7 weird or quirky museums in Thailand you should visit
Beyond the history book with these museums that redefine what it means to preserve the past
History is very interesting. The idea that people have existed beyond our perception in the past captivates us, and we make attempts to preserve these artefacts in museums to help keep the past alive. With all the museums you can find, there are plenty in Thailand that tell its rich history, but sometimes the things we might choose to keep are weird or quirky.
With every national museum out there, there will be ones that aim to delve further into obscure topics or niche subjects that are not conventional with what people usually think about. These are some that would be very interesting to visit.
Weird or quirky museums in Thailand
| MUSEUM (CLICK TO JUMP) | REGION | SUMMARY |
|---|---|---|
| Phaya Khan Khak Museum | Yasothon, Isaan | A toad-shaped museum featuring exhibits on toads, Isaan folklore, and the origins of the Rocket Festival. Includes a rooftop city viewpoint. |
| Erawan Museum | Samut Prakan, Central Thailand | Famous for its massive three-headed elephant sculpture, housing religious art and artefacts symbolising the underworld, earth, and heaven. |
| House of Opium | Chiang Rai, North | Explores opium’s history and trade in the Golden Triangle with exhibits on cultivation, trafficking, and cultural impact. |
| The World Museum of Insects and Natural Wonders | Chiang Mai, North | Run by entomologists, this museum displays over 400 mosquito species, fossils, and petrified wood, celebrating insect diversity. |
| Siriraj Medical Museum | Bangkok, Central | Known as the Museum of Death, it features preserved organs, medical specimens, and forensic displays across six sections. |
| Elephant POOPOOPAPER Park | Chiang Mai, North | Eco-friendly outdoor museum teaching how paper is made from elephant dung, complete with hands-on workshops and craft stations. |
| Batcat Museum & Toys Thailand | Bangkok, Central | Home to Asia’s largest collection of superhero and pop culture memorabilia, featuring over 50,000 figures and vintage collectables. |
Phaya Khan Khak Museum – Yasothon, Isaan
Spearheading the list for weird and quirky museums in Thailand, we have the Phaya Khan Khak Museum in the Yasothon Province in Isaan. The museum is located in the Phaya Thaen Park next to a large Naga building and is a 5-storey building that is shaped like a toad (the only museum in the world to be shaped that way)
What you can find inside the museum is a couple of exhibitions that might catch your attention. First and foremost, it is obvious that a toad-shaped building will contain showcases of the biological data on the species of toads.
From that, though, there is an exhibition that displays the fight between Phaya Khan Khak (the toad) and Phaya Thaen (the god of Isaan) that became the origin of the Rocket Festival (Bun Bang Fai) and Heet Sip Song (Isaan twelve-merit making traditions).
If that is all done with, you can overlook the city from the viewpoint at the mouth of the toad.
Opening hours: Monday to Friday, 10am to 4pm & Saturday to Sunday, 9am to 5pm
Address: Nai Mueang, Mueang Yasothon, Yasothon, 35000
Erawan Museum – Samut Prakan
Speaking of animal-themed museums, the Erawan Museum is another quirky one to visit. The icon of the museum is the massive three-headed bronze elephant that overlooks the area. The elephant is based on the mythology of the Airavata and was built by a well-known antique collector, Lek Viriyapant.
Viriyapant wanted to build the museum to store a lot of the sacred objects and artworks that date back to ancient times from his collection. The elephant, which stands on a sphere representing a globe, symbolises its protection over the world and the valuables inside.
Viriyapant passed away before the completion of the museum, so the plans were given to his son, Pagpean Viriyapant, who also died before the project was finished. The family completed the construction and inside you will find the essence of arts that span 4 major religions in Asia to make you aware of the foundation of Eastern civilisation.
Inside the museum, you will find three levels: the underworld, the human world, and heaven, which showcase elevating levels of sculptures and artwork that will keep you entranced. Human ingenuity and creativity is amazing and you will be surprised by what our ancestors long ago were capable of, just the vision Viriyapant wanted to show.
Opening hours: Opens daily from 9am to 6pm
House of Opium – Chiang Rai
This is a very weird and quirky museum in the sense that it is a very niche subject. This privately owned museum is 2 kilometres away from the Golden Triangle, on the way to Doi Sa-ngoa. The building exhibits the history of the trade and consumption of opium in the region, which was introduced by the hill tribes of Southern China long ago.
Inside, you will find a variety of opium related exhibits which display the hill tribe’s lifestyle following a 12-month cycle, the opium trade in the region and how poppy is cultivated. Furthermore, you will find exhibits on how drug trafficking in the Golden Triangle works and exhibits about ethnic Han drug lord Khun Sa (Zhang Qifu).
What else can you find are simulations of the indigenous hill tribes smoking opium inside a simulated room (no side effects included) and a model wooden saddle, along with illustrations of the routes.
This museum showcases a darker and more gritty part of Thai history, which involves the uglier side of drug trafficking and use in the northern region of the Kingdom. Whether you are interested in delving deeper into the macabre or are an aspiring Walter White of Asia, this museum should show you everything about the history of opium in Thailand and the entrance fee is 50 baht to enter.
