Ripley's Believe It Or Not Museum is guaranteed to amaze the young and old alike. It is a museum that is bursting at the seams with unusual human and animal oddities. As you walk up to the entrance, you will encounter a huge marble ball on top of a thin layer of water (the ball has to weigh no less than 2 tons) that you can spin around easily using only your hands. That is only the beginning. As you tour the museum, you can stand next to a life-size replica of the tallest man ever to live (8'11"). You will also see displays containing two-headed animals, shrunken human heads that are the size of baseballs, and medieval torture devices, among other things. Best of all, it’s all real.
If you haven't heard the story (or seen the TV show), it might be intriguing to know that Mr. Ripley was a man that proved that the truth really is stranger than fiction. In his day, Mr. Ripley traveled the world searching for unusual real-life human and environmental oddities. Ripley's Believe It Or Not museums (there are several that are located throughout the world) illustrate Mr. Ripley's discoveries in a hands-on environment. Although I wouldn't recommend taking small children to the museum, children ages 8 and up or so will have a blast viewing the various displays and messing around with all of the hands-on activities. Every time we have gone, there has been a long line of people waiting to get into the museum, but the experience is well worth the wait.