Not all of the world ’s museum are splashy , high - visibility institutions . Some captivating collections are tucked away in more obscure spots , whether it ’s the suburban area of Maryland or the sanitisation department of New York City . Here are eight obscure or semi - secret attractions that make it deserving go out of your way .
1. THE CIA MUSEUM IN LANGLEY, VIRGINIA
The Central Intelligence Agency ( CIA)maintains a museuminside its Langley , Virginia headquarters , but outsiders are n’t countenance in . It ’s only open to CIA employees , their families , prescribed visitor , and the occasional dogged newsman . Founded in 1972,on the agency ’s twenty-fifth natal day , the museum hold yard of declassify item , touching on the chronicle of the CIA as well as that of its predecessor , the Office of Strategic Services , and foreign intelligence agencies .
Among the century of items on displayinside the Langley museum , there ’s a brick from Osama bin Laden ’s chemical compound in Abbottabad , Pakistan ; a vacuous rat clay once used as a “ drop ” to pass agency secrets ; and deadly weapons galore . However , you do n’t need to become a private factor ( or tie a spy ) to see some of the formerly top - underground relics : Pictures and videosof museum items are available on the CIA ’s web site , and the organization occasionally partner with libraries , museums , and other institutions to make exhibitions .
2. THE TREASURE IN THE TRASH MUSEUM IN NEW YORK CITY
The adage “ One person ’s trash is another person ’s treasure ” rings true at New York City ’s Treasure in the Trash museum . site on the second trading floor of a characterless East Harlem storage warehouse , the museum features countless tossed - out items , curated by former sanitation worker Nelson Molina .
Now retiredand in his 60s , Molinafirst start compile curbside souvenirsdecades ago while on the job . The New York City Department of Sanitation ban employees from fetch their finds house , so Molina used them to beautify an employee locker room inside theSanitation Department ’s East 99th Street truck depot .
His conscientious objector - worker ( and deoxyephedrine collectors from other metropolis boroughs ) follow courtship , fetch in unwanted object like Furbys , typewriters , fellowship photos , artworks , and piece of furniture . Over the year , the collection grew to include other strange point , like a copy of Lena Horne ’s autobiography signed by the singer herself;a vintage movie projector , anda Star of David - determine sword plaquefrom the World Trade Center .
Molina is retired , but he still takes time to maintain his museum , which now fills an full warehouse floor . The conservator pre - okay all museum submissions andartfully arranges theminto chemical group by type , base , or color . But unless you ’re a sanitization worker , you ’ll generally have to get in touch with the Department of Sanitation for a pre - arranged spell . ( This may change in the near future : The East 99th street warehouse is slate for destruction and the Sanitation Department hopes to relocate the museum to a in public accessible location . )
3. THE DAVID HASSELHOFF MUSEUM IN BERLIN, GERMANY
Erika Berlin
David Hasselhoff ’s star ( and tan ) may have faded since theBaywatchera , but the actor still has fans in Germany : He ’s the matter ofa hidden museum in Berlin , tucked inside the basement of theCircus Hostelin Berlin ’s Mitte neighbourhood and curated by bartender Ally Chaplin .
The tiny , two - year - sometime museum is mostly ironic ( Germansaren’t as obsessed with the ‘ Hoffas we think they are ) , but it does turn back informative displays about Hasselhoff ’s influence in Berlin ; TV showsKnight RiderandBaywatch ; and the student lodging ’s ongoing run to change their street ’s name from Weinbergsweg to David - Hasselhoff - Strasse ( German for “ David Hasselhoff Street ” ) . And since no ‘ Hoff - inspired shrine would be complete without gurgle muscles and thorax hair , there ’s also lots of cheesy fan fine art .
4. THE WILLIAM P. DIDUSCH CENTER FOR UROLOGIC HISTORY IN LINTHICUM, MARYLAND
At theWilliam P. Didusch Center for Urologic History , non - doctors can learn more than they ever expected ( or require ) to know about the human urinary tract system . The museum is located inside the American Urological Association ’s Linthicum , Maryland headquarters , and is open to phallus of the public by appointment only . It ’s nominate after William P. Didusch , a medical illustrator renowned for his draftsmanship of the urinary tract and the various legal document used to handle it .
The museum is filled with historic aesculapian illustrations , medical specimens , one-time - fashioned aesculapian tools ( some more ugly than others ) , and other bladder - related items . Among them isa pineapple plant - sized kidney stoneand a selection ofdandies ’ canes , the latter featuring secret cavities for stash catheters and lubricant . visitor can also suss out out an classification of revolving showing , including the forthcoming “ The History of the Kidney . "
5. TOMBA EMMANUELLE IN OSLO, NORWAY
Gustav Vigeland is renowned in Norway for creatingVigeland Park , the world ’s largest carving park by a individual artist . As for his young pal , Emanuel Vigeland , he ’s remember for design one of Oslo ’s most flakey under - the - radiolocation attractions : an transcendental mausoleum / museum hidden insidea characterless brick building .