Opening hours: Opens daily, 7am to 7pm
Address: 212, Moo1, Tambon Wiang, Chiang Saen District, Chiang Rai 57150
The World Museum of Insects and Natural Wonders – Chiang Mai
In Chiang Mai, there is an entomologist’s dream place, which is the World Museum of Insects and Natural Wonders. Depending on who you ask, this museum in Thailand can be pretty weird, as some might be squemish to see wall after wall of our invertebrate friends pinned on displays.
The owners, founders, and curators of the museum are Dr Rampa and Manop Rattanarithikul, who contributed over 50 years of their lives to malaria research. Dr Rattanarithikul even received the John N. Belkin Memorial Award from the American Mosquito Control Association (AMCA) in 2011, which really tells us that their lives revolve around insects.
In the museum, you will find insects or a large variety of species, notably more than 400 species of mosquitoes, which took over 40 years to collect. There is also 145 year old petrified wood, poems about Earth’s nature, collectable stones, fossils, and ancient animal remains.
Nature is lovely and this will display the limitless possibilities of tiny creatures that our planet is capable of producing and if you have a niche interest in animals, specifically insects. The ad
Opening hours: Opens daily from 9am to 5pm (According to Chiang Mai Travel Hub)
Address: 72 Siri Mangkalajarn Rd, Tambon Su Thep, Mueang Chiang Mai District, Chiang Mai 50200
Siriraj Medical Museum – Bangkok
The Siriraj Medical Museum also goes by another name, such as the Museum of Death. This weird museum in Thailand is not for the faint of heart, due to its disturbing displays which, if you think about it, is a good way to set the Halloween vibe.
The museum sits on the oldest hospital grounds in Bangkok and visitors will be able to visit 6 sections inside:
- Thai Medicine History Museum
- Ellis Pathological Museum
- Congdon Anatomical Museum
- Sood Sangvichien Prehistoric Museum
- Parasitology Museum
- Songkran Niyomsane Forensic Medicine Museum
Now, there might be sections that interest you more than the other but one thing you can be sure of is that each section contains at least some form of preserved organ or body part. Some sections will show dissected bodies too and there was a famous booth with the mummified body of cannibalistic serial killer Si Quey until 2020, when he was removed and cremated.
This museum is not for the queasy but you will definitely find the shocking displays captivating in a morbid yet self-enlightening way (in the manner that you see how the body is beyond the skin and maybe appreciate life more).
Opening hours: Opens daily (except Tuesdays), 9.30am to 5pm
Address: 2 Wang Lang Rd, Siriraj, Bangkok Noi, Bangkok 10700
Elephant POOPOOPAPER Park – Chiang Mai
This quirky and weird museum in Chiang Mai is an outdoor museum that focuses on letting visitors understand the process of creating paper from elephant poop fibres in Thailand. Don’t let the name of the place fool you, though, as this museum takes you through an in-depth and integral to the culture of Chiang Mai process of creating their famous paper products.
Inside this eco-friendly place, you will be guided through eight different pavilions, which showcase and describe each stage of the process, from rinsing the poop all the way to how to create the product. There is also a DIY crafting & art studio where you can make your own POOPOOPAPER art and a playground for rowdy kids to be distracted in case the elephant poop is not interesting enough.
Visiting this place will encompass you in everything that Chiang Mai tourism is about, which is eco-tourism, history, and culture, as you delve deeper into an art that spans 2,000 years, originating from China.
Pretty weird place to blurt out to your friends and colleagues when you return from the weekend to tell them your story but at least you know you have learnt and contributed to a long-standing history and good cause.
Opening hours: Opens daily, 9am to 5pm
Address: 87 Moo. 10 T, Mae Raem, Mae Rim District, Chiang Mai 50180
Batcat Museum & Toys Thailand – Bangkok
Are you a comic book fan or love any sort of franchise from animated series? If that’s the case, then this is the place for you. One could argue that this is not necessarily a weird museum in Thailand but that’s if you ignore the fact that this place houses the one and only largest collection in Asia.
These collectables will range from mini figurines to life-sized figures of various superheroes from Batman (as the name implies) to Superman, Wonder Woman, and many more. However, this is not where the collection ends, as you will find collectables for franchises like Ultraman, Kamen Rider, Star Wars, Marvel Universe, and all sorts of anime and movies.
All in all, you will be surrounded by about 50,000 collectables, so I am sure you will see something from your favourite franchise there at least. Definitely a place to go to see what vintage merchandising exists out there and catch the nostalgia bug while you are at it.
Opening hours: Various hours but recent information points to only Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from 9am to 5pm
Address: 33 Ramkhamhaeng 14 Alley, Hua Mak, Bang Kapi, Bangkok 10240
Quite a weird selection of museums in Thailand that range from the whimsical and all the way to the morbid as well. Thailand provides more conventional museums to study the history of the country but sometimes, there are those niche subjects that you might be interested in. The world is large and history is vast so there will always be something to learn.
And while you are at it, don’t forget to appreciate the art in Thailand as well.
- Each quirky museum celebrates its own niche, from toad legends to superhero shrines.
- These offbeat collections turn the strange and unexpected into cultural storytelling.
- Whether spooky, silly, or scientific, these museums make curiosity their main exhibit.
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