Museum of the Weird

Absolutely loved how campy and quirky this place is—total hidden gem in downtown Austin! The Museum of the Weird starts off with a cool collection of oddities and curiosities, then pulls you into the bizarre tale of the Minnesota Ice Man. The Unsolved Mysteries segment was a personal favorite—totally nostalgic and spooky in the best way. The freak show was way better than expected—fun, energetic, and surprisingly impressive. And the wax museum toward the end was the perfect weird cherry on top. If you’re into the unusual, the eerie, or just looking for something different, this place is a blast. A great slice of classic Austin weirdness!

A very interesting place. Really cool but small space, especially when there's a lot of visitors. You wait your turn to examine or read captions on display. But I suggest you visit if you're in Austin and be a little WEIRD.😁

Super fun experience! My boyfriend and I enjoyed all of the exhibits and compared it to a real life Mystery Shack! The rooms/exhibits are really small, (downtown austin what can you do) so I got a bit claustrophobic, but the outdoor area helped. It wasn’t super crowded, but because of the small space you might bump into people depending on how busy it is. The front desk people are super nice and helpful! We parked in a nearby parking spot and walked over since there is no parking immediately adjacent to the museum. The wax museum was super fun, and the gorilla made for a great picture op. Would recommend!

It was a really cool experience. They have 3 floors and it's themed. Even the floors are designed to look "Odd". Decent collection of real freaks around the world and it's not only human. Definitely a place to put in your to-do list if you are visiting Austin and a must see if you live there. It's located at the party area of town so parking can be difficult. Street parking is available throughout so plan accordingly.

The Museum of the Weird is exactly what it promises—weird, wonderful, and totally worth it. It’s this great little spot just off Sixth Street (you might almost miss it if you’re not looking—kind of like it’s hiding in plain sight, which honestly just adds to the mystery). The place is packed with all kinds of oddball charm—classic sideshow stuff, vintage creepiness, and things that make you say, “Wait… what am I looking at?” It’s affordable, low-key, and super fun. Like, where else can you walk past a two-headed animal, a frozen caveman, and then get a live mini-show at the end? It’s got big “Austin stays weird” energy, and I loved every second. Cheap, weird, and unforgettable. Highly recommend checking it out if you’re in town and want something different. You won’t leave smarter, but you will leave smiling.

Went during the week and it was not very crowded. It’s a self guided tour which is great for the introverts. Many cryptid/oddity exhibits to enjoy along with a wax museum for the classic horror fans

Pretty fun, lots of weird and strange monsters and real life people with interesting stories. They sell drinks and fun merch inside.

Great little museum, it’s not massive so don’t expect to walk forever but do expect to be intrigued. The gift shop is also very nice & the staff that was working the day I was there had a great personality. Would definitely come back!

Definitely weird! We bought our tickets in advance on their website but it's just as easy to pay in person. The two ladies working were so welcoming and nice. There are 3 floors of unique exhibits that were creepy and interesting. The location is perfect because it adds to the unsettling atmosphere. I won't lie I was scared when I walked in but don't fret nothing will come alive and touch you (hopefully). Saw a lot of things I had never seen before and the gift shop has a good assortment of things. I would come again! A hidden gem that I would definitely recommend to those visiting Austin.

Excellent. Big foot. Freak shows. King Kong. Vincent price. They're all here. We had a great time.

Honestly for the price of entry they should provide customers a place to sit. Took 30 mins to tour it and the price plus parking was about $50. Id say pass on this unless you have nothing better to do. Cool alien statue at the end though.

A really interesting museum with some unique and fascinating historic items, like Pancho Villa's trigger finger and many old Hollywood horror movie props. Definitely worth checking in and seeing what's in store. The building itself is about 150 years old and is interesting in of itself.

