How did a wedding dress save a WWII soldier’s life? When is a dollhouse NOT a dollhouse? What is unique about an old milk bottle? What type of prisoner used wooden handcuffs? Why would a message be hidden inside a top hat?
Who wore these bazaar slippers? Why would pebble stones be saved?
Museums collect objects to preserve and educate us about our past. But sometimes, artifacts have extra special sagas to tell, which are not evident by just looking at them. The Oshkosh Public Museum has combed through storage to find those items with the most intriguing chronicles to share. Missing will be the usual exhibition data-driven labels of who used what, when, and where, instead visitors will have revealed to them the captivating and sometimes even spine-tingling accounts associated with the artifacts.
This “hidden” history of a wide variety of objects held by the Museum holds accounts of secrecy, death-defying, whimsy, and even the unbelievable. In-depth research completed verifying the truth of the reports that came with the donated pieces—uncovering even more than initially known.
However, one extra twist added which visitors can enjoy is totally against usual Museum practices. Purposely planted is one artifact holding a fictional history surrounding it. The public will get a chance to guess which item it is. We created this not only for extra entertainment for guests but also to show how occasionally rumors surrounding things can get mixed up or combined with local legends, as it passes from one family member to another.
Tue-Sat, 10 am-4:30 pm
Sun, 1 pm-4:30 pm
