History Main / MishmashMuseum

* The Redpath Museum in Montreal is home to several stuffed animals, fully articulated skeletons of ''Gorgosaurus'' and ''Dromaeosaurus'', an Egyptian mummy, a seashell collection, a mineral collection, some trilobite fossils, a samurai suit of armour, a fossil of an aquatic lizard, Chinese shoes made for bound feet, charts showing the dinosaur family tree and the phylogenetic tree of all life on Earth, an anaconda skeleton, a ''Triceratops'' skull, a banner made out of human teeth, skeletons of two whales, a sea lion and a turtle and a giant origami pterosaur, all in about two and a half floors of space. In other words, it looks ''exactly'', inside and out, like every natural history museum stereotype ever. It's CrazyAwesome.[[note]]Oh, and it's appeared in ''Series/DinosaursDecoded''.[[/note]]

Note that this trope can have a [[TruthInTelevision little basis in reality]]: the very first museums were created to display whatever odd objects that their patrons owned, so they placed different objects together because they were from the same owner. They were often called [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cabinet_of_curiosities "cabinets of curiosities"]], and their intent was often to show the diversity and oddity of the whole world. There are also still small museums who embrace the mishmash, because they don't have enough space or they don't know better. In addition, some museums may appear this way at first but follow a less noticeable theme, such as the history of the museum's location. Compare the MuseumOfTheStrangeAndUnusual, which may be this if it has a ''lot'' of strange and unusual things and isn't just, say, the World's Largest Ball of String.

** It was used a bit in the sequel ''Battle of the Smithsonian'', however, as much of it was set in the interlocking storage basement of the many museums that make up the Smithsonian. Which itself would be RuleOfCool (or convenience) as the real storage and research facilities for the Smithsonian are in Suitland, Maryland (above ground), and there are no connections, underground or otherwise, between the Mall museums. Which only makes sense, given the high water table on the Mall, the existence of the Metro system, the fact that the buildings were all built decades apart, and that one of the Mall museums isn't part of the Smithonian at all (the National Gallery of Art is an entirely separate institution.)
* Aversion: ''Film/TheDaVinciCode'' was filmed in the real Louvre, albeit a Louvre that a naked 80 year old man managed to traipse around about half of while bleeding to death in order to rub graffiti behind paintings.
* In ''Film/BatmanAndRobin'', the Gotham Museum of Art features exhibits on dinosaurs, diamonds and Greek vases all in the same room.

* The educational science and nature show ''Series/{{Eyewitness}}'' was set in one that had its [[WhiteVoidRoom walls painted white]]. In various times, it had a small plane, a car, and skeleton of a ''T. rex'', an ocean, and a prism. Windows, "paintings" and wall depressions featured stock footage, and the museum had live animals running around it. If the intro is to be believed, the arrangement of its walls is also very trippy.

* [[Creator/TheBBC Radio 4's]] The Museum of Curiosity allows guests, often comedians, scientists or writers, to "donate" exhibits to the eponymous museum. Exhibits donated thus far include: the pineapple, the P-51 Mustang, a book containing every joke ever told and the Holy grail. Oh, and God, the Big Bang, the concept of privacy and Spider-Man.

* The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts down the road is a marginal example. In most ways a fine art museum as the name describes, but also has an extensive collection of archaeological finds and antiquities from around the world.

* [[http://www.soane.org/ Sir John Soane's Museum]] in London is another excellent example of the 1800s urge to collect all sorts of anything (medieval objects, large and small sculpture, books, stained glass, Egyptian scarabs, various gems et al.) and then just bequeath your whole house to the city of London to remain a museum in perpetuity. Sir John further distinguished himself by creating a catalogue of his holdings on three separate occasions (1830, 1832 & 1835). Thus, the building and its collection are amongst the best-documented in the world. And most importantly: the deal includes leaving all of the objects exactly where Soane placed them when he acquired them.

Note that this trope can have a [[TruthInTelevision little basis in reality]]: the very first museums were created to display whatever odd objects that their patrons owned, so they placed different objects together because they were from the same owner. They were often called [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cabinet_of_curiosities "cabinets of curiosities,"]] and their intent was often to show the diversity and oddity of the whole world. There are also still small museums who embrace the mishmash, because they don't have enough space or they don't know better. In addition, some museums may appear this way at first but follow a less noticeable theme, such as the history of the museum's location. Compare the MuseumOfTheStrangeAndUnusual, which may be this if it has a ''lot'' of strange and unusual things and isn't just, say, the World's Largest Ball of String.

