The limited-time exhibit transforms part of the Air & Space Museum into a cabinet of global oddities, blending pop culture artifacts, space exploration, and jaw-dropping feats of craftsmanship. Among the most striking displays is a full-scale Mars Perseverance rover and Ingenuity helicopter constructed entirely from matchsticks, an improbable fusion of NASA engineering and obsessive artistry that anchors the exhibition’s blend of science and spectacle.
Visitors are also greeted by a towering animatronic recreation of Robert Wadlow, the tallest person in recorded history, standing an astonishing 8 feet 11 inches tall. Wadlow’s story, shaped by a rare medical condition that led to his extraordinary height, is presented as both marvel and reminder of the fragile line between wonder and human vulnerability, a theme Ripley’s has long embraced.
Hollywood history makes a strong showing as well. Original artifacts from The Wizard of Oz include a signed Tin Man hat and a genuine brick from the Yellow Brick Road, tangible remnants of one of cinema’s most mythologized productions. Elsewhere, a canine cosmonaut space suit pays tribute to the Soviet space dogs that paved the way for human spaceflight, while a meticulous recreation of Vincent van Gogh’s The Starry Night, crafted entirely from dryer lint, underscores Ripley’s fondness for turning the mundane into the unbelievable.
The exhibit’s arrival also carries a sense of historical symmetry. Ripley’s artifacts tied to the 1935–36 California Pacific International Exposition, once held in the very Ford Building that now houses the Air & Space Museum, reconnect Balboa Park to an era when spectacle, innovation, and global curiosity defined San Diego’s ambitions on the world stage.
Ripley’s Believe It or Not! traces its roots to Robert Leroy Ripley, a cartoonist-turned-explorer who launched his famous “Believe It or Not!” cartoon series in 1918. What began as a newspaper curiosity evolved into a global empire of museums, books, radio shows, and television programs devoted to documenting the strange, improbable, and unexplained. Today, the Ripley’s cartoon runs in nearly 200 newspapers across 42 countries, while millions of visitors annually pass through Ripley’s museums worldwide, all built on Ripley’s conviction that truth is often stranger than fiction.
The San Diego debut also serves as the official kickoff for the San Diego Museum Council’s Museum Month for February 2026, during which visitors can access discounted admission to more than 70 museums across the county. The Ripley’s exhibit is included with general Air & Space Museum admission, except on Residents Free Tuesdays.
The arrival of the Ripley’s Believe It or Not! exhibition comes at a moment of heightened tension in Balboa Park, following the City of San Diego’s recent rollout of paid parking fees for the first time in the park’s history. The new hourly and daily charges have sparked widespread backlash from residents, museum operators, and regional leaders, many of whom argue the fees undermine Balboa Park’s role as an accessible, public cultural resource. Several museums have reported noticeable drops in attendance since the policy took effect, prompting formal requests from cultural institutions and elected officials to reconsider, pause, or exempt local residents from the charges. Some City officials, including Mayor Todd Gloria, maintain the fees are intended to generate dedicated revenue for park maintenance, but the issue remains one of the most contentious civic debates surrounding Balboa Park in years.
For now, Ripley’s Believe It or Not! adds another reason for San Diegans and tourists alike to navigate Balboa Park. Whether arriving for the oddities, the history, or simple curiosity, visitors are stepping into a world that celebrates the unbelievable, even as the very real issue of accessing the park remain a persistent point of contention.
Ripley’s Believe It or Not! is now open at the San Diego Air & Space Museum at 2001 Pan American Plaza in Balboa Park. For more information, visit sandiegoairandspace.org.
Originally published on January 31, 2026.
