8 peculiar international museums to visit online during lockdown

Online tours for the most famous international museums are quite easy to find, but when it comes to finding more bizarre alternatives, it takes time and effort to catch sight of them. We have compiled a list of curious and unusual museums with online tours, videos, or activities for you to experience at home during this lockdown.

With our current situation, we are all looking for things to entertain ourselves. Online museums are a great choice to have some fun while learning new things, but sometimes they can get tedious, especially when we are trying to amuse children.

The world is full of museums, with around 95,000 of them in operation. With that enormous quantity, we cannot expect for them to be all the same. There are museums for all tastes and interests; from the classics we have all heard about – the Natural History Museum in London, the Louvre in Paris, or the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York – to very eccentric and peculiar ones, like the Momofuku Ando Instant Ramen Museum in Japan, or the Cancun Underwater Museum in Mexico.

Today, you can get to know eight museums that are somewhat out of the ordinary. These museums have online tours or some sort of activity you can do at home, so prepare yourself to live a different experience. Be aware that some of these require Adobe Flash Player, and it usually works better in older browsers.

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1. Mütter Museum

This medical history museum focuses on displaying specimens, medical instruments, and teaching the development of diagnosis and treatment. It is not fully online, but it has some online exhibitions you can take a look at; with lessons on topics such as the use of radium in medicine, or the history of vaccines. They also have some videos showing items from their collection. This museum is interesting for all, but especially for those who have an inquisitive mind in the field of medicine.

2. Sulahb International Museum of Toilets

Kings and queens, celebrities, normal people… Everyone uses it; so, why not dedicate a museum for this universal object? On their website, you can read about toilets’ history, watch videos about the museum, and even take a virtual tour to see their exposition. They have toilets from all times – which they divide into three sections: ancient, medieval, and modern. You can also find pictures and explanations of the evolution of toilets and their related items. If you are curious about this – sometimes underrated – appliance, now you can learn everything you need to know about it!

3. Museum of Broken Relationships

Dedicated entirely to heartbreak, this museum contains a compilation of symbolic objects, and heartbreak stories shared by people from all over the world. In their collection, you can discover the stories, and see a substantial diversity of objects – from the most regular, like a hairdryer, to the most unimaginable things. If you find it interesting, you can also think about contributing to the collection, since they accept items from everyone. Bear in mind that this museum is not very child-friendly.

4. Micropia

Micropia is a micro-organisms museum. Their intention is to bring knowledge to the general public, as well as working as a tie to bring science to everyone. They do not have an online tour per se, but on their website you can find many video lab talks, experiments to do at home – which can be very useful to entertain children – and even colouring pages featuring microbes. It is a great way to understand the micro-world that surrounds us, and have fun simultaneously.

5. Bata Shoe Museum

For those who are into fashion, this museum can be a great opportunity to explore the history of shoes and shoemaking. Their collection of shoes and related items comprises over 1,000 pieces; they have from the most ancient ones to celebrities’ shoes. Now, they have a couple of online exhibitions in collaboration with Google Arts and Cultural Institute; so, take a look at them and you will learn a bit about this garment that has been accompanying us everywhere since the old times.

6. Museum of Bad Art

This museum turns the world of art upside down. When we think of art, it is not very usual to lean towards those works that we perceive as ugly or bad, but what if we were wrong all this time? Their purpose is to celebrate bad art and make it reach a wider public, and their collections are online for you to discover, they have them on display with a little explanation below. Sit down, relax, and check out their compilation of odd creations.

7. Kattenkabinet

If you are a cat lover, this museum is made just for you. Devoted to cats, their role throughout history, and their influence on art, this museum – which was founded as a memorial for its creator’s cat – collects sculptures, paintings, and many kinds of things cat-related. You can examine their collection, or you can even take a virtual walk through their rooms, which are all amazingly decorated, and all different from each other.

8. Museum of Witchcraft and Magic

Interested in the mystical arts of witchcraft and magic? Then, this museum is perfect for you to spend an evening exploring. Magical objects, witchcraft history, witch persecution… All of this you can find in this space, and they have many sections to explore. It has an online education section with videos and questionnaires, a photography segment, and a blog to discover interesting facts about this dexterity.

With all of these unique museums, it is clear that there is a place for everything and every preference. Now, you can take some time to disconnect from the outer world and choose the one that suits you the most, or maybe even discover a new interest you did not know you had. Either way, these exhibitions and tours can help you stay busy for some hours during this lockdown.