The National Great Blacks in Wax Museum - Atlas Obscura

The National Great Blacks in Wax Museum

Meet some of the most prominent figures in Black history through life-sized wax models. 

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A unique and specialized wax museum, the National Great Blacks in Wax Museum is dedicated exclusively to the preservation of Black history through life-sized wax models. The museum focuses on many little-known and sometimes neglected facts of Black history in America.

The “Scientists, Inventors, and Health Professionals” exhibit features Granville T. Woods, who was known as the “Black Edison”. There are dioramas dedicated to the Underground Railroad, black explorers like Matthew Henson, as well as some rather gruesome exhibits about the history of slavery. “The Magnificence of Africa” room features a wax statue of Imhotep, designer of the Pyramid of Djzosér, who was the first architect and physician known by name in written history.

The museum is currently still acquiring waxes, and recently premiered a figure of President Barack Obama.

In partnership with KAYAK

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