The Toad Museum

The Toad Museum, officially Phaya Khan Khak Museum, is a distinctive museum in Phaya Thaen Public Park in Nai Mueang, Mueang Yasothon, Yasothon Province, northeastern Thailand. Housed in a five-storey building shaped like a giant toad, it is dedicated to the Phaya Khan Khak (Toad King) legend central to the Bun Bang Fai Rocket Festival. The museum presents exhibits on local folklore, ecology, Isan culture and the history of the rocket festival.

Visitors can expect a five-storey building designed as a giant toad sitting on a Naga, located beside the lake in Phaya Thaen Public Park. Inside, air-conditioned exhibition halls display interactive exhibits, dioramas and multimedia about toads, the Phaya Khan Khak legend, Isan folklore and the Bun Bang Fai Rocket Festival. Visitors can walk through themed floors, view models and information panels, and access a rooftop viewing terrace with panoramic views of the park and Yasothon town.

The museum was built to preserve and present the legend of Phaya Khan Khak (the Toad King), a central Isan folktale that explains the origin of the Bun Bang Fai Rocket Festival. The building and exhibits were developed by Yasothon Municipality to promote local history and cultural education within Phaya Thaen Public Park.

The museum is culturally significant as a tribute to the Phaya Khan Khak folklore and the Bun Bang Fai Rocket Festival, one of Isan's most important traditional festivals held annually in Yasothon to pray for rain and celebrate the start of the rice-growing season. It showcases Isan beliefs, local wisdom and community identity.