Monday, March 25, 2013

The Tucson Museum of Miniatures: The Mini Time Museum:

In Tucson, we visited an unusual museum. I suspect there are very few like it, although I hear it has a rival in Chicago. The Tucson Museum of Miniatures features many displays of tiny dolls, dollhouses, period boxes (that is, miniature rooms in which everything is appropriate to a specific time and society), war miniatures, and mini war tableaux.

The miniatures are displayed in a building that was designed, at (I suspect) great cost, to bring out that sense of childish wonder in us all. Some of the displays are under glass floors, and children take great delight in walking over them to see. Other displays are hidden in the folds of a venerable fake tree. Even something as simple as leaving the museum imparts a sense of wonder. Trying to open the exit door can trigger a spark that flits along a wall and manipulates a switch.

In a wonderful coincidence, we hid out from most of Tucson's rare snowfall-in-February in this museum. It is not a museum that you visit because one visits museums. It is a place to see because it is both wondrous and rare.

As Passover begins, I weigh 217.2 pounds. This holiday is dense with sweets and starch. I hope to report that my weight can stay under control.

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