Museum of Curiosities

Here I am with a slightly "off" looking Santa Claus back in 1988 (Janelle Shopping centre).
Have a wonderful Christmas one and all! 🎅 🎄 🎁 ✨

Festive opening days 🎄💀
We’re taking a short break over Christmas and New Year, but we’re open EVERY WEEKEND as normal! ✨
Closed: Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, St Stephen’s Day, New Year’s Eve, New Year’s Day, and 7–9 January.

🩸 Back to our normal schedule from 10 January.

Torch-lit Tours at the Museum of Curiosities 🔦
Join us on October 29th, 30th and 31st at 6pm to explore the museum by torchlight and discover the collection in near darkness.
Book now – select Torch Lit Tour: museumofcuriosities.ie/tickets

🚨 LOW TICKET WARNING 🚨

Only a few spots remain for Wunderkammer at the Museum of Curiosities, part of the Dublin City Council Bram Stoker Festival.
Expect a sideshow soirée of strange tales, tarot and mischief after dark in the museum. 🦇🐀

Book here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1731011886149/

Last week, we were honoured to launch the 2025 Dublin City Council Bram Stoker Festival. 🧛‍♂️💀

We’re thrilled to be part of the line-up with two nights of unhinged storytelling and performance: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/wunderkammer-dublin-city-council-bram-stoker-festival-tickets-1731011886149

We are oozing with excitement to be part of the 2025 Dublin City Council Bram Stoker Festival with WUNDERKAMMER at the Museum of Curiosities! 🕯️💀🔮

Find out more: eventbrite.com/e/1731011886149/

The Stonefish: proof the ocean doesn’t do beauty contests. 🐟 On display now at the Museum of Curiosities.

Hedgehog on Wheels, from Iran, c.1500–1100 BCE. 🦔

(Not part of our museum collection, but a piece we adore.)

Vintage 1950s CPR training manikin with an unsettling face and a hole in the mouth that inflates an internal balloon when blown into. 🫁

Water damaged copy of “Alice's Adventures In Wonderland” which grew fungi.⁠ ⁠(Photo by Igor Siwanowicz).⁠ 🍄

Nothing says romance like late-stage syphilis.

Brains, only 25¢. 🧠

Turtle Boy. 🐢
A curious half-turtle, half-boy hybrid discovered on the Galápagos Islands during a long-forgotten expedition.

Robert Blondel, The Twelve Dangers of Hell (1480).

One of the museum’s many mysterious nooks waiting to be explored.

The Butcher Shop - Jean Veber, 1897.

Renaissance, c. 1550 — the striking "Camino di Satana" 🦁🔥, a fearsome hellmouth fireplace, designed by Venetian architect Michele Sanmicheli at Villa della Torre, Fumane, Verona, Italy.

W.C. Fields as Humpty Dumpty - Alice In Wonderland (1933).

The Pulsocon, made by Irishman Gerald Macaura in 1902, claimed to boost circulation with 5,000 vibrations per minute. ⚡

This device was typically used as a vibrator and Macaura, who was not a real doctor, was jailed for fraud in 1914 after protests from medical students.

The Pillar-Biter (1509–1517), located on the lower section of the choir screen in St. Bavo Church, Haarlem, Netherlands.

Please don't feed lions. 🦁

Where do baby mermaids come from? Find out at Dublin's Museum of Curiosities. 🧜‍♀️

The 1775 Compendium rarissimum totius Artis Magicae features 31 watercolors of demons, magical sigils, and cabbalistic symbols. Here are four of our favourite artworks from this darkly beautiful collection.

Dutch Gaper. 👅
A traditional figure displayed outside apothecaries in the Netherlands to symbolise medicine-taking.

Mister Merry's Play Lighter, Cigarettes and Bubble Gum toys, 1960s. 🚬

Wooden milliner’s head, carved in the 1880s, used by hat makers to display hats and bonnets. One of the many curious objects to be found at our odditorium. 🎩

A 19th-century Japanese netsuke, carved from ebony with intricate inlays, showing an owl battling a bat. Not from our collection, just something we love! 🦇

The Digitorium 🎹
This 19th-century finger exercise machine was designed for amateur pianists to improve strength and dexterity, though it was often blamed for causing hand injuries.

Erotic sculpture at the Church of San Martín de Elines in Cantabria, Spain.

Brothel candles, purportedly used in 19th century establishments, burned for a set time to determine the length of a client’s visit. 🕯️