Learn about the nine weirdest museums in Wisconsin, from the National Mustard Museum to the famous House on the Rock in Spring Green.
There are art museums and cultural centers, and then there are those attractions that can only be described as “weird.” This is not to say you should skip weird museums. In fact, the opposite is true: You must go.
Sprinkled throughout Wisconsin are museums that celebrate the quirky and off-beat angles of the state, from bicycles and snowmobiles to mustard and lumberjacks. Many are in smaller towns, providing a chance to check out a lesser-traveled part of the state.
1. National Mustard Museum, Middleton
Who knew there were so many types of mustards? In 1992, Barry Levenson founded the National Mustard Museum with an eye on showcasing this diversity. It’s now the world’s largest collection of mustard, with 6,000 jars from 50 states and 70 countries. It also hosts the National Mustard Day Festival and the World-Wide Mustard Competition. There’s also a complimentary tasting bar to help make buying decisions in the gift shop.
2. Spinning Top and Yo-Yo Museum, Burlington
Tops and yo-yos are rare toys that have survived many generations. Come see how they’ve evolved from antique to modern at the Spinning Top and Yo-Yo Museum, which has 2,000 items in its collection. This includes toys as well as memorabilia. Of course, you can also play with a selection of 35 spin tops and yo-yos, too. This museum also features a gift shop that sells the kinds of toys you’ve just learned about.
3. World Snowmobile Headquarters, Eagle River
With the goal of sharing the history of snowmobiling worldwide, the World Snowmobile Headquarters in Northern Wisconsin includes a museum. Its location here is because Eagle River was crowned the Snowmobile Capital of the World® and hosted the World Championship Snowmobile Derby, celebrating its 62nd year in 2025. If, after a self-guided tour of the sport’s history—as told through exhibits—you want to learn more, the gift shop sells history books as well as puzzles, posters, and die-cast snowmobiles for the snowmobiling fan in your life.
4. World of Accordions Museum, Superior
Given the abundance of polka music in Wisconsin, which involves accordions, it makes sense that there’s a museum devoted to this instrument. Not only is this the largest collection of accordions in the U.S., but it’s the most comprehensive in the world. Any music lover will enjoy checking out 130 exhibits with 1,300 instruments on display. Architecture fans and history buffs will swoon for the setting as it’s tucked into a historic Presbyterian church. Another cool angle is that future accordion restorationists are taught this skill at a school on-site.
5. The House on the Rock, Spring Green
This quirky, eclectic home referred to as the House on the Rock—named as such because it was built on top of a rock in 1959—is often ranked as the state’s top attraction. That’s because you won’t find a setting like this anywhere else in the world. Founder Alex Jordan Jr. designed these connecting rooms, such as Heritage of the Sea (housing a model-ship collection), along with others loaded with circus antiques, a full-size spinning carousel, a 19th-century street recreation, a miniature dollhouse collection, and more.
6. National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum, Milwaukee
What’s cool about the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum is that this is the only museum of its kind in the world—with about 10,000 different bobbleheads in its collection. After browsing exhibits, pop into the gift shop where bobbleheads are sold. The museum is in Milwaukee’s Walker’s Point neighborhood and was founded by Brad Novak and Phil Sklar, who are avid bobblehead collectors.
7. National Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame, Hayward
Open from April through August, this museum—spanning four complexes—is solely about freshwater fishing. You’ll find antique motors, mounted fish, sportfishing artifacts, and the world’s largest muskey sculpture. Visitors can walk into the “Shrine to Anglers,” a fiberglass larger-than-life jaw holding up to 20 people and boasting Lake Hayward views.
8. Deke Slayton Memorial Space & Bicycle Museum, Sparta
Named for the late astronaut Deke Slayton, a Sparta native among the crew named to the US/Russian Apollo-Soyuz docking mission in 1975, known as the first international space mission, this museum explores space and bicycling. Why bicycling? Sparta is the Bicycling Capital of America!
9. Wisconsin Logging Museum, Eau Claire
Only open during the summer months, the Wisconsin Logging Museum’s devotion to lumberjacking folklore and Chippewa Valley’s logging industry includes a recreation of an 1890s logging camp. Many of those buildings (such as the bunkhouse and cook’s shanty) date back to when the first chapter of this museum debuted in 1935 in Carson Park. Between 1939 and 1982, a blacksmithing shop, barn, tool shed, and machine shed were added.
This article first appeared on Good Info News Wire and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
