The Australian National Maritime Museum on Darling Harbor in Sydney is a favorite. It includes
a replica of Cook's Endeavour complete with
docents who love to talk about the ship and
where it went and how it functioned.
A replica of the body of Otzi the Iceman was there. It was found when a glacier in the Alps melted. Not related to the theme of the museum, but memorable.
Thanks for pj I saw the local museums that I had never gotten around to. The very nice house owned by a
19th century black businessman was a highlight.
Will have to go back to London again. Have only been to the British Museum. The old part of London
fascinates me.

This thread has caused me to think of travel again.

I'm not that big into boats, so the Maritime Museum in Sydney didn't knock my socks off... except for the one exhibit of the boat powered by a jet engine that a guy built in his backyard. That seems like such an Australian thing to do.

I was more interested in the cultural artifacts of people who immigrated by ship than the ships themselves. Sorry.


Yes, the Barney Ford House Museum was really nice. If you are in Breckenridge, I recommend it. Oh, and let Chas know you'll be there.

Also in Breckenridge, the Edwin Carter museum was interesting, if a bit unsettling. He was a miner who became a "conservationist" or "naturalist" in the late 1800s, but to him, or maybe just in that era, that meant killing animals and stuffing them.

I tend to go for mansion tours. Monticello and Hearst Castle were both favorites. There’s also another one in Portland I enjoyed.

I’ve been to the pinball museum in Las Vegas - fun - and I enjoyed the atomic energy museum there more than Lisa did.

In Ireland we saw a museum about Irish immigration to America but I can’t remember the name. It’s not the one in Dublin.

The first half was about life in Ireland during the time of the potato famine. You then tour the inside of what was set up as a typical ship used to transport the immigrants to the US, and when you emerged from the ship you were in an American village. Much like Jamestown there are people in the buildings doing various things and you can try your hand at things like black smithing. Very well done.

Best though, was the Getty in Los Angeles. The “new” Getty as I’ve not seen the older one. The views alone are worth the trip and the collection is widely varied.

There's a Tenement Museum in New York City. I do want to see that some day.

Also a Museum of Sex. Have not been there.

Cleveland has a museum of contraception:

"The museum contains a collection of beaver testicles, cat bones, crocodile dung, ear wax from a mule, spider carcasses, deer skins, Mexican yams, formaldehyde powder, Goodyear Tire rubbers, rhythm beads, seed wool, dates, honey, sponges, diaphragms, loops, pills, and IUDs, all displayed in a chronological tribute to human attempts to control fertility over the past 1,000-plus years. The exhibit also explores quite dangerous methods of contraception such as douching with Lysol or eating poisonous herbs like pennyroyal."

Of course there is the Iceland Phallological Museum in Reykjavik.
A friend said it was fun.

I love the National Museum of American History. I went there a lot when we lived nearby, but I would get "stuck" in an exhibit and spend all my time there (an indulgence you can do when you're not a tourist). I still haven't seen all of it, and of course the exhibits change all the time. The mix of more traditional history and pop culture is very appealing.

I loved the Louvre, and The Cloisters as well.

When we were in Paris a couple years back, two thirds of the Cluny was closed for renovations. The one big exhibit on unicorns was cool. But I wanted to see more medieval stuff.

Art Institute of Chicago
National Gallery of Art
Tate
Boston Museum of Fine Arts
Met
Museum of Contemporary Art
Mattress Factory in Pittsburgh