Museum of the Weird

"The vast majority of these exhibits are real. That being said, we do like to throw in a few [manmade creations] because I want people to come in and wonder what it is they're looking at," Busti said.

Because Austin lacked sideshows museums, Busti said he decided to open a family-friendly one himself.

"We live in an age where there's no mystery anymore—you just pull out your phone and use Google," General Manager Danielle Wilson said. "It's kind of nice to have a place where you go in, you see stuff you don't know—is it real? Is it not? We like to leave some mystery in a world where it's not very prevalent."

Trinkets and other tourist gifts are also available for sale.

Museum of the Weird, 412 E. Sixth St., 512-476-5493, www.museumoftheweird.com