* As mentioned above the Gotham Museum of Art features exhibits on dinosaurs, diamonds and Greek vases all in the same room in ''Film/BatmanAndRobin''.
* In ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier'', the Smithsonian's Captain America exhibit is set in the National Air & Space Museum, which is normally exclusively for aviation related artifacts. Then again, the Museum of American History was undergoing renovation at the time, and the Air and Space Museum is very large, making it good for at least a temporary placement. And it's entirely possible that ''the flying wing Cap was found in'' had recently been added to the [=NASM=]'s collection, thus justifying an accompanying exhibit about its last pilot.

* The Separate Collection of the WyrdMuseum is like this, but at least [[AppliedPhlebotinum there's a reason]].

* Averted in VideoGame/GhostbustersTheVideoGame, as the Aztec, Egyptian, and Civil War exhibits are kept separate.

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[[quoteright:350:[[Film/BatmanAndRobin https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/museum.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Dinosaurs, cavemen, Greek artifacts, and diamonds. All in a museum of ''art''?]]

* Springfield Museum of Natural History from ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons''. In the season 17 episode ''TheMonkeySuit'' they have the Women's Weaving Show next to the History of Weapons and an exhibition on Darwin's theories.

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* ''Film/NightAtTheMuseum'' avoided this, as the layout is based on the actual New York Museum of Natural History. (It is a replica, however, because they wouldn't let them shoot it in the actual museum.)
** It was used a bit in the sequel ''Battle of the Smithsonian'', however, as much of it was set in the interlocking storage basement of the many museums that make up the Smithsonian.
*** Which itself would be RuleOfCool (or convenience) as the real storage and research facilities for the Smithsonian are in Suitland, Maryland (above ground), and there are no connections, underground or otherwise, between the Mall museums. Which only makes sense, given the high water table on the Mall, the existence of the Metro system, the fact that the buildings were all built decades apart, and that one of the Mall museums isn't part of the Smithonian at all (the National Gallery of Art is an entirely separate institution.)

* Semi-averted and justified in Umberto Eco's ''Literature/FoucaultsPendulum''. The opening museum has all kinds of weird stuff in it, including the device of the title, but it is divided into categories. That these categories are rather arbitrary is, of course, thematic. (The periscope is the glassware section and not the optical instruments section, but ''surely'' there's some arcane reason for it...)
** Also justified by being TruthInTelevision, as that museum exists in real life.

** In ''[[Recap/DoctorWhoS6E5TheSeedsOfDeath The Seeds of Death]]'', the Tardis lands in a museum where displays about UsefulNotes/YuriGagarin, Leonardo [=DaVinci=]'s flying machine, and a futuristic teleporter are all in the same room. On the other hand, this museum was pretty much the work of one person, who probably did have limited funding and space.\\\
Though it looks like a mishmash at first, it is [[JustifiedTrope explained]] that it is in fact a single exhibit about the history of transportation - which is what early flying machine designs, the first man in space, and a teleporter have in common that results in them being displayed together.

-->'''Brian''': Where's Vice President [[Series/FantasyIsland Tattoo]]??

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[[caption-width-right:350:Dinosaurs, cavemen, Greek artifacts, and diamonnds. All in a museum of ''art''?]]

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* The Redpath museum in Montreal is home to several stuffed animals, fully articulated skeletons of ''Gorgosaurus'' and ''Dromaeosaurus'', an Egyptian mummy, a seashell collection, a mineral collection, some trilobite fossils, a samurai suit of armour, a fossil of an aquatic lizard, Chinese shoes made for bound feet, charts showing the dinosaur family tree and the phylogenetic tree of all life on Earth, an anaconda skeleton, a ''Triceratops'' skull, a banner made out of human teeth, skeletons of two whales, a sea lion and a turtle and a giant origami pterosaur, all in about two and a half floors of space. In other words, it looks ''exactly'', inside and out, like every natural history museum stereotype ever. It's CrazyAwesome.[[note]]Oh, and it's appeared in ''Series/DinosaursDecoded''.[[/note]]

* In the episode "The Waxman Cometh" on ''Series/{{Wings}}'', Lowell purchases a wax museum with an inheritance. After a renovation, Lowell creates a mini "Hall of Presidents", which also includes Ricardo Montalban.

