Travel Off the Beaten Path :: Weird Museums

Travelers looking for something beyond top attractions like the Space Needle in Seattle might consider adding a weird museum or two to their itineraries.

Here are some suggestions from among dozens of unusual museums across the nation, from a funeral museum to an attraction devoted to wet wipes, of all things. They're all worth a stop, but probably shouldn't be your only reason for buying a plane ticket.

MOIST TOWELETTE MUSEUM, EAST LANSING, MICHIGAN

This free attraction next to the Abrams Planetarium at Michigan State University contains one of the odder collections open to the public. On two big bookcases in John French's office are more than a thousand, mostly unused, wet wipes from around the world.

The "celebrity wing" of the collection includes a used wipe donated by "Car Talk" hosts Ray and the late Tom Magliozzi. French, who is also the planetarium's production coordinator, says the collection includes wipes from a sumo wrestling event in Japan and from the former Trump's Castle in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Why moist towelettes? "I think everybody just has an urge to collect something," French said. The collection's oldest item is a box of "Wash Up!" towelettes from 1963. Details: http://moisttowelettemuseum.com/ .

DIALYSIS MUSEUM AT NORTHWEST KIDNEY CENTERS, SEATTLE

Seattle has many unusual if obscure attractions - like the gum wall at the Pike Place Market. Here's another one that's a bit more educational: a dialysis museum.

The Northwest Kidney Centers opened the free museum two years ago to celebrate its 50th anniversary as a pioneering medical treatment center. People who find old medical devices intriguing and those whose lives have been touched by kidney disease are most likely to seek out this display.

The museum shows the history of dialysis through machines and photographs including some early hospital models from the 1940s, and home and travel machines from the 1960s. Some machines were one-of-a-kind devices created with spare parts, including a "traveling kidney" in a suitcase. Details: http://www.nwkidney.org .

NATIONAL CRYPTOLOGIC MUSEUM, NSA HEADQUARTERS, ANNAPOLIS JUNCTION, MARYLAND

The National Cryptologic Museum, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) north of Washington D.C., offers a glimpse into the history of American spying, from code books used during the Revolutionary War to signal flags from the Civil War and decoding machines from World War II.

An 18th century cipher device, acquired from a West Virginia antique dealer who found it near Monticello, is a highlight. The curators believe it is the oldest true cipher device in the world. A display on biometrics gives a window into modern surveillance - more focused on computers than spies. Two aircraft used for secret missions are parked next door.

The free museum is open weekdays and some Saturdays. Details: http://www.nsa.gov/about/cryptologic_heritage/museum/index.shtml .

NATIONAL MUSEUM OF FUNERAL HISTORY, HOUSTON

This serious cultural and history museum also has a sense of fun, illustrated by its trademark - "Any day above ground is a good one" - and its annual haunted house.

Exhibits include artifacts from presidential and celebrity funerals, historical hearses and a full-scale replica of an embalming station from a Civil War battlefield. Other replicas in the 20,000-square-foot (1,860-square-meter) exhibit space include a typical Victorian living room to illustrate at-home funeral practices, and a recreation of a casket factory from the 1900s.

Admission is between $7 and $10 and the museum is open daily except for some holidays. Details: http://www.nmfh.org/ .

VENT HAVEN VENTRILOQUIST MUSEUM, FORT MITCHELL, KENTUCKY

The Vent Haven Museum houses more than 800 ventriloquist dummies, thousands of photographs of famous performers and a library full of ventriloquism books. It also hosts an annual convention of practitioners. Figures on display include a replica of the Charlie McCarthy, who was Edgar Bergen's sidekick. The museum has one puppet on which visitors can try out their ventriloquism skills.

The museum is open May through September, suggested donations $10, adults, $5 for under 12 and seniors. Details: http://venthavenmuseum.com/.

AND MANY MORE

This is just a sample of the unusual museums out there. Dewey Blanton at the American Alliance of Museums offers this list of others you may find interesting:

-The Toilet Seat Art Museum, San Antonio, Texas.

-The Titan Missile Museum, Green Valley, Arizona.

-The Wrench Museum (farm implements), Marsing, Idaho.

-The Mutter Museum (medical oddities), Philadelphia.

-The Glore Psychiatric Museum in Saint Joseph, Missouri.

-The Museum of Sex, New York City.

-----

Associated Press writer David Eggert contributed to this story from East Lansing, Michigan.