Museo Subacuático de Arte Cancun, Mexico
The incredible underwater park is a 400+ sculpture exhibit by artist Jason deCaires Taylor. Committed to conserving the area, the artist hopes to draw diving crowds away from the endangered coral reefs. The stone people in "The Silent Evolution" installation were created from live casts of locals, many with pained or concerned expressions reinforcing the environmental message. The full photo galleries are available here and here, including a crowded "waiting room" on the surface. It's time to get some diving lessons and I've got yet another reason to visit Mexico.

The Museum of Jurassic Technology  Los Angeles, USA
I've been hearing about this curious place in Culver City for ages, and even read the book about its founder Mr. Wilson. But I still can't quite figure it out. The museum's site opens with a quote: "...guided along as it were a chain of flowers into the mysteries of life." It's a place that, to me, appears to be devoted equally to science and fiction. So what brings together mice on toast, horned humans, Snow White standing on the eye of a needle and x-ray vision bats? I think I'll have to visit to find out.

Miniatur Wunderland Hamburg, Germany
Huge and tiny at the same time, this miniature replica museum sprawls over 6,400 square meters and is home to 200,000 centimetre-high inhabitants. It features a functional (!) airport, shipyard and railway and natural wonders such as the Baltic Sea (with a simulation tide), Swiss Alps and the Grand Canyon. Mind officially blown. Watch the video tour here.

MOBA (Museum of Bad Art) Massachusetts, USA
Devoted mostly to unskilled brush strokes and hideous colour-combinations, this institution located in a theatre basement 'just outside of a men's washroom' is committed to giving these works a permanent home. It's difficult to tell at times whether this is 'bad art' OR 'ironic, post-modern hipster art'. Nonetheless, it's hard to look away. Kind of like a car crash or a pair of yellow, ill-fitting short-shorts.

Marikina Shoe Museum Marikina, Philippines
The most incredible part of this museum is the personal shoe collection of Imelda Marcos. The dictatorial first lady of the Philippines became the epitome of the excesses of the Marcos regime (ousted in '86) with her collection of 3000 shoes. But in a positive twist, Imelda has actually boosted the town's shoe industry which employs 40% of its residents. She has contributed 749 pairs to the museum."They went into my closets looking for skeletons, but thank God, all they found were shoes, beautiful shoes," Mrs Marcos said. This photo gallery gives some good insight into her lavish lifestyle.

Have you visited a strange museum lately? Let me know. I'm planning on adding to this list.

(photo credits: Jason deCaires Taylor; unandria/flickr; Ben Hoffman; Susetta Bozzi; Migs Mobile; others: courtesy of the museums)