Where can you find the world's largest ball of string, shrunken heads and a wax statue of 8'11" Robert Wadlow all in the same building? At the Ripley's Believe It or Not! Museum in Branson, Missouri.
There are twenty-seven Ripley's Believe It or Not! Museums located worldwide. Seventeen of these are located in the United States.
The one I visited with my family was modeled after a building damaged by the 1812 New Madrid, Missouri earthquake that measured by a whopping 8.01 on the Richter Scale. My kids thought the earthquake ripped museum was quite a site -- all cracked and broke apart.
Once inside, you first enter the lobby where we paid $11.95 for the adults in our party and $6.95 for the children in our party. This was minus our $2.00 per person AAA discount.
Upon entering the actual exhibits, one of the first things is a corded off room with a holographic "ghost" of Robert Ripley telling his guests about his quest for the unusual and unique. There are lots of oriental artifacts throughout, but a little research about Robert Ripley shoes us that he loved the Orient.
The two main things that really stood out to me was the ton of Ripley's Believe It or Not! cartoons adorning the walls and the plethora of memorabilia from various country music artists. There was a huge room filled primarily with memorabilia from entertainers including a boot worn and then autographed by Roy Rogers, a guitar autographed by Garth Brooks, several items from Jim Stafford just to name a few.
There were two features I by-passed but my family viewed. Both could cause disorientation and due to a recent illness and subsequent hospitalization, my equilibrium is easily upset, so I couldn't go into those rooms. Once was a titled room and the other was a tunnel where the walls revolved. My children assured me both of these were very "cool" attractions.
Throughout the museum there were optical illusions and fascinating displays. I saw real shrunken heads, a huge butterfly collections, jelly bean art, which included a huge portrait of Mary Poppins, and displays of human oddities including an 8'11" tall man, a man with 13" horn growing out of the back of his head, and of the worlds heaviest man (who weighed over 1400 pounds).
My trip through Ripley's Believe it or Not! Museum ended with a trip through the gift shop and the purchase of some Ripley's mementos.
The museum was a fun experience. My children especially enjoyed it.
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