Around the world, there are a slew of tiny museums proving that you don’t have to think big to share your passion. Housed in an eclectic variety of spaces, from humble sheds to holes in walls, these curated collections are designed to provoke thought, educate, and entertain. Take a look at six of the smallest museums in the world and what they have to say.
The Faraday Effect – London, England
It’s definitely easy to overlook this tiny museum, located at Trinity Buoy Wharf in the heart of London’s Docklands. The Faraday Effect is housed in a small wooden shed, an incongruous sight in an area characterized by urban regeneration. Despite its humble exterior, the museum’s contents tell the important story of Michael Faraday.
The famous Victorian electromagnetist was a scientific adviser to Trinity House, England’s lighthouse authority, for almost three decades in the mid-19th century. During this time, he conducted vital experiments into the use of electric lighting for lighthouses. Today, the immersive museum experience relies upon a mix of found objects, antiques, documents, and sound recordings to enable visitors to imagine what Faraday’s workshop might have been like in Victorian times.
Museum Perron Oost – Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Amsterdam’s Museum of Perron Oost repurposes a 65-square-foot foreman’s house on a stretch of redundant railway line in a former industrial and docklands area. In 1993, artist Joep van Lieshout was instrumental in saving the structure from demolition, laying cobblestones and planting plane trees nearby to create an inviting space. Today, Anet Wilgenhof — the museum’s curator, designer, and visual artist — makes good use of it to tell the stories of the Cruquius village in which it is located. In addition to what’s inside the hut, tourists can download an audio tour to hear the rich tapestry weaved by local farmers, traders, and immigrants as they stroll around the neighborhood.
Mmuseumm – New York, New York
Mmuseumm is another museum that’s quite easy to miss — it’s housed in a former freight elevator in Cortlandt Alley in Lower Manhattan. Founders Alex Kalman, Josh Safdie, and Benny Safdie opened it in 2012. They intended to create a tiny museum in an unexpected location to encourage visitors to reflect about the modern world and the human condition. The founders had only limited resources at their disposal, but they figured museumgoers could explore big ideas through small objects. Displays change regularly but always provide food for thought. Given the museum’s capacity of just three people at any one time, you might have to wait to get in, but it’s worth it — mundane objects have never been so interesting.
Icelandic Punk Museum – Reykjavik, Iceland
The Icelandic capital is home to a number of quirky museums, one of which is a converted underground public restroom telling the story of the country’s punk culture. In the late 1970s, this genre of music emerged as a vehicle for young Icelandic people to voice angry sentiments against society, government, and figures of authority. Artists such as Bubbi Morthens, Fræbbblarnir, and KUKL were seen as energetic and inspirational figureheads of the era. Today, exhibits illustrating this fascinating aspect of the music scene are shoehorned into this tiny space, while headphones dangling from the walls make this an appropriately audio-visual experience.
Sea Shell Museum – Cherokee Sound, The Bahamas
A telegraph office that hadn’t been used since the 1980s was given a colorful makeover to become the Sea Shell Museum in Cherokee Sound. This laid-back coastal settlement is located on the island of Abaco in the Bahamas. Most of the 200 shells inside were found locally and painstakingly labeled and cataloged. Alongside numerous varieties of familiar shells like conch, you’ll see sunrise tellins, noble volutes, rapanas, and banded sand snail shells. The museum is free to enter and typically open on weekend afternoons, though visitors can call to arrange a visit during other times.
wArtehalle Welchenhausen – Welchenhausen, Germany
You’ll find this tiny art museum housed in a former school bus shelter in Welchenhausen, a small village in Germany close to the borders with Belgium and Luxembourg. Prior to its change of function in 2002, just one child was using it, and a local teacher came up with the idea of turning the bus shelter into a museum instead. For more than two decades, works by artists from the wider region have been displayed where children used to wait. These have taken the form of paintings, drawings, graphics, art photography, and sculpture. The gallery is open around the clock, and it’s free to take a look.
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