Unusual museums in Minneapolis

Looking for unusual museums & collections in Minneapolis? These 9 are the genuinely strange ones — The Bakken Museum, Wangensteen Historical Library of Biology and Medicine, Hennepin Healthcare History Center and more — each hand-vetted and sourced, not pulled from a top-ten list. Great for an unusual date, a weird afternoon, or showing a visitor the side of Minneapolis they'd never find on their own.

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The Bakken Museum Located in a historic 1929 Tudor mansion, this quirky museum blends science and the humanities with interacti… West Calhoun / Bde Maka Ska
Wangensteen Historical Library of Biology and Medicine This world-class research library houses over 73,000 rare medical books and artifacts dating back to 1430, in… University of Minnesota East Bank
Hennepin Healthcare History Center Tucked away in the basement of a working hospital, this tiny, volunteer-run museum preserves the history of M… Downtown Minneapolis
Pavek Museum Home to over 12,000 square feet of antique radios, televisions, and broadcast equipment, this museum preserve… St. Louis Park
Smallest Museum in St. Paul Tucked into a vintage, 2-by-3-foot fire-hose cabinet outside the Workhorse Coffee Bar, this micro-museum show… St. Anthony Park
Somali Museum of Minnesota The only museum in North America dedicated to preserving traditional Somali culture, housing a collection of… Midtown
Bill & Bonnie Daniels Firefighters Hall & Museum Spanning 12,000 square feet, this volunteer-run museum houses a massive collection of historic fire engines,… Northeast Minneapolis
Trylon Cinema A volunteer-run, 90-seat microcinema that screens obscure 35mm archive prints, cult classics, and internation… Longfellow
Franconia Sculpture Park This 50-acre outdoor museum and active artist residency features over 100 massive, contemporary, and often in… Shafer