The Klown Doll Museum Is One of the Strangest Places You Can Go in Nebraska
By Tori Jane|Published October 29, 2020
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Tori Jane
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Tori Jane is a storm chaser, writer, photographer, and the village idiot - in that order. When she's not out and about dancing with the meanest storms on planet Earth for funsies she can be found wandering, shooting landscapes, writing, editing photos, and otherwise up to no good. Legend has it that she can also be occasionally spotted typing up short bios in the third person, but those rumors are unsubstantiated.
Nestled along Highway 20 in Plainview, Nebraska, is one of the strangest little places at which you could ever spend an afternoon. Run entirely by volunteers, it’s a museum that is likely to delight some and downright terrify others.
The Klown Doll Museum is home to more than 7,000 clown dolls donated since the late 1800s.
It all started just before the turn of the century when an employee at the Chamber of Commerce decorated the office with clown dolls. Before they knew it, more and more dolls had been donated by well-meaning citizens, and they were in need of a larger home.
Eventually, the city decided to create a museum for their ever-expanding collection, and they purchased the building the museum resides in to this day.
Over the years, they've collected thousands of clown dolls from countless donors. In 2007, the building had an addition added and dedicated, and it is currently open six afternoons a week. One can find clowns of all kinds here, from the friendly and cute to the bizarre and unsettling.
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Walking through the halls of the museum, one can almost hear the playful cacophony of the various clown dolls.
The Plainview Klown Doll Museum also has its very own clown band, serving as self-described "goodwill ambassadors" to visitors of Plainview. The museum is a fun and unusual Nebraskan point of pride and joy, and it is well-loved by locals and curious tourists alike. Well, the ones who aren't terrified of clowns, anyway.
If you so desired, you could volunteer your own time at the museum, keeping the clowns clean and comfortable. However, admission is always free, so you don't need to volunteer just to get your clown kick.
Some clowns stand alone, and others have duplicates among the shelves.
If you would like to pay Stumpy and friends a visit, the Klown Doll Museum is open Monday through Saturday from 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. It is closed on Sundays; after all, the clowns need their beauty rest. Besides, why is “klown” spelled with a k and not with a c? We suppose you’ll have to pay the museum a visit to find out!
Have you ever seen this creepy-cute collection? Let us know what it’s like in the comments! For more Nebraska fun, check out these unique attractions.
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