The Mini Time Machine Museum of Miniatures Education Department has created and compiled these resources for families, teachers, chaperones, and life-long learners to use at home, in the classroom, or during a museum visit.
Resources for Home Use
Check out these short videos highlighting artifacts from our collection here.
Minis Magnified are a series of articles about artifacts in our collection. Access our archive of 60 articles on our Collection Page.
Unlock additional information about artifacts in our collection with our web-based audio Mini Tours. Our audio tours are available in English, Spanish, and Audio Described for people with vision impairments. Visit our Audio Tours page to select a tour.
Our How To tutorials are scale miniature projects for beginners. Visit our How To page to view projects and instructions.
Bring a little of the museum home with these Mini Time Machine Museum of Miniatures coloring pages. Click on the image to download or print the pdf.
We've created a Love of Reading video series on our YouTube channel for on-demand use at home or in the classroom.
These videos feature museum staff or special guests reading favorite stories in the galleries and relating them briefly to artifacts in our collection.
View the Love of Reading series Playlist >>
Resources for Educators
The museum offers school tours aligned with Arizona Common Core Standards. Schools may elect to take a docent-led tour or self-guided tour. Funding is available for admission and transportation. Visit our School Tours page for more information.
These lesson plans have been adapted from our Museum Classroom Outreach program.
Tiny Tour Around The World Lesson Plan K – 8th Grade
My Dollhouse Is Me Lesson Plan K– 8th Grade
Once Upon A Time Tiny Fairytales K – 4th
Miniature Mathematics Lesson Plan 2nd – 8th Grade
We've created a Love of Reading video series on our YouTube channel for on-demand use at home or in the classroom.
These videos feature museum staff or special guests reading favorite stories in the galleries and relating them briefly to artifacts in our collection.
View the Love of Reading series Playlist >>
An Introduction to Scale and Ratios
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Explore the World of Miniatures
Want to get involved with the art of miniatures? Here are some of the local and national miniature clubs and affiliations in the United States:
TMS – the Tucson Miniature Society
Small World Miniature Club, Phoenix Arizona
NAME – the National Association of Miniature Enthusiasts
IGMA – the International Guild of Miniature Artisans
Here is a list of some of our favorite miniature blogs or sources of inspiration. We are currently updating this list. Please check back.
The Daily Miniature on Instagram
D. Thomas Fine Miniatures Blog
Tom Brown Creates on Instagram
eCube The International Guild of Miniature Artisans Blog
Here are some fun places to enjoy miniatures across the United States. Check back as we are adding sites to see internationally. Have something to add? We would love to know! Email us at info@theminitimemachine.org
Alabama
- Ava Maria Grotto, Coleman, AL
Arizona
- The Mini Time Machine Museum of Miniatures, Tucson, AZ
- Thorne Miniature Rooms at Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix, AZ
Arkansas
- Tiny Town, Hot Springs, AR
California
- Miniature Engineering Craftsmanship Museum, Carlsbad, CA
- San Diego Model Railroad Museum, San Diego, CA
- Storybook Land Canal Boats at Disneyland in Anaheim, CA
- Model Town at Living Desert Zoo and Gardens, Palm Desert, CA
- Legoland California, Carlsbad, CA
Colorado
- Denver Museum of Miniatures, Dolls and Toys, Denver, CO
- Denver HO Model Railroad Club, Depot Museum, Colorado Railraod Museum, Jefferson County, CO
- Tiny Town, Morrison, CO
Connecticut
- Model Train Display at Danbury Railway Museum, Danbury, CT
Florida
- World’s Largest Littlest Big Top at Ringling Museum, Sarasota, FL
- The Suncoast Center for Fine Scale Modeling, Odessa, FL
- Legoland Florida, Winter Haven, FL
- Miniature Train and Village at the Germany Pavilion in Epcot, Bay Lake, FL
Georgia
- Sleepy Hollow – Whimsical Fairy Garden, Blairsville, GA
Illinois
- Colleen Moore’s Fairy Castle at the Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago, IL
- The Great Train Story at the Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago, IL
- Garfield-Clarendon Model Railroad Club, Chicago, IL
- Thorne Miniature Rooms at the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL
Indiana
Iowa
- The Charlotte M. Smith Collection of Miniature Books at the University of Iowa library, Iowa City, IA
Kansas
- Kansas in Miniature at Exploration Place, Wichita, KS
Kentucky
- The Great American Dollhouse Museum, Danville, KY
- KSB Miniatures Collection, at the Kentucky Gateway Museum Center, Maysville, KY
Louisiana
- Greater Baton Rouge Model Railroaders at Republic of West Florida Historical Museum, Jackson, LA
- The New Orleans Train Garden, New Orleans, LA
Maine
- Mini Village, Stonington, ME
- Miniature Mechanical Parables at Boothbay Railway Village Exhibits, Boothbay, ME
Massachusetts
- Animals of the World in Miniature at Berkshire Museum, Pittsfield, MA
- Court Cupboard at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA
Michigan
- Midwest Miniatures Museum, Hickory Corners, MI
Mississippi
- Mississippi Coast Model Railroad Museum, Gulfport, MS
- Train Exhibit at Mississippi Rails Agricultural Transportation Museum, Jackson, MS
Missouri
- The National Museum of Toys and Miniatures, Kansas City, MO
- Miniature Museum of Greater St. Louis, St. Louis, MO
- Union Station Model Train Exhibit, Kansas City, MO
Nebraska
- The Kruger Collection, College of Architecture at University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE
New Jersey
- Northlandz, Flemington, NJ
New Mexico
- Tinkertown Museum, Sandia Park, NM
New York
- D. Thomas Fine Miniatures, Yonkers, NY
- Gulliver’s Gate, New York, NY
- Miniature Train Layout at Medina Railroad Museum, Medina, NY
North Carolina
- North Carolina Museum of Dolls, Toys & Miniatures, Spencer, NC
- Meredith’s Miniatures at High Point Museum, High Point, NC
Ohio
- Entertrainment Junction, West Chester, OH
Oklahoma
Oregon
- Train Mountain Railroad Museum, Chiloquin, OR
- The Columbia Gorge Model Railroad Club, Portland, OR
Pennsylvania
- Roadside America, Shartlesville, PA
Rhode Island
- The Anne S. K. Brown Military Collection at Brown University library, Providence, RI
South Carolina
- Forde Doll & Dollhouse Collection at the Hampton House B&B, Walterboro, SC
South Dakota
- Deadwood Model Train, Deadwood, SD
Tennessee
- Thorn Rooms at Knoxville Museum of Art, Knoxville, TN
Texas
- Town Mountain Miniature Museum, Bandera, TX
Vermont
- Toys, Dolls, Dollhouses, and Automata, Shelburne Museum, Shelburne, VT
Virginia
- The R. Lee Taylor Miniatures Collection at Museum of the Shenandoah Valley, Winchester, VA
Washington D.C.
- Doll’s House at The National Museum of American History, Smithsonian, Washington, D.C.
Wisconsin
- Toy Train Barn, Argyle, WI
Here are a few of the national miniature shows as well as our local annual show.
The Good Sam Showcase of Miniatures, San José, CA
Miniature Masterworks, Kansas City, MO
Tom Bishop Chicago International, Chicago, IL
The Tucson Miniature Society Annual Show & Sale, Tucson, AZ