Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum, located in Farmington Hills, Michigan, is an arcade/museum devoted to a large collection of coin-operated

animatronic Animatronics refers to mechatronic puppets. They are a modern variant of the automaton and are often used for the portrayal of characters in films and in theme park attractions. It is a multidisciplinary field integrating puppetry, anatomy a ...

dummies, mechanical games and other oddities. Exhibits include, for example, the classic

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Fortune teller machine A fortune teller machine (also known as a genie machine or mechanical genie) is a type of amusement automaton, which upon receiving credit gives out a card with a prediction of the reader's future. This is typically given by an automaton. They ...

that used to grace many a carnival sideshow. Most of the machines still function, so visitors are encouraged to bring change. Marvin's is open 365 days a year. The museum's founder, Marvin Yagoda, had been collecting the items that populate the museum for over 60 years. He graduated from the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

in Ann Arbor as a pharmacist taking over his father's store, Sam's Drugs in Detroit. Yagoda was a recognized expert in the field of mechanical and electrical game apparatus; he has been involved in appraisal of such items for the television series ''

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''. Yagoda died on January 8, 2017, at the age of 78. Marvin's son Jeremy grew up in the business and carries on his father's legacy. Amongst the collection is

P. T. Barnum Phineas Taylor Barnum (; July 5, 1810 – April 7, 1891) was an American showman, businessman, and politician, remembered for promoting celebrated hoaxes and founding the Barnum & Bailey Circus (1871–2017) with James Anthony Bailey. He was ...

's replica of the Cardiff Giant, one of

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electric chair An electric chair is a device used to execute an individual by electrocution. When used, the condemned person is strapped to a specially built wooden chair and electrocuted through electrodes fastened on the head and leg. This execution method, ...

s in which 30 people died, and an

automaton An automaton (; plural: automata or automatons) is a relatively self-operating machine, or control mechanism designed to automatically follow a sequence of operations, or respond to predetermined instructions.Automaton – Definition and More ...

"food inspector" is set up to continuously vomit into a pile of milk bottles. There are also various modern coin-op arcade games, and a prize counter to exchange tickets.

In popular culture

Tally Hall Tally Hall is an American rock band formed in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in December 2002. The band is known for upbeat melodies and whimsical lyrics. The members originally described their musical style as "wonky rock," later redefining their soun ...

, a band from nearby Ann Arbor, titled an album after the museum. Tally Hall was the name of the shopping mall where Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum existed before the indoor mall was converted to an outdoor strip mall in the late 1980s.

Notes

External links

Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum
– official site
Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum
June 30, 2009 at

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Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum spot on

television show via

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Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum
via

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Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum
via Instagram {{Magic organizations Amusement museums in the United States Animatronic attractions Commercial machines Farmington Hills, Michigan Museums in Oakland County, Michigan

In popular culture

See also

Notes

External links