Museums are treasure troves for learning about our culture’s past. But they’re also places to explore the truly weird and obscure. Oregon is full of such museums, which dive into subject matter that most other institutions won’t touch. Here are some spots that you really need to add to your peculiar bucket-list.
- Grant County Historical Museum, Canyon City
http://www.yelp.com/biz/grant-county-historical-museum-canyon-city This museum runs the gambit of weird Oregon artifacts featuring everything from mutant livestock to human skulls.
- Kam Wah Chung, John Day
http://www.oregonstateparks.org/index.cfm?do=parkPage.dsp_parkPage&parkId=5 Once a Chinese pharmaceutical shop, now an historic museum that has preserved the strengths from one of the first Chinese communities in Oregon.
- Movie Madness, Portland
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Movie-Madness-Video-and-More/112272649941 This incredible museum is a cinephile’s dream as it contains some of cinema’s greatest props including the knife from Psycho.
- Oregon State Hospital Museum of Mental Health, Salem
http://oshmuseum.org/portfolio-items/gallery/ A One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest exhibit can be seen here as it was the shooting location for the movie.
- The Freakybuttrue Peculiarium and Museum, Portland
http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/freakybuttrue-peculiarium-portland Grab an ice cream cone and hideout in Al Capone’s safe at this crazy museum.
- Rice Northwest Museum of Rocks and Minerals, Hillsboro
https://www.facebook.com/RiceNWMuseum?ref=tn_tnmn All sorts of rocks and minerals can be found here including both meteorites and a Rhodochrosite from a Colorado mine.
- Stark’s Vacuum Museum, Portland
https://www.facebook.com/StarksVacuums Ever feel like checking out 300 different variations on the vacuum? Well if so this is the place for you.
- The Living Rock Studios, Brownsville
https://www.facebook.com/TheLivingRockStudios Inside this beautiful castle you can see oil paintings and magnificent hand made wood carvings.
- Tillamook Air Museum, Tillamook
https://www.facebook.com/tillamookair World War II buffs can explore this aviation museum to find authentic wartime gear from that period.
Some of these were downright odd, while others were just fascinating and unexpected. Tell us, have you checked out these places? Which are your favorite weird institutions around Oregon?
http://www.yelp.com/biz/grant-county-historical-museum-canyon-city
This museum runs the gambit of weird Oregon artifacts featuring everything from mutant livestock to human skulls.
http://www.oregonstateparks.org/index.cfm?do=parkPage.dsp_parkPage&parkId=5
Once a Chinese pharmaceutical shop, now an historic museum that has preserved the strengths from one of the first Chinese communities in Oregon.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Movie-Madness-Video-and-More/112272649941
This incredible museum is a cinephile’s dream as it contains some of cinema’s greatest props including the knife from Psycho.
http://oshmuseum.org/portfolio-items/gallery/
A One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest exhibit can be seen here as it was the shooting location for the movie.
http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/freakybuttrue-peculiarium-portland
Grab an ice cream cone and hideout in Al Capone’s safe at this crazy museum.
https://www.facebook.com/RiceNWMuseum?ref=tn_tnmn
All sorts of rocks and minerals can be found here including both meteorites and a Rhodochrosite from a Colorado mine.
https://www.facebook.com/StarksVacuums
Ever feel like checking out 300 different variations on the vacuum? Well if so this is the place for you.
https://www.facebook.com/TheLivingRockStudios
Inside this beautiful castle you can see oil paintings and magnificent hand made wood carvings.
https://www.facebook.com/tillamookair
World War II buffs can explore this aviation museum to find authentic wartime gear from that period.
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