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Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Life Miniature World: "The Greatest Little Show On Earth"

Posted by Megan Seling on Wed, Jun 15, 2011 at 3:36 PM

A tiny carnival (with tiny rides that MOVE)!

A tiny carnival (with tiny rides that MOVE)!

This weekend, while celebrating a Canucks victory with actual Canadians in Victoria, I also had the pleasure of visiting Miniature World, a museum of "over 80 exciting miniature dioramas." Exciting indeed! Through thousands of miniature people, cars, buildings, and anything else you can imagine, visitors learn about Canada's history, see scenes from beloved fairy tales, and wonder why and how the fuck anyone found the time and energy to paint, glue, and handcraft all these tiny little things into a bunch of giant and impressive displays.

Miniature World does not make sense, but I am very glad it exists.

Some displays have trains running through them, others have cars that move around or lights that turn on and off. Some displays go from day to night. There are tiny guns shooting out tiny puffs of gun smoke; tiny cows eating tiny pieces of hay; tiny people walking the tiny streets of London in the early (and tiny) 1900s. Miniature World also houses the smallest operating sawmill in the world! It can make chopsticks, basically. Fire codes prevent the sawmill from being operated while on display at the museum, but you get to see it in action via a video filmed sometime in the 1970s.

Here are a bunch of other things you'll see in Miniature World:

A GIANT display of tiny castles!

A tiny World War II!

A tiny and old Toronto!

A tiny nude model (with not so tiny pubic hair) being painted by a tiny artist!

A tiny nude model (with not so tiny pubic hair) being painted by a tiny artist!

Tiny worms wearing even tinier bonnets!

AND SO MUCH MORE. Miniature World is a magical place. And it's just a few blocks away from where the Victoria Clipper docks in Downtown Victoria. Go! Now!

Comments (9) RSS

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Sounds great, I will visit that place one day.

You should figure out how to get to Hamburg, in northern Germany to see something like this, but perhaps even more impressive: Miniatur Wunderland.

http://www.miniatur-wunderland.com/exhib…

It is far more than just the world's largest train set. The displays are exquisite.

They've just opened a working model of a modern airport, complete with takeoffs/landings, countless service vehicles buzzing around, etc.:

http://travel.usatoday.com/flights/post/…

Posted by Karlheinz Arschbomber

on June 15, 2011 at 3:44 PM

I went to Victorialand and rode that ride. It was cooler than I thought it'd be.

Posted by SchmuckyTheCat on June 15, 2011 at 3:47 PM

I've had a much harder time believing pictures of miniatures since tilt-shift photography got popular.

Posted by Ben on June 15, 2011 at 3:55 PM

Miniature World is my favorite thing about Victoria, though tea service at the Empress Hotel is a close second.

Posted by Paul Constant

on June 15, 2011 at 3:58 PM

Love Love Love Miniature World! :)

I will have to go back now.

Posted by Beetlecat on June 15, 2011 at 4:36 PM

Remember that episode of MacGyver where there was a college geek off to try and get it the locked dorms of your competitors, and MacGyver's friend had a miniature version of his dorm room up against the keyhole to confuse his opponent?

Loved that episode.

Posted by OuterCow on June 15, 2011 at 4:36 PM

To think I've lived here 17 years and I've never been to Miniature World! I've also never been to the Bug Zoo or had tea at the Empress. However, I can vouch for the dessert buffet with cocktails in the Bengal Lounge (also in the Empress). It will not disappoint.

Posted by Irena on June 15, 2011 at 5:07 PM

One of my regrets is being in Victoria, standing in front of this place, and for some god damned reason decided to not go inside. WHAT WAS I THINKING?!?

Posted by emor on June 15, 2011 at 9:31 PM

Mr. Kalakalot insists that his head would explode if he were ever to step inside Miniature World, but now that I know there's a miniature WWII (and a nude model) inside, I just might be able to convince him. Thanks Megan!

My favorite Victoria activities: the charmingly Canada-centric Martime Museum (did you know the term "graveyard of the Pacific" refers solely to Vancouver Island?) and the petting zoo (baby goats!) at Beacon Hill park.

Posted by Kalakalot on June 16, 2011 at 8:49 AM