Unusual museums in New York City

Looking for unusual museums & collections in New York City? These 6 are the genuinely strange ones — Mmuseumm, John M. Mossman Lock Collection, Derfner Judaica Museum 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 New York City they'd never find on their own.

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Mmuseumm Housed in a former freight elevator shaft barely the size of a closet, this is one of the smallest museums on… Tribeca, Manhattan
John M. Mossman Lock Collection Tucked on the second floor of the historic General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen, this is one of the wor… Midtown, Manhattan
Derfner Judaica Museum An unexpectedly serene little museum set inside a senior residence on a Hudson River bluff, presenting perman… Riverdale, The Bronx
Mercer Labs Museum of Art and Technology Built into part of the former Century 21 building downtown, Mercer Labs is a 36,000-square-foot, multi-level… Financial District, Manhattan
The Cardiff Giant This ten-foot 'petrified man' was secretly carved from gypsum, buried on a Cardiff, NY farm in 1868, and 'dis… Cooperstown
The Big Duck This 20-foot ferrocement building shaped like a giant white Pekin duck was built in 1931 by a duck farmer to… Flanders (Long Island)