Worth $12.99 for a ticket. Some of the stuff is cheesy, but a lot of it was cool and interesting to look at. My favorite area was the third level, the wax museum of old horror movie monsters. I saw there was a fortune teller sign, but it was closed. Having that option, even at an additional price, would've been awesome and fit the ambiance well. There are two gift shops, but they pretty much sell the same things. Some cool gifts there, my particular favorite being film from classic movies. A neat place to check out before or after dinner, or when just hanging out in Austin. The employees were friendly. Depending on how much you read everything, the museum can be completed in 45 - 90 minutes.

3 story museum full of weird oddities and movie memorabilia. It being 3 stories means they have stairs so, be warned. There's 2 gift shops within the museum full of goofy, odd things. I loved all the information featured on every display so get all the facts. Worth a visit!

Had some family in town and was looking for something different to do. This was perfect! Not too scary for little kids, but still interesting for adults. Definitely worth checking out!

20 Oct 2023 Let's just put it out there - it's really cheesy. $12.99 per adult. The bright spot was that a bottle of water was only $2.00. They have reproductions of various 'scary' and 'weird' stuff. A fairly decent 'thing' frozen in the snow like in the original 1950s movie, 'The Thing from another World'. The better part of the museum is the small wax museum. You are told not to touch anything here, except for King Kong. You can take pictures with him. You can take pics of anything you want, just don't touch. There is a gift shop that offers the usual jewelry trinkets and books. The psychic was unavailable while we were there. It might be worth a stop to you.

The place was a hodge podge of conspiracy theories and weird off the beaten path things that happened in America. It is a great concept but they just need to Keep updating their information. Also things were dusty and dirty. They just need to clean the place up and update their ideas.

Definitely creepy. Tickets are $12 and available online. Located on 6th street, this is a three story museum of the strangest things around. I definitely was creeped out. First floor is the weirdest.

Okay so this place isn't for everyone (Not even for me) - but I know people who went and loved it! Here's what I can say so your expectations aren't so high! 1- the place is pretty small. If you aren't invested in truly taking your time and looking at and reading all the little things... you will fly through this. 2- it's truly weird stuff, some stuff is just too weird to even think it is interesting. 3- it is self guided (great) and includes stairs throughout the levels in case anyone in your party isn't a fan of stairs or small spaces. 4- the wax museum part of the exhibit isn't very excompassing nor as exciting as you want it to be 5- coolest part for me was the ice creature video (never heard of this before but I loved it) I went once... I won't go back.

Museum of the weird.. what do I say about this place that costs about $25 for two adults on the weirdest self-guided tour where all things Hollywood, mystical, beyond siamese bizarre recreations.. it's definitely a walk through the Yeti village without giants walking amongst us, but hovering in ever so plastic and wax. I stupidly didn't take my phone into this place, to get the full effect from the drive over, passing by the harsh part of Austin with rags betwixt the cracks of sticky sidewalks. Something tells me this tour is better virtual than up close and personal. It's a place that a smell is the souvenir you take with you. Nothing you can ever buy could recreate that type of admiration crossed with suppressed claustrophobia manifestation walking into a nightmarish school maze musk. Say that with a handful of peanuts. I expect Halloween to be more proper for a visit such as this. After having seen the wax museum, I don't know what I expected.

Just as odd, kitschy, unbelievable, and fun as you'd imagine. Make sure you watch the Unsolved Mysteries clip in the frozen creature exhibit - how DID Stack keep a straight face when delivering his lines! Plenty of photo ops, and the gift store (Lizards) is fun.

Massively overhyped. Sort of intended to be a sideshow but featured plenty that wasn't really related. Sort of a museum but not that great at providing history. Lots of reading page-long descriptions or news articles when alternative was of communicating would make it more pleasant and informative. Fun little gift shop. 1. Small display yet nevertheless the same exhibits/"weirdness" repeated multiple times. For example, the devilfish. 2. No idea what the wax museum has to do with being "weird." Just seemed a tribute to classic horror films, which is cool but far removed from the rest of the theme. 3. Few original items and mostly images or exemplary items. Lots of discussion of things that weren't really "weird." Some wasted opportunities to highlight things like weird animals or weird fruit etc.

