Least Loved Exhibits in City of Bro Love

Philadelphia, our nation's first capital, birthplace of the Constitution, home of the Liberty Bell, and creator of scrapple has loads of museums both Independicentric and more out of the ordinary. We don't really care about the mainstream Liberty Museum and Philadelphia Museum of Art. We are more concerned with the strange exhibits full of cadavers, saber toothed tigers, and black kewpie dolls. Here are Philly's 10 most underrated museums:

The Mutter: Hands down the city's most interesting and original museum, the Mutter's disturbing exhibits educate visitors about medical anomalies, medical history, and strange artifacts. Highlights include 2,000 objects removed from people's throats and a cancerous growth removed from President Grover Cleveland. Way better, cheaper, and less creepy than Bodies, the Mutter is the original medical freak show museum.

The Wagner Free Institute of Science: A relic of a museum, this science center has not changed much since its founding in the late 19th century. You get a rare look into a Victorian-era museum since the place has had the same cabinets, set up, and exhibits since the 1890s. Full of taxidermy, fossils, minerals, skins, and skulls, it's a good place to get some perspective on what has changed in the world of science. Wagner is also home to the first saber tooth tiger found in America.

The Barnes Foundation: Skip the Philadelphia Art Museum and go to the Barnes Foundation, a museum in an arboretum with one of the world's largest collections of Impressionist and post-Impressionist paintings. The arboretum itself features unusual trees from all over the world. Reservations must be made in advance for all visitors.

University of Penn Museum of Archeology and Anthropology: Perhaps one of the most under-rated museums in the city, the UPenn Archeology and Anthropology museum has an impressive collection of ancient relics and present day artifacts. Egyptian mummies, Mesoamerican hieroglyphics, and a current exhibit featuring photos of complex adobe structures in Western Africa are all highlights. The museum is constantly updating its collection, so avid fans always have something new to see. Plus this is your most likely place to pick up some hot older professorial type in tweed, elbow patches and cockring.

La Salle University Art Museum: Often overlooked even within the La Salle University community, this museum holds excellent exhibits from local and well known artists. Their permanent collection dates back to the Renaissance and their special collections include rare bibles and ancient Japanese scripts.

The Civil War and Underground Railroad Museum: This museum houses over 3,000 pieces of paraphernalia from the Civil war and the time of the Underground Railroad. They have weapons, uniforms, artwork, and photos. The exhibits educate visitors not only about this time but also about Philadelphia's role in the slave trade when it was the capitol of the U.S. until 1800.

Philadelphia Doll Museum: Maybe this should be classified under esoteric or creepy instead of underrated, but we stick by our choice. The museum holds one of the largest collections of black dolls in the world. See how the dolls changed throughout time and how they reflect the way our racial perspectives evolved as well.

Rosenbach Museum & Library: Literary freaks flock to this place, the home of countless manuscripts, first edition books, maps, and letters. Their collection includes sections of James Joyce's manuscript for Ulysses, a first edition of Lady Chatterly's Lover, and a whole gallery of illustrations by famed children's book author Maurice Sendack (Where the Wild Things Are).

Atwater Kent Museum: Set up more as a flea market than a museum, Atwater Kent holds more than 100,000 objects that people used in the 18th and 19th centuries. The items range from regular household items to more unusual inventions of the Industrial Revolution. A current exhibition features old time radios accompanied by vintage 1920's radio programs.

Glencairn Museum: The religious museum located in an impressive modern castle exhibits artifacts and scripts from various religions including ancient Egyptian, Greek and Roman, Medieval Christian, Islamic, Asian and Native American. They have a great collection of medieval works and tapestries and the building alone, with its intricate stonework and stained glass windows, is worth the visit.

Previously: Philly's Water Works: Will it hold water?, The Murals of Philadelphia , More Than just cheesesteaks, pork nose for instance, Carman's country kitchen