Ripley’s Believe It or Not!
Ripley’s Believe It or Not! is a museum that challenges visitors with amazing artifacts and exhibits illustrating fantastic facts about the world that just don’t seem possible but are nonetheless. The founder, Robert Ripley, was many things in his life. He was a cartoonist, a collector of oddities, a businessman and a bit of an eccentric. What the young Mr. Ripley started as a comic strip of the same name in the 1920s, has been countlessly reincarnated across different mediums from film, television and radio shows to books, websites and, starting in the 1930s, exhibitions. Although Ripley died in 1949, there are now over thirty of his Odditoriums throughout the world, including one located in San Francisco.
For a museum experience that will educate, fascinate, possibly gross out, but definitely entertain the family, Ripley’s Believe It or Not! is a pretty safe bet. The museum is located at 175 Jefferson Street on Fisherman’s Wharf, which itself is one of the city’s most popular tourist attractions. Ripley’s delivers on its promise to bring "weird to the Wharf" in its intriguing selection of exhibits. The museum is designed for visitors to set their own pace and act as their own guides as they walk the facility. Strange artifacts, relics and rarities from around the world abound and entice the curious as they learn about Ripley’s life and career as an anthropologist and globe trotter. The museum also features a vexing Mirror Maze which also houses Ripley’s Candy Factory with a mind-boggling variety of sweet treats.
Ripley’s Believe It or Not! is open seven days a week. Sunday through Thursday hours are 10 AM to 10 PM and 10 AM to 11 PM on Friday and Saturday. Admission to the Odditorium is $18.99 for adults and kids 13 and up. The charge is $10.99 for children ages 5 through 12. The Mirror Maze is $9.99 for all ages. Combination tickets are also available with a package that includes admission to the marine nature center, Aquarium of the Bay. You can contact Ripley’s at 415-02-9850 or visit the museum’s website at http://www.ripleys.com/sanfrancisco for more information and directions.