On a recent trip to Florida my family and I decided to check out the Ripley's Believe It or Not! museum in St. Augustine. We were able to get discounted tickets for $4.50 (normally $16) and figured it would be worth a look. My family owned one of Ripley's anthologies and I grew up reading about such things as animals that were born with extra body parts and palaces made out of human bone. So when I found out there was a museum that had some of the actual artifacts housed in it, I was curious to see it. To give you a little more background, Robert Ripley was a cartoonist and traveler who sought out as many strange and unusual things he could find back in the first half of the 20th century. He was quite famous during his time and was eager to share his discoveries with his readers. And now, the people who own the company in charge of his legacy would like to share it with the world (for a price). :)
Anyway, the outside of the museum is nice enough, Asian/Middle Eastern inspired architecture. China was Ripley's favorite destination so I imagine that was the thought behind the design. I appreciated the layout of the interior: small area with many floors; they built up instead of out. There was a particular path you had to follow through the museum which I liked because that meant you wouldn't miss anything. Often in museums I find myself going "Did I go down that way yet? Did we check this hall?". There was no question where to go next here, which was nice. Even when you were going down a hall to the next room or section, there were various pictures with plaques to read. The middle of the museum was a large atrium type space where a giant Erector set Ferris wheel had been constructed. The place overall gave me a funhouse type vibe; you never knew what you were going to find in the next room.
For the most part, the things in the museum were interesting, even though there were a lot of sections that were just models and blown up photographs. And there were a lot of things that reminded me more of a science center rather than an oddities museum but I suppose they have to add that kind of stuff to make it more fun for the kids being they would probably get bored after a while of looking at things in cases. So it was a good mix of things for a family, enough interesting things to see for all ages. Plus, they had a wide variety of themes. Interested in pirates? Want to know more about the medieval times? It's all there.
On a side note, I'm an avid amateur photographer and they had no problem with me taking pictures and using my big flash so that was a plus.
In conclusion, it was worth my $4.50. I'm a huge fan of "Did You Know?" facts and useless trivia so a museum full of stuff I can bring up in later conversation is cool by me..."Speaking of wool, did you know that in such and such a year there was a lamb born with two heads?". It was a nice hour or two spent with family and if you are looking for something to do for an afternoon and can find a discount, I would recommend this place. It wouldn't be worth the full admission price however so if you are looking for more bang for your buck, I might hit up the Alligator Farm or some other St. Augustine attraction.
Grace Rating: 7/10
This is a great review :)
ReplyDeleteReminds me of my visit to Ripley's in West Virginia - that was very cool. Loads of curiosities and oddities and strange stuff in general :) I think you described it very well...a definite candidate for Review of the Week :)
Oh yeah, and I just found out there is one in London...just a thought ;)