Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All the United States Texas Austin Museum of Natural and Artificial Ephemerata

Museum of Natural and Artificial Ephemerata

DIY collection of eclectic holdings.

Austin, Texas

Added By
dinosaursfeast
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
CAPTION
A view of the ‘Skin and Bones’ collection. (Museum of Natural and Artificial Ephemerata)   http://mnae.org/
The museum’s guidebook. (Museum of Natural and Artificial Ephemerata)   http://mnae.org/
  MNAE
  MNAE
  MNAE
  MNAE
Lock of Elvis’ Hair and Marilyn Monroe’s Cigarette Butt   Jared Nagel
Museum Gardens   Jared Nagel
A wall from the ‘Animals’ collection. (Museum of Natural and Artificial Ephemerata)   http://mnae.org/
Flamingo Head Preserved in Mercury   Jared Nagel
  Jared Nagel
  MNAE
  knoxium / Atlas Obscura User
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

Curated and hosted by husband and wife, Scott and Jen Webel, the Museum of Natural and Artificial Ephemerata is a knowing yet earnest homage to the dime museums and crowd-pleasing sideshows of P. T. Barnum, from an era when popular culture was being formed in the streets and boardwalks of an industrializing age.

According to the Webels, the seed of the collection came from a box of curiosities that once belonged to Scott's great-granduncle, Rolls Joyce, Jr., who began a "museum of museum forms" in Tucson, Arizona, with Madame Mercury Curie in the '20s.

At the museum, you can find a mix of wonders from the natural world: a stuffed pygmy kangaroo, a narwhal tooth replica, a crocodile that cries crocodile tears, and a double-headed chick. There are also pieces to please the celebrity chaser: a lock of Elvis' hair, a chocolate eyeball from George W. Bush, a single strand of Willie Nelson's hair, and the butt of the last cigarette smoked by Marilyn Monroe.

Along with these valuable pieces, the collection is full of unexpected sights and visual puns, as your personal tour guides, Scott and Jen themselves, explain the possibly dubious origins of each item with a straightforward and charismatic delivery. The tour is a part of the collection at the museum and a performance you unwittingly participate in as attendee.

Installed in their current home, the museum has bounced around various parts of Austin as the couple moved, now landing on the East side, where the Webels have bought the house and presumably settled on a more permanent location for the "impermanent collection." They originally gave tours to only two or three people at a time, but now have two rooms and a garden dedicated to their growing and ever-shifting collection.

As studied and in on the joke as its curators may be, the collection at the Museum of Natural and Artificial Ephemerata is sincerely fascinating and full of the kinds of twists and wonders that crowds accepted and delighted in before an era obsessed with alleged proof, facts, and origins. Or to hear it more articulately from the curators: "Each of these historic forms of collection dealt the public a stacked deck, playing games with the tensions between truth and falsehood, nature and culture, life and death."

The Museum of Ephemerata and its stewards will continue to be in the ongoing pursuit of the question, "Where does the museum end and real life begin?"

Related Tags

Museums And Collections Natural History Museums Museums Art Collections

Community Contributors

Added By

dinosaursfeast

Edited By

jarednagel, knoxium

  • jarednagel
  • knoxium

Published

May 13, 2011

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • Yelp: Museum of Natural and Artificial Ephemerata: http://www.yelp.com/biz/museum-of-natural-and-artificial-ephemerata-austin
  • airbnb: Museum of Natural and Artificial Ephemerata: http://www.airbnb.com/rooms/73756
  • Citysearch: Museum of Natural and Artificial Ephemerata: http://austin.citysearch.com/profile/603392962/austin_tx/museum_of_natural_and_artificial_ephemerata.html
Museum of Natural and Artificial Ephemerata
1808 Singleton Ave.
Austin, Texas, 78702
United States
30.280202, -97.715219
Visit Website
Get Directions

Nearby Places

Animatronic Lyndon Baines Johnson

Austin, Texas

miles away

Big Bertha Drum

Austin, Texas

miles away

The Texas State Cemetery

Austin, Texas

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Austin

Austin

Texas

Places 42
Stories 8

Nearby Places

Animatronic Lyndon Baines Johnson

Austin, Texas

miles away

Big Bertha Drum

Austin, Texas

miles away

The Texas State Cemetery

Austin, Texas

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Austin

Austin

Texas

Places 42
Stories 8

Related Places

  • Día de Muertos Offering.

    Metepec, Mexico

    Museo del Barro (Museum of Clay)

    A collection of incredible clay crafts, complete with earthen skeletons and mermaids.

  • The museum entrance.

    Mexico City, Mexico

    Museo Dolores Olmedo

    This extraordinary art museum is like a secret world on the edge of Mexico City.

  • Tobacco boxes

    Mexico City, Mexico

    Franz Mayer Museum Silver Collection

    A shining treasure trove of fine Mexican silver dating back to the 15th century.

  • Huastec votive offerings depicting fertility goddesses.

    Oaxaca, Mexico

    Rufino Tamayo Museum of Pre-Hispanic Art

    An incredible collection of Mesoamerican art assembled by one of Mexico's great artists.

  • Inside the museum.

    Cuernavaca, Mexico

    Museo Robert Brady

    An incredible little museum of interior design full of artifacts collected from around the world.

  • The water serpent carving.

    Winnebago, Nebraska

    Angel De Cora Museum and Research Center

    A Winnebago Tribe collection featuring arrowheads, artwork, and a mysterious rock carving.

  • Barcelona, Spain

    Museu Frederic Marès

    An eclectic collection of thousands of items owned by the sculptor Frederic Marès.

  • Ilana Goor Museum .

    Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel

    Ilana Goor Museum

    A modern-day cabinet of curiosities housed in a 300-year-old inn.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.