In 2020, the East Coast’s first museum dedicated to mermaids was established in Worcester County.

While you can’t meet one of Ariel’s descendants in person in downtown Berlin, Maryland, you can learn all about the mythology and lore of mermaids at the Mermaid Museum.

Located about 9 miles inland from Ocean City, the museum is the creation of local artist and photographer Alyssa Maloof. She converted her second-floor photography studio into a space celebrating mermaids after researching their history and legends among different cultures around the world during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The museum has a variety of displays, including a space dedicated to tracking mermaid sightings as early as the first century C.E. and as recently as 2017. Other oddities include “mermaid scales” discovered on the nearby Isle of Wight, the Feejee Mermaid (of P.T. Barnum fame), and a Cheeto shaped like a mermaid.

Want to visit or learn more? The Mermaid Museum is open six days a week and has only an $11 admission fee.

Check out other Conduit Street Fun Facts about Worcester County:
Fun Fact: Which Maryland County is One of the Few Places in the U.S. Where You Can View Wild Horses?

Fun Fact: Did You Know that Two Major Motion Pictures Were Filmed in the Town of Berlin in Worcester County?

Fun Fact: Did You Know that 1/3 of Worcester County is Water and is the 3rd Largest County in MD By Area

Do you have a fun fact to share about your county? If so, please send it to Allison Valliant to be featured in MACo’s weekly Fun Fact on Conduit Street.