Baltimore, UNITED STATES:  A wax figure of Booker T. Washington stands is seen on exhibit at the the National Great Blacks in History Musuem in Baltimore, Maryland, 13 February 2006. The exhibit puts a face on the stolen history of Blacks in America.              AFP PHOTO/Jim WATSON  (Photo credit should read JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)

Jim Watson/Getty

National Great Blacks in Wax Museum

Baltimore


This simple but thought-provoking African American history museum has exhibits spotlighting Frederick Douglass, Jackie Robinson, Dr Martin Luther King Jr and Barack Obama, as well as lesser-known figures such as explorer Matthew Henson. It also covers slavery, the Jim Crow era and African leaders – all told in surreal but informative fashion through Madame Tussaud–style wax figures. Unflinching exhibits about the horrors of slave ships and lynchings are graphic and may not be suitable for younger children.

For a compelling first-person introduction to the museum, listen to NPR's This American Life Episode 627: 'Suitable for Children,' which aired in October 2017 and is archived online (www.thisamericanlife.org).