mysterious

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Tony Maples Photography

 

Austin’s Museum of the Weird really is on the travel itineraries for those who want to see rare things. A tribute to everything strange and wacky, it welcomes guests to “come visit America’s strangest attraction” right here in Texas. And half the fun of a visit is in trying to understand why many of the items on display even exist!

The Museum of the Weird, in truth, is an altar at which one would pay homage to the unexplained. Those looking for insights into the Texas Bigfoot, or the rare circus sideshow stars known as Chang and Eng (conjoined twins) can find details on these and so many more “weird” items of note. This is truly a unique Texas Hill Country museum.

Museum of the Weird: A Texas Museum for the Strange and Mysterious

Photo: Facebook/Museum of the Weird

Steve Busti, an artist and entrepreneur, is the brains behind the Museum of the Weird. He resides in the back of the “Lucky Lizard,” which is the store in which the museum operates. He features much of the curios one may have come across on a visit to a “dime museum” at the turn of the century. The dime store museum, or “dime museum,” is something that’s a bit of a departure from what’s considered to be the high-class museums of art and science. They’re frequented by crowds who are into collections of a different nature, at a lower rate than the higher profile venues would generally charge. They are also an art form in and of themselves, which appears to be dying off.

Museum of the Weird: A Texas Museum for the Strange and Mysterious

Photo: Facebook/Museum of Weird

Among some of the more outspoken pieces which Busti curates at the Museum of the Weird is a Fiji mermaid, a cyclops pig, something called the hand of glory (purported to be one which is dried and pickled, said to belong to a fellow who was hanged), shrunken heads, mummies, and a two-headed chicken. You’ll even be treated to a sideshow performance in a theater where it is said that Johnny Depp, the actor, once stayed. The cast may consist of “The Amazing Face” hurting himself in some fashion, John T. Rex holding a live wire in his hands, and perhaps even a dog with three legs. Performers are said to work for tips.

Self-proclaimed as containing all things “unusual, bizarre, and freaky” the Austin’s Museum of the Weird welcomes visitors to gaze upon a real human skeleton, see a suit of armor, and so much in one unique place. Admission is $12 (or $8 for children 8 years of age or younger), and for that small price, you too can experience a rare gem all its own… a dime museum in all its glory, right here in the Texas Hill Country.