Fodor's Expert Review Ocean City Life Saving Station Museum

This attraction on the southernmost tip of the island traces the resort to its days as a tiny fishing village in the late 1800s. Housed in an 1891 building that once held the U.S. Lifesaving Service and the Coast Guard, the museum's exhibits include models of the grand old hotels, artifacts from shipwrecks, boat models, five saltwater aquariums, an exhibit of sands from around the world, and even itchy wool swimsuits and an old mechanical laughing lady from the boardwalk. Press the button, and you can be laughing with her.