The hook
A little Burlingame storefront holding the world's largest collection of Pez dispensers, plus a museum of toys that got banned.
01Why it's worth it
Behind an unassuming storefront on California Drive, one couple has amassed the world's largest collection of Pez dispensers, wall after wall of the little candy-spitting heads going back decades, watched over by an eight-foot Pez snowman that's the world's largest dispenser. They tucked two more tiny museums in alongside it: a classic toy museum and, best of all, a Banned Toys museum, a display of playthings yanked from shelves for being dangerous, toxic, or lawsuit-bait. It's small, cheap, gloriously nerdy, and exactly the kind of single-obsession museum that rewards a curious hour. Go for the Pez, stay for the lawn darts and the story of why they're illegal.
02How to experience it
It's a small, owner-run museum with limited hours, so check before you drive over. Half an hour to an hour is plenty. Talk to the owners; every wall has a story.
From the locals
It's a fixture on locals' offbeat-museum and cheap-things-to-do lists, and the affection is a little baffled: "That one always struck me as particularly interesting given its just off the downtown strip. Can't imagine they make money."