Great! This museum has all sorts of neat oddities and entertainment, and the staff couldn't have been nicer. Loved it!!

I came here with a group of friends and kids from out of town. It is a small cramped space with a gift area when you first walk in. There were a few interesting things to see along the way, but I felt like the whole situation was poorly constructed. It was a tight squeeze to get through the aisles. There were a lot of stairs, so this is not a wheelchair friendly experience. It seemed like they tried to cram as many things as they could into each tiny space. The kids seemed to enjoy seeing some of the weird creatures and some of the movie characters. Overall, I would not come back and I would not recommend for large groups of people.

This is a fun, quirky place and good to do with kids. It's not too expensive and will keep you interested for about 30-60 minutes. I don't think I made any life-long memories here, but overall we enjoyed our visit.

The museum of weird was weird! It was cool to see so many different things and how they managed to utilize all the space in this attraction. My favorite part was the guy at the top of the stairs doing his acting before going into the wax museum! I believe his name is Jeffrey! Put that man on a TV show! He was having a blast with his job. There's some unique finds for sure so take your time! We spent about 45 minutes here and paid about $12 a person.

We visited this while in Austin. Everything was gimmicky and old, the place was pretty dirty, and things were clearly taken care of at a sporadic level. The most annoying part? Paying for admission tickets while they have NO public bathroom. They claimed it was broken, so we had to walk a few blocks away to use a hotel restroom. You mean to tell me that the employees work a full day in this armpit without ever needing to pee OR running blocks away to pee? No way. They have a bathroom and they don't want people to use it because they don't want to deal with it. This is a junk shop that charges you to look at the junk you can't buy. Also downtown Austin smells like pee and vomit.

I loved the Museum of the Weird. Museums are kinda my thing, especially when visiting new cities. My husband actually found this place, so we walked over from our hotel with some friends to check it out. Plenty of unique oddities to see at MOTW. My favorite weird thing was Audrey 2 from Little Shop of Horrors. She's right in the front window and we actually missed her when we walked in. Also, one of the upstairs rooms was formerly the kitchen that Johnny Depp used while he was in Austin filming What's Eating Gilbert Grape. Neat! I enjoyed the animatronic Gremlin from the movie 'Gremlins' and the wax museum (King Kong, Dracula, etc.) and 'Ice Man' who gets his own room. Two gift shops are available, no elevator, stairs, and uneven floors. Not a museum for someone with mobility issues. Tickets are $12/per person. Absolutely check this place out if you're in Austin. If you like Ripley's Believe-it-or-Not, this is a great alternative. We did visit on a Saturday afternoon, so the museum was really, really packed. Overcrowded in my opinion. So overcrowded that you had to shuffle through everything without really getting to read about what's what in an effort to get people past you. I feel like the museum has enough business that they could implement some sort of ticketing policy. Like 25 people every hour. At least on peak days. Yes, their website encourages visiting during the week if you have a flexible schedule, but I think an advance ticketing option would work well here. Also, there is only one way in/out. Not sure what we all would have done had there been a fire. 4/5 stars because of the overcrowding. The museum could really benefit from an updated website and Facebook page. It looks like both were last updated at the end of 2020. I feel like they could find an Austin college kid to do this who may want some marketing experience. While they're updating the website and social media, add the online ticketing option. Very friendly staff who clearly love their jobs.

I have seen a lot of mixed reviews about this museum but the reviews that were food, bad, and indifferent led me to visiting. First it's located on historic 6th street so once you're there you can eat, drink, listen to live music anytime of the day, buy souvenirs, etc. Now back to the museum. I enjoyed it. It's a good place to visit alone, with friends, and defiantly with your kids. It's not super big and you can go through it in an hour or less if you want. I highly recommend visiting during the week, less crowds will give you more time to squeeze through tights spaces in the museum. The exhibits rather real or not were fun to read about or just to see id you do not have the patience for reading a lot of tiny writing. And the customer service here was good and helpful. When I'm back in Austin I would take my family and friends.