-->-- '''Brian''': Where's Vice President Tattoo??

Note that this trope can have a [[TruthInTelevision little basis in reality]]: the very first museums were created to display whatever odd objects that their patrons owned, so they placed different objects together because they were from the same owner. They were often called [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cabinet_of_curiosities "cabinets of curiosities"]], and their intent was often to show the diversity and oddity of the whole world. There are also still small museums who embrace the mishmash, because they don't have enough space or they don't know better. In addition, some museums may appear this way at first but follow a less noticeable theme, such as the history of the museum's location. Compare the MuseumOfTheStrangeAndUnusual, which may be this if it has a ''lot'' of strange and unusual things and isn't just, say, the World's Largest Ball of String.

* The Art Gallery of Ontario is by and large a conventional art museum...until you go down to the basement level and find [[http://www.ago.net/thomson-collection-ship-models a collection of ship models]].

** In ''[[Recap/DoctorWhoS34E5TimeHeist Time Heist]]'', Karabraxos' personal vault is a disorganised collection of shiny but slightly kitschy items.

* The ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'' short "Louvre Come Back To Me" has Pepe [=LePew=] visit the Louvre, where we find artwork that is not (and would not be) in the museum's collection, including Dali's ''Persistence of Memory'', Wood's ''American Gothic'', and some Henry Moore-type abstract sculpture.
** As a tribute, ''Film/LooneyTunesBackInAction'' has a scene in an equally fictionalized Louvre. Basically, the only painting depicted there that is in the actual Louvre is the Mona Lisa.

* The Royal British Columbia Museum contains everything from fossils and a mammoth to a life-sized replica of 19th century Victoria and Creator/JohnLennon's [[http://blog.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/2010/10/imagine.html Rolls Royce]].

* Averted in the Splatoon series: Museum d'Alfonsino in ''VideoGame/{{Splatoon}}'' is strictly an art museum, and is quite focused on abstract art at that. Shellendorf Institute in ''VideoGame/{{Splatoon 2}}'' is a completely separate structure in a different location and is strictly about natural history and the equipment and vehicles used to research it. They're also very different in look and feel, with Museum d'Alfonsino having a modern, urban, look made of concrete, steel, and glass and Shellendorf Institute having a more traditional academic look with the building having Gothic-influenced architecture and built with warm tans and browns.

Note that this trope can have a [[TruthInTelevision little basis in reality]]: the very first museums were created to display whatever odd objects that their patrons owned, so they placed different objects together because they were from the same owner. They were often called [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cabinet_of_curiosities "cabinets of curiosities"]], and their intent was often to show the diversity and oddity of the whole world. There are also still small museums who embrace the mishmash, because they don't have enough space or they don't know better. Compare the MuseumOfTheStrangeAndUnusual, which may be this if it has a ''lot'' of strange and unusual things and isn't just, say, the World's Largest Ball of String.

** In ''[[Recap/DoctorWhoS6E5TheSeedsOfDeath The Seeds of Death]]'', the Tardis lands in a museum where displays about YuriGagarin, Leonardo [=DaVinci=]'s flying machine, and a futuristic teleporter are all in the same room. On the other hand, this museum was pretty much the work of one person, who probably did have limited funding and space.\\\

-->-- Mike J. Nelson, Podcast/RiffTrax edition of ''Film/BatmanAndRobin''

* Aversion: ''TheDaVinciCode'' was filmed in the real Louvre, albeit a Louvre that a naked 80 year old man managed to traipse around about half of while bleeding to death in order to rub graffiti behind paintings.

->"Thus ends the Greek artifact/dinosaur/big freakin' diamond exhibit."

* Springfield Museum of Natural History from ''TheSimpsons''. In the season 17 episode ''TheMonkeySuit'' they have the Women's Weaving Show next to the History of Weapons and an exhibition on Darwin's theories.