You can learn a lot about a place by what it chooses to remember. And dotted throughout Oregon are little shrines to our history: apparently, we’re into puppets, planes, and miniatures (plus vacuums and Bigfoot, naturally).

Follow along as we highlight the weirdest, wildest, most out-of-the-way museums in Oregon, plus institutions within city limits every Portlander must visit, and whether our rising statuses as an animation hub and footwear giant might deserve museums of their own. Grab a tote, a turtleneck, a 20 for the gift shop, and let’s get to thoughtfully nodding.