My daughter wanted to visit the museum as part of her birthday week. It's full of unique items and will probably take about 2 hours to get through. Overall we thought it was ok, not sure if we would go again though but if you are interested in weird stuff then you will like it.

Honestly, highly disappointing as someone with a brain and emotion capacity for understanding how people are different than me. I wouldn't recommend supporting this or going here. I would have rather spent my money on an oddity shop than people showing off disabled people as freaks. These people aren't weird. They were just born that way. It was gross. I didn't realize it was mostly about freakshows. I wish someone would have told me. I wish there was some more nuance here than just oh these people are weird... when it's like no these people are just disabled. Instead of having any kind of question about the morality of freakshows and their ethics in the way they exist, they perpetuate ableism by showing them off as weird. The shrunken heads and wax museum were the best part, but the rest of the stuff sucked. A lot of it was just someone's arts and craft project and not real oddities. It's basically like a ripleys believe it or not. There was some cool stuff here and there, but most of it made me uncomfortable ethically

First, let me say that the decline of 6th St in general saddens me. I have great respect for it's history and have had many wonderful times there myself back in the 90's and early 2000's, but the aggressive homeless population makes it an area to avoid rather than a must-see. That said, Museum of the Weird was once quite interesting, now it's no more interesting than visiting a Spencer's Gifts in a dilapidated shopping mall. The employees couldn't care less about being there. The "attractions" are worthless. The performer who used to sideshow tricks is long gone. It's just...nothing now. Nothing at all. I give it two stars because they sell unique t-shirts. Otherwise what they offer for a $12.99 admission could just as easily be displayed in someone's basement.

Small little shop with weird and interesting thingd. There's about 3 different sections to walk around. Definitely bigger than I thought. They have weird cool stuff from shrunken heads, mummified stuff to cool old movie props and statues. They have 2 gift shops that sell some cool things as well. The tour is pretty fast if you're just looking otherwise, there are a lot of reading materials. If you're ever in the area and want to checkout something different, please stop by and check these guys out. The staff are friendly and I don't know where you would park since it's located in the downtown area. My family and I walked around the city so we stumbled upon this place.

What a quirky and fun experience! A definite must do if ever in downtown. There was so much to read and see, I just wish some of the items descriptions weren't written so tiny even though they were so descriptive. From the moment you walk in you never know what crazy thing you're going to see next! This is smack in the middle of 6th street-so walk to it, don't even attempt parking. Don't ruin the experience by looking at the photos, this is something you definitely want to see first hand!

Okay this was very weird, and I enjoyed walking through but it was very cramped and closed in. I might have gone at a bad time because there were so many people inside it was hard to get through. Tickets are $12.99 each for adults, which isn't bad, and for the price you'll get to see some interesting things. Once you have gone one time you probably won't go again, but it's still a decent place to try. Also they did sell a lot of "Keep Austin Weird" shirts, which was pretty cool!

If you have absolutely nothing else to do in the middle of the day in Austin or if you needed something to do in-between vacation day drinking, maybe go and check out the Museum of the Weird, maybe. For whatever reason, I thought this place would be more legit and less kitschy. Located on 6th street, surrounded by trash laden streets and day-shuttered dive bars, Museum of the Weird calls to those who wish to see her wears. The museum covers three, very small floors and offers many oddities and attractions. When looking at the oddities, there is always this hope that they are real, that they are a piece of history, of a time where mystery and lore still existed but deep down you know they are fakes and were most likely used to get money out of unsuspecting tourists back in the day, not unlike the purpose of the museum today. After spending about 45 minutes perusing the oddities, my buzz had worn off and it was about time for me to get out of there. Decided to take a slightly different route than I took when getting there and the run down neighborhood which I had originally walked through seemed to turn to a type of skid row and definitely not a place you would want to walk through let alone take your kids through while on your way to a cheap museum.

