Spiders that sit down beside you

A Chilean rose hair tarantula at the Jupil Spider Museum

Besides the museums we visited, there are other small yet distinctive museums for children near Seoul. Here are three that stand out.

Museum of Odd Objects

At first, it may seem as though 30 minutes is enough to go through the museum, as it is quite small in size. But two or three hours will pass quickly when you’re looking around the museum’s unusual displays, which include an ear endoscope and a solar-powered oven.

There are a variety of products that are full of imaginative ideas including a “beverage hat,” that dispenses drinks through a straw.

The Museum of Odd Objects is located in Anyang, Gyeonggi and is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Admission is 9,000 won and entrance is allowed until 5 p.m. Go to Indeogwon Station, line No. 4, exit 8. For details, visit www.funmuseum.com or call 1544-9986.

Jupil Spider Museum

This museum is named after its founder, Kim Ju-pil, a professor at Dongguk University specializing in spiders.

The museum holds approximately 5,000 species of spiders collected from around the world. Various specimens are featured including Heteropodidae, which lives on cockroaches, and Harvestman (often referred to as a Daddy longlegs spider), which cannot spin a web.

The museum also has living spiders, including tarantulas. With professional guides, visitors are allowed to touch the Grammostola porteri, which is known to be gentle by nature.

The Jupil Spider Museum is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and admission is 6,000 won per person. The museum is located on Mount Ungil in Namyangju, Gyeonggi. Go to Cheongnyangni Station and take the Jungang line, exit 1 or 2. Get off at Ungilsan Station and take the shuttle bus. For more, visit www.arachnopia.com or call (031) 576-7908.

Sudoguksan Museum of Housing and Living

Visitors must walk up a hill to get to this museum in Incheon, but upon arrival will see a lovely residential area with the museum at its center.

The area used to be called the “Mount Sudoguk slum” because the residents had the lowest average income in the area. But in 1998, the area was rebuilt and its houses renovated. Some of these houses then became part of the museum.

The museum showcases the history of the neighborhood, displaying run-down houses and re-creations of its grungy barber shops, briquette stores and bathrooms. Other displays show household goods such as blankets and school uniforms that were donated by residents who lived in the neighborhood during the 1960’s and 1970’s.

A visit to the museum will be meaningful for children, who will be curious to see what life was like in the poor hillside community during that period.

The Sudoguksan Museum of Housing and Living is located in Incheon and is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Admission is 500 won per person. Go to Dong Incheon Station, line No. 1, exit 4, and walk. For details, go to www.icdonggu.go.kr/museum or call at (032) 770-6131.