Explore 59 Secret lives of museums Collections - Atlas Obscura
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Secret Lives Of Museums

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Edinburgh, Scotland

Collection Centres of the National and Council Museums

These storage facilities offer a behind-the-scenes look at some of Edinburgh's biggest museums.
These roughly 4,000-year-old tablets may be the oldest existing cookbook.
museums

What Researchers Learned From the World’s Oldest Cookbook

Now, you can view—and cook from—these nearly 4,000-year-old ancient Babylonian recipe tablets.
Diana Hubbell September 11, 2024
The exterior of the Columbus Museum of Art in Ohio.
museums

10 of the Weirdest, Wildest Museum Stories You'll Ever Read

Illustrator Bob Eckstein shares his favorite strange stories from some of the world's most famous museums.
Bob Eckstein May 22, 2024
From September 2023 till August 4, 2024, the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures will have Velma Von Tussle's exploding wig from the 1988 <em>Hairspray</em> movie on display in a special exhibit commemorating the film's director, John Waters: Pope of Trash.
objects of intrigue

How John Waters Exploded Velma Von Tussle’s ‘Hairspray’ Wig

And what it took to save the iconic film prop for a new exhibit—hint: lots of steam.
Jennifer Byrne January 11, 2024
Katherine Moore (left) shows vessels for storing and serving food from Pachacámac at the exhibit.
food

How to Trace Food History With Ancient Leftovers

The Penn Museum's new exhibit showcases the art of edible archaeology.
Sam O'Brien June 30, 2023
On the foggy morning of July 22, 1906, <em>King Cadwallon</em> struck rocks off the coast of St Martin's Island. A photographer from the Gibson family boarded a rowboat to get this image before the ship sank completely beneath the waves.
shipwrecks

One English Family Took Photos of Shipwrecks for More Than a Century

Now it's the negatives themselves that need to be saved from time and the elements.
April White June 2, 2023
The House of the Vettii, one of the most important historical sites in Pompeii, opened to the public in 2023 after 20 years of work to restore its frescos and the mansion itself.
museums

Revealing the Risqué Art of Pompeii’s House of the Vettii

Inside the two-decade-long effort to restore the mansion’s colorful frescos.
Amy Crawford February 7, 2023
The alleged self-portrait was discovered during a routine cleaning by chief conservator Serena Urry.
paintings

A Mysterious Cézanne Portrait Was Hiding Under the Layers of a Still Life

An X-ray offers a glimpse into the painter's early years.
Line Sidonie Talla Mafotsing February 1, 2023
objects of intrigue

Can an Old Coin Solve the Mystery of a Lost Roman Emperor?

Examining whether a ruler slipped through the cracks of a tumultuous century.
Line Sidonie Talla Mafotsing January 17, 2023
All 150,000-plus objects in the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen's collection are on display to the public.
museums

Our Behind-the-Scenes Peeks at Some of the World's Most Interesting Museums

In 2022, Atlas Obscura sought out wonder in cultural institutions beyond the glass cases and white walls.
April White December 27, 2022
The shadow of Count Orlok is long.
vampires

A New Look at Nosferatu’s Bloody Legacy

An exhibition in Berlin celebrates a century of one of the most famous, and complicated, vampire stories.
Diana Hubbell December 15, 2022
science

Iowa’s Ancient Apex Predator Was the ‘T. rex’ of Its Day

The monstrous menace known as Whatcheeria hints that our distant ancestors may have been more like us than we thought.
Gemma Tarlach December 2, 2022
The President's Daily Brief is protected in a leather tablet cover. Only the president, vice president, and a select group of senior officials with high-level security clearances receive the daily briefing of national security issues.
museums

Get a Peek Inside the New CIA Museum

The clandestine government organization is digitizing its collection.
Line Sidonie Talla Mafotsing November 4, 2022
William Selig's 1898 short film <em>Something Good-Negro Kiss</em> is considered one of the earliest black films depicting black intimacy on screen.
museums

How 20 Seconds of Film Changed Movie History

This kiss is more than just a kiss.
Line Sidonie Talla Mafotsing October 21, 2022
These glass vessels survived for more than 1,500 years before being shattered in the 2020 Beirut explosion. An international team of museum conservators carefully pieced them back together.
history

Saving the Ancient Glass Artifacts Shattered in the Beirut Explosion

These centuries-old vessels now have new stories to tell.
Line Sidonie Talla Mafotsing September 8, 2022
Pages with etchings from 16th-century cookery books.
food

The Roman Museum With a Taste for Historical Cookbooks

A former pâtissier's culinary collection is now available to the public.
Eric Millman March 9, 2022
The front of LA Plaza Cocina.
museums

Inside LA's First Mexican Food Museum

Or how to channel 5,000 years of history into one exhibit.
Diana Hubbell March 8, 2022
Carpenters, painters, and other experts work during the annual maintenance week at Dresden's Frauenkirche.
churches

How to Keep Europe’s Most Magnificent ‘Praying Room’ Looking Lovely

Every January, the doors close and the cleaning starts in Dresden’s iconic Stone Bell.
Gemma Tarlach January 26, 2022