Super cool, creepy museum. I absolutely loved it. My 12 year old daughter loved it. My son loved it and it was absolutely a good time. So cool in the old Austin building all brick and just a bunch of creepy little rooms very tight but it gave that authentic scary old feeling with very cool collection.

Museum of the Weird is not for everyone. Think carnival attractions, monsters, urban legends (Bigfoot, Fiji Mermaid and more), and all things spooky and weird. If you're a lover of stories and seeing wacky specimens on display with questionable origins, you'll have fun. There are good photo ops with a massive King Kong structure with great lighting and other wax figurines. What I loved most about this museum was the expansive collection of stories and urban legends. There are historical newspaper clippings, old promotional materials for circuses, advertisements for "Siamese twins" or "fattest person" or "elephant man" etc. I loved reading the thoughtful write-ups next to the curios. Whoever put this museum together definitely put their heart into it. It was like wandering through an old school carnival, but with modern commentary in the item descriptions. They also have a very cool gift shop with neat items! I ended up bringing home an apron with mushroom people on it. The museum employees were very friendly, and clearly happy to be there. Highly recommend as a fun detour especially if you're traveling in the summer and need a break from that scorching Texas sun.

One of the best Fortean museums I've visited! It's a mix of sideshow carnival, wax museum, and odditorium. It's a small place, but it's packed with interesting displays. Must see if you're in downtown Austin!

This place is more of a cheap way to kill some time downtown and it will make you laugh and get your brain firing. The exhibits are fun, silly, and supernatural! You could spend hours reading all the information or you could breeze through in 15-30min. The building itself is neat, narrow passages filled with amazing items that will surprise and delight you. There is a courtyard that opens into the wax museum and other exhibits. You can take as many photos as you like!

This museum says it all.. and keeps the motto of Austin. Keep Austin Weird! You see wax figures and collections of all the earths weirdest movie and real creatures! Cool experience I shall say. The admission is $12 to support the local business. For parking you want to avoid parking on 6th street but you can park by the near by parking garages.

Really cool, old school Museum. Lots of old freak show stuff and movie wax figures. Go in with an open mind, it's not very big, but fun!

Fun funky and weird, only $12 entry to this cooky museum. See freaky exhibits from around the world, wax horror figures, the creature in ice, or Jonny Depp's old kitchen! A little outdated, but still not a bad way to spend an hour when you're downtown. Would return

This place was creepy. I like weird things, but this was not what I was expecting. When I went, I was the only one in there, so I think it made the vibes extra creepy. I even asked the girl at the register if anything was going to pop out at me as I was walking through the museum. She said there wasn't so I decided to go for it. If weird creepy things are your vibe, I would so recommend this place. If I was with someone else I think I would have had a lot more fun but I'm a naturally scared person so I hated it. There were some really cool items inside though. A lot of old movie props, wax figures, little figurines, interesting photos and stories. It's small, and something you could probably do in an hour or less. The gift shop has some cool items I

My husband and I really enjoyed our time here at the Museum of the Weird. We got to see some truly fascinating things, and even an exhibit that I had seen some years ago on an episode of Unsolved Mysteries!!! (I'm a huge fan, lol.) All of the attendants were super helpful and friendly, and found ample time to tell us stories and give us history on the building/exhibits. So much fun!!

This place is corny, but in a good way. Everything in this museum is, as you might expect, weird. Shrunken heads, lots of skeletons, carnival sideshow stuff, random horror movie props, wax figures... you name it. The place seems to oscillate wildly between real stuff (e.g., real skulls) and hoaxes (e.g., random obviously fake cryptid stuff), but it's all in good fun and enjoyable. You probably already know if this is your sort of thing - if so, I'd check it out.

