INDIANAPOLIS — There’s just something about miniatures that strikes a chord in many of us: the delicateness, the detail, the intricacy. Tiny books, tiny paintings and statues, tiny toys and dishes — all of which can be found in the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis’ re-imagined Mini Masterpiece exhibit.
As one of the oldest permanent displays in the museum, more than 1,100 tiny objects make up the exhibit including furniture, artwork, accessories and decorative pieces. Visitors can peer through glass windows into rooms from the past recreated with elaborate precision in 1/12 scale, meaning that one inch in the miniature room equals one foot in real life.
Some of the dioramas re-create real places. One of the buildings in this exhibit is the miniature Carriage House of the Propylaeum (the original site of the Children’s Museum in 1925). Tiny replicas of artifacts that were originally on display compare to actual, life-sized objects in the museum’s collection.
When families peer through the window of Chateau Beaumont, they will discover how one family prepared for their daughter’s wedding day. Miniscule details, like presents in the dining room and wedding bills on the father’s desk, help bring this house to life.
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Another room is based on the Thompson-Neely House in Pennsylvania. In 1776, during the Revolutionary War, General George Washington may have made the historic decision to cross the Delaware River while at this house.
One of the rooms incorporates multi-media with a projection-style illusion that makes the scene come to life with a fire burning in the fireplace and people magically moving around the room. A sliding magnifying glass helps families study the tiniest of details in another area, and I Spy-style labels provide clues to find surprises within each room. Super-sleuths can try to locate a room that has more than 150 tiny books or a room where small Muppets are hidden.
Museum staff hope the enlarged exhibit of miniature rooms will inspire visitors to discover the stories of people who may have lived in the full-scale rooms of the past. Parents and grandparents who might have had experience with some of the miniature relics found in the rooms may find an opportunity to talk with children and grandchildren about what they see.
For more information about Mini Masterpieces and other Children’s Museum exhibits, visit childrensmuseum.org.