Emanuel Vigeland did n’t originally set out to build his own grave : Like his sib he was an artist , so in 1926 he make a brick building to display his sculpture and paintings . But he also thought the 8600 - straightforward - foot space would make a corking final resting situation , so he sealed the windows with brick and covered the wall and ceiling with a fresco portraying “ man ’s sexual instinct , conduct through multitudes of naked organic structure , charwoman and men in madcap intimacy,”as trace on the museum ’s internet site . ( Vigeland reportedly resented his older brother ’s success ; the over - the - top mausoleum , which he dubbedTomba Emmanuelle , may have arisen from feeling of insufficiency . )
When Emanuel Vigeland conk in 1948 , his ashes were stored in an urn that sits above the mausoleum ’s main ingress . To enter , visitant need to walk through a low transition and duck down through an inner door ; it ’s speculated that the artistdesigned it this wayso they ’d have to “ defer ” to his cadaver . The mausoleum opened to the public as a museum in 1959 ; today , it ’s only unresolved for several hours each Sunday , and only a few people are grant in at a time .
6. THE STAR TOYS MUSEUM IN BALTIMORE, MARYLAND
Thomas Atkinson did n’t originally gear up out to set forth a secret home plate museum of Star Wars toys and memorabilia , “ but there ’s just so much cool stuff , ” hetold Maryland ’s Capital News Servicein 2012 . Now in his fifty , Atkinson began collecting Star Wars - themed token after first seeing the original plastic film as a 13 - year - old . But what start up out as a match T - shirts and posters ballooned into thousands of funnies , action figures , trading cards , home plate , linens , bill sticker , and more .
These objects lead on permanent display in 1994 , when Atkinson moved to his present - day firm in Linthicum Heights , Maryland and fill an entire room with his Star Wars stuff . To “ more effectively protect , preserve , and promote this outstanding collection , ” Atkinson founded hisStar Toys Museumin 1998 .
Members of the public can reckon The Star Toys Museum by schedule an naming . And while they ’re at it , visitors can also follow the scent of woods chips and check up on out Atkinson ’s giant hamster plate , which he placard as “ the world ’s largest hamster habitat . " According to Atkinson , it " occupies three rooms across two stories and passes through solid wall " [ PDF ] .
7. THE MMUSEUMM IN NEW YORK CITY
In the case of New York City’sMmuseumm , a freight elevator does n’t carry visitors up to the museum — itisthe museum . Located in Tribeca ’s Cortlandt Alley , the tiny space contains a curated assortment of artworks , found item , vintage curiosities , and cultural memorabilia all displayed and labeled like objects of majuscule note value or historical significance . “ We ’re think about narratives and ideas that connect us as mankind and then [ we ] illustrate those with object , ” Mmuseumm co - founder Alex Kalmantold The Cut .
Now in its 5th yr of operations , The Mmuseummis currently openon Saturdays and Sundays from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m ( although it was closed for the installation of a new exhibit at press time ) . If you miss confabulate hours , you could peer through the lift ’s window and enter the museum ’s audio guide by calling a number on your telephone set . To view even more odd items from the Mmuseumm ’s collection , check out its 2nd " wing " ( yet another tiny exposition space ) , located on the same block .
8. THE BENDERY MILITARY MUSEUM IN TRANSNISTRIA
Tucked between Moldova and Ukraine is a tiny former Soviet republic calledTransnistria . It ’s not discern by the United Nations , nor is it typically let in on human race maps . The territory was once part of Moldova , but when that commonwealth broke away from the Soviet Union in 1990 , citizen of Transnistria — which was home to many Russian - speakers — still felt attached to the Soviets and declare independency . They contrive to establish a socialist commonwealth , and continue part of the Soviet Union .
Moldova and the breaking away commonwealth survive to warfare . The conflictlasted until 1992 , when it terminate in a ceasefire . ( By then , of course of action , the Soviet Union had dissolved . ) Moldova gave Transnistria special autonomy , and today , it has its own administration , army , national anthem , and currentness . However , Moldova still wo n’t in full acknowledge Transnistria as its own country , and neither has Russia .
visitor to the city of Bendery in Transnistria can visita midget museum , hidden inside three adjoining cars from a decomissioned Soviet steam railroad train . The museum ’s video display trace the city ’s military history , and are filled with rare Soviet military memorabilia : uniforms , medals , a handle - driven computing twist , weapon system , and Lenin and Stalin pictures galore . The Military Museum at Bendery is free , and is turn up right next to Bendery ’s principal train post . Keep in mind , however , that none of the museum ’s curators speak English , nor are translation available for the museum ’s plaques .