It's like a weird, roadside attraction. If you're into sci-fi-ey, mystical possibilities such as mermaids, Yeti, leprechauns--things of that sort. Lots of information to take in. Lots of artifacts to look at. Very fittingly arranged and displayed.

Fun side-stop while walk walking around Austin. It's $12 entry and likely only takes most people an hour or two. For our family, it was one of those fun, quirky little pit stops, we enjoyed but only need to see once. We all were interested in the shrunken heads and story behind them, adults walked memory lane past the horror film wax museum characters, the kids liked the freak show oddities. All-in-all a fun, quick side show while downtown for other reasons. We are not die hard horror/oddity seekers so it was nice that it was a tour-at-your-own-pace kind of place to see what we wanted to see. We observed some onlookers were "very into" the museum and may have spent a few hours, most people likely spent an hour or two, our group took maybe a little over an hour. It's a small, odd and random place...screams "Keep Austin Weird" perfectly!

As their name suggests, this museum has a lot of weird exhibits, in a good way. Located on the East 6th St, it was easy to find parking. I in fact parked right outside it (2 hour free parking). Their exhibits show a variety of weird things from skulls to mummys to two-head chicken etc. Budget around 30-45 mins for the entire tour. Don't forget to check out their gift shop, I bet you will definitely like something to take back home.

It was a cool unique place to checkout on the Main Street of downtown austin. I would recommend it. Watch your step as the floor is uneven in many places and there are stairs.

the attempt to figure out what was real and what was fake was a fun game - also the history of shrunken heads? incredible

Fun place to stop by! Tickets were reasonably priced. They have a lot of fun jewelry to buy in the gift shop!

Went to this museum to kill some time. 12$/person so pretty cheap however it is what it says.... WEIRD. If you are into Bigfoot, ice man, conjoined goats/people then this is for you. The only thing that made it worth it was the guy guarding the wax museum upstairs. Very weird and fun interaction with him.

If you want to waste your money, this place is for you! Everything is old, cheap and fake. You're better off putting your money in a paper shredder. It will be more entertaining.

Since many things in Austin are closed at the moment it was great that the Museum of the Weird was open. Purchased tickets online as requested by the young man over the phone when I called to see if they were open. That was an easy process and you have to adhere to the time slot you pick. Masks at the moment are a must and available for purchase in the shop before entering where the exhibits are. They must be worn at all times or you will be removed from the building. The exhibits were cool especially the being in ice. There was a young man who made sure everyone was social distancing but he also was very knowledgeable about the exhibits. The gift shop left me dismayed as there wasn't much to chose from in regards to the museum there were a bunch of cheesy gimmicky stuff but really not much pertaining to the museum itself. The show Mystery's at the Museum really hyped this place up and no doubt it's a cool little place to go while things are starting to open up in Austin.

The museum of the weird is a cute little mini museum in the heart of 6th street. They have everything from a wax museum to Fiji mermaids. They once had lizards, though I didn't see them this visit.

This place is "cute". It is very small consisting of a small self guided tour, followed by a guided tour of the iceman exhibit, a tiny wax museum area and a magic show. In other words, there is not much there. The tour guide was a very interesting character and was an excellent choice for that job. The magician does a few simple card tricks but was still very entertaining and witty. Remember to bring cash because the performer only works for tips. The staff is very friendly and helpful and you enter and exit the museum through the gift shop which is an interesting place in itself. Admission was just $12 dollars for two of us, which was reasonable. The self guided portion of the museum has a few artifacts and replicas of items that you would find in a PT Barnamum side show. It is not very big and then you head of to see the Iceman, which they try to provide as much hype as they can during the brief intro. After the Iceman exhibit, you are guided upstairs to the wax museum and magic show. The museum is located in a sketchy part of downtown Austin, so beware, and there is metered street parking available in the area. All and all, this is a cool place, but is not a stand alone or feature attraction. It would probably be better as a stop on your way to or from somewhere else.