Have you ever heard of a miniature museum? Well, I hadn’t. Until I started trying to find things to do in Carmel Indiana (that I didn’t already know about) and I happened upon this adorable little house on the corner with a sign out front. From the front, it looks like it might be one of those shops that you need an appointment to go into… but if you make it here, please go in! You will not regret visiting this unique museum!
Have you ever visited the Museum of Miniature Houses & Collectibles in the Downtown Carmel Arts & Design District? I’ll admit, I’ve always had a thing for doll houses, and walked by this building many times not knowing what it was. But since I just bought a 2nd dollhouse to redo, I clearly have a thing for them.
MINIATURE MUSEUM
I love a good hidden gem. The other day I was asking about downtown hidden gems I don’t know about but it reminded me of the ones I’ve already visited! Mike’s mom keeps asking to go again too! Seven different rooms filled with a permanent collection of 30 fully furnished houses, 50 room settings, and collections that range from dolls to antique linens. It’s really quite amazing how much they have packed in here and I learned that six of the rooms are actually in a 126 year old farmhouse! This museum was created by three Indiana based miniaturists and it’s one of only five museums in the USA devoted to the art of scale miniatures! And it’s right here!!!
HIDDEN. GEM.
They offer an audio tour with admission as well as a kids scavenger hunt. There’s so much to take in here that while the kids love it too, you might want to go by yourself again and again to see it all. The kids hunt was fun and tricky at times, but the perfect way to navigate from room to room. Certain scenes had stories behind them and the audio tour was the perfect way to learn those details.
If you look closely while you are there, you will see that the dolls featured show many different emotions. This is a special art form that is just beautiful. Some of the pieces in here are one of a kind and built from scratch. If you head this way, make sure to look for the teeny tiniest crocheted Seven Dwarfs… you won’t want to miss them, but could if you aren’t aware of them because there’s just so much to look at.
Most of the houses are displayed behind glass, but a few can be turned, moved, and have electricity turned on and off on them. With so many different houses and miniatures packed into this museum, some were sitting a little high, but not to worry, there are step stools all around so if something is a little high you can step right up for a better view. And when the kids needed a break from you, there’s a dollhouse for them to play with too.
ITTY BITTY LIVING SPACE
If you are on a schedule, we did an hour here and were able to get through all the rooms, but if you have more time, you could probably spend an entire afternoon reading about all the details and looking into all the displays.
This is one of those hidden gems right down the street that everyone knows about but doesn’t know about. I hope you take a minute to consider checking it out! We are hoping to go back before the end of summer and this checks all the boxes you are looking for when you are wanting something different, calm, not huge, and interesting.
If you wanted to check out my original post about this adorable miniature museum over at theCityMoms, click here.
[…] another day in Carmel, consider a visit to the Musuem of Miniatures and a walk on the monon! We’ll come back to Carmel in the spring for another day […]