Celebrate the weird at Ripley's Believe It Or Not Oddotorium in Ocean City, Review

by EJ on 03/12/13

Over all the years my family spent summer weeks at the beach, I still can't fathom how we overlooked the Ripley's Believe It Or Not Odditorium museum of Ocean City, Maryland. I'm pretty sure I was a teenager when they put it in (I could be wrong). I remember seeing the sign, of course, but never went inside. Of course, it's an obvious tourist trap. However, a "tourist trap" can be fun then and again if you're in the right mood. Finally, after years of wondering what the heck was in this building topped with a huge thrashing shark that overlooks the Ocean City Boardwalk at the pier, I made into the Odditorium.

Fortunately, the Ripley's Believe It Or Not Odditorium was stroller friendly and we used an elevator to reach the second floor, where the exhibits began. In the first room, we were greeted by Zoltar, an old fortune telling machine. Our 8 year old immediately recognized Zoltar from the movie Big, and so that was a huge hit. I'm pretty sure the kids enjoyed him more than any of
the little Chinese torture devices and rare relics on the other side of the room. In that same room, we took a photo alongside a portion of the Berlin Wall that read "DON'T GO WITH THE FLOW".

After passing through a doorway that our son just couldn't wait to open, we walked down a narrow hall that showcased the history of world traveler and adventurer Robert Ripley. While the kids hardly cared for any of the background info, they were immediately drawn to a talking hologram at the end of the hall. There was a ton of reading for us to do, but the kids seemed interested enough in checking out the visual parts of the exhibits that it wasn't so terrible for them. There really was a ton of weirdness going on. The kids thought the shrunken head was hilarious. We spent a good twenty minutes taking turns in a spinning light tunnel, which was so disorienting that I thought the kids would never do it in the first place.

The torture room was a bit too disturbing for the kids. The vampire killing kit was pretty cool. However, we ended up covering the kids' eyes for most of that room, which included some pretty upsetting images on the walls. Kind of a downer considering they made no mention of this in the brochures.

In the next room, we found our smiles again as we explored the collection of art which included everything from pictures made out of burnt toast, to sculptures made from pure camel bone.

The museum went on and on. The kids were definitely never bored, especially when we caught up with the world's largest Great White Shark (with accompanying shark cage that you can go inside) and a life-sized Darth Vader made entirely out of car parts. Our space-loving 5 year old really appreciated Darth Vader and the subsequent space room which had everything from Buzz Aldrin's space suit to a rock from Mars.

Overall, we had a great time. We really did have fun and saw some pretty amazing things. While we weren't happy with some of the unexpected graphic images in the torture room, there was a lot that our children found fascinating. The museum really gave off a sense of adventure, which the kids really took to. Then of course... there were the bathrooms at the end, OMG. I'll leave that alone, so you can be surprised. My kids are still talking about that.
Helpful Tips for Ripley's Believe It Or Not Odditorium:

Look for coupons in the local visitors guides and phone books.

Maybe - don't bring the younger kids. We were surprised at some of the very graphic images, in the torture room especially. We covered their eyes, so it is possible to enjoy the museum with kids if you take some precautions.

Buy the museum's accompanying book that they offer when you arrive. It's not expensive at all and it provides a ton of extra info on all the artifacts and exhibits as well as additional weirdness that's not even in the museum.