It’s an old school museum, which tend to be my favorites, but there had been an art exhibition installed the week before so there were art installations displayed alongside the regular exhibits. The whole experience was wonderfully weird. It wasn’t always 100% clear what was part of the regular exhibit and what was art, because some of the regular exhibits were pretty weird. Was there an entire elaborate exhibit (with light-up displays) about the hydrogeology of southern Poland? What was the very Soviet-bloc looking sewing machine doing in that one room? Adding to the fun, the docents were very very insistent upon the order in which you visited each room. I think that was completely normal for them, but it added to the weirdness. There was also a mirror that would sound an alarm if you approached too closely. Its purpose was unclear. When we went in we were not expecting some of the exhibits to be… off.
Apparently now open by appointment only. It’s weird by design, which is why it gets #2 rating.
#3 Any museum where you walk in and mentally say, “I’ve made a huge mistake.” These tend to be small places where it’s just you, your equally uncomfortable spouse, and the curator/owner. You’re getting a special tour. I mean, you know in your heart that he’s more interested in showing your his weird shit than murdering you, but the question of whether you’ll feature in the next exhibit is always floating in the air. They may not have the nicest stuff to look at, but you remember the experience.
Any museum where you walk in and mentally say, “I’ve made a huge mistake.”
I went to an art museum in the balearics once, the door was open, normal stuff, free entry sign, donation box, cloakroom, etc. So I’m walking round the first room and a guy runs in shouting “NO! NO!” and chases me right out of the museum. I definitely made a huge mistake there but I wish I knew what the mistake was!
#1 The archeological museum in Krakow. https://ma.krakow.pl/en/main-page/
It’s an old school museum, which tend to be my favorites, but there had been an art exhibition installed the week before so there were art installations displayed alongside the regular exhibits. The whole experience was wonderfully weird. It wasn’t always 100% clear what was part of the regular exhibit and what was art, because some of the regular exhibits were pretty weird. Was there an entire elaborate exhibit (with light-up displays) about the hydrogeology of southern Poland? What was the very Soviet-bloc looking sewing machine doing in that one room? Adding to the fun, the docents were very very insistent upon the order in which you visited each room. I think that was completely normal for them, but it added to the weirdness. There was also a mirror that would sound an alarm if you approached too closely. Its purpose was unclear. When we went in we were not expecting some of the exhibits to be… off.
#2 The Museum of Jurassic Technology in LA. https://mjt.org/
Apparently now open by appointment only. It’s weird by design, which is why it gets #2 rating.
#3 Any museum where you walk in and mentally say, “I’ve made a huge mistake.” These tend to be small places where it’s just you, your equally uncomfortable spouse, and the curator/owner. You’re getting a special tour. I mean, you know in your heart that he’s more interested in showing your his weird shit than murdering you, but the question of whether you’ll feature in the next exhibit is always floating in the air. They may not have the nicest stuff to look at, but you remember the experience.
I went to an art museum in the balearics once, the door was open, normal stuff, free entry sign, donation box, cloakroom, etc. So I’m walking round the first room and a guy runs in shouting “NO! NO!” and chases me right out of the museum. I definitely made a huge mistake there but I wish I knew what the mistake was!