Unique Museums In DFW

From the Jello Museum in New York to the International Vinegar Museum in South Dakota, museums are places we to go to be enlightened, entertained and educated. Texas is not about to be outdone by the northern states. When it comes to unique, the North Texas area has some serious bragging rights.

Ripley's Believe It or Not Odditorium
Louis Tussaud Palace of Wax
601 Palace Parkway
Grand Prairie, TX 75050
(972) 263-2391
www.ripleys.com

The king of all things weird is Ripley's Believe It or Not Odditorium in Grand Prairie, Texas. Just driving up to it, you can tell that there is something very odd in there. The building itself is unique, it is a dome castle-like, white building that sits in the middle of nowhere between Dallas and Ft. Worth. There are 11 galleries within the 10,000-square-foot museum that showcases all things strange. While there, check out the life-size wax replicas of famous people and characters at Louis Tussaud's Palace of Wax.

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The Eight Track Museum
2630 E. Commerce St.
Dallas, TX 75226
(469) 867-4074
www.eighttrackmuseum.com

The Eight Track Museum presents every music-recording format from the 1800s through today. Thomas Edison's wax cylinder (the very first recording format) from the 1870s is on display. In the 1970s, there was a folding version of the eight-track tape so people could fold it and put it in a pocket. With over 3,000 pieces of music history, this is one place that should strike a good chord with music lovers and museum-goers.

International Bowling Museum
621 Six Flags Drive
Arlington, TX 76011
(817) 385-8215
www.bowlingmuseum.com

You can't miss the International Bowling Museum. Just look for the giant bowling pin in front of the 18,000-square-foot facility. Bowling's roots can be traced back to the early Egyptians. The game has captured the interests of British monarchs and has spread throughout the world. This is a high-tech and extremely interactive museum. It will surely blow you away.

National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame
1720 Gendy St.
Ft. Worth, TX 76107
(817) 336-4475
www.cowgirl.net

If you ever wanted to know what it would be like to ride a bronco, here is your chance. You can saddle up on one of the life-sized broncos for a short ride. After your ride, you will be given a code to download and view your ride. Not up for a bull ride? You can view the "Tough by Nature, Portraits of Cowgirls and Ranch Women of the American West," the current exhibit that will run through September 9. This exhibit showcases the artwork of Lynda Lanker as she documents the life and struggle of the American cowgirl and ranch woman. This work attempts to dispel the stereotypes of the cowgirl. Nine of the 49 women featured in the exhibit are from Texas.

House Moving Museum
12155 Business Highway 287 N.
Fort Worth, TX 76179
(817) 439-1999
www.snowhousemoving.com

It is always a fascinating thing to see something different. A house moving down the street isn't an everyday sight but, for HD Snow, it is just business. Snow learned the business from his father and grandfather. When Snow opened his business in 1966, he could see that others in the business were slowly leaving and the historical part of the industry would be lost. He worked to preserve the industry and in 1985, he opened the House Moving Museum. The museum offers a unique look into the history of house moving. Rollers, boomers, wooden dollies, wooden beams, jacks and bars are all part of the historic collection along with pictures that show the equipment in use. When a hurricane flooded Galveston in 1900, the jacks that were used to raise the salvageable buildings are also on display.

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Robin D. Everson is a native Chicagoan who resides in Dallas, Texas. Her
appreciation for art, food, wine, people and places has helped her become a well-
respected journalist. A life-long lover of education, Robin seeks to learn and
enlighten others about culture. You can find her work at Examiner.com