I’m intrigued by museums housing odd artifacts and memorabilia. For some reason, wacky museums kept coming up in conversation with reps from different destinations whom I met at Travel Media Showcase in September.
Three of the strangest I heard of were actually located not far from Kansas City, where TMS was held:
Leila’s Hair Museum in Independence showcases 160 wreaths and more than 2,000 pieces of jewelry made out of, you guessed it, human hair. Apparently, in the Victorian days, families would create these “works of art” as keepsakes to honor their loved ones; the designs were in a horseshoe shape, so new pieces of hair could be added as the family grew. I don’t know why, but for some reason this really grosses me out. I know it’s just hair, and, yes, I saved a lock from my kids’ first haircuts, but making jewelry, tiaras and wall-hangings out of it… ick.
St. Joseph’s Glore Psychiatric Museum is housed in what used to be the Missouri “State Lunatic Asylum #2″ and gives visitors a glimpse into how mental illness was treated over a century ago. There’s a giant human treadmill that resembles a big hamster wheel; artwork made from nearly 1,500 objects (nails, safety pins) that a former patient swallowed; lobotomy instruments; electric shock therapy devices; and vintage photos from the “asylum” days.
The Kansas Underground Salt Museum is less wacky, more unusual. Hard-hat-wearing visitors descend via elevators 650 feet straight down into the earth. and ride around on little motorized carts to see salt deposits that formed millions of years ago. The temperature in this exotic subterranean world is a constant 68 degrees with comfortable humidity, creating ideal conditions for storing costumes from famous movies, like Batman. This Hutchinson museum is a bizarre mix of geologic wonder and Hollywood.
