After spending many winters in the Phoenix metro, we traveled to Tucson this year for a different perspective on Arizona. We are already discovering interesting places to share. Our first two weeks have been cold, but our Januarys in Buckeye were often chilly. Besides, it isn’t nearly as cold as it is in North Dakota.

As we settled into our apartment, we looked for places to visit. Our first choice was The Time Machine—Museum of Miniatures. The opening scene features a close-up of a miniature three-room ensemble by miniature artist Brooke Tucker.

The photo above could easily be mistaken for a photographic panorama. It’s a window into the wall with depth and displays a three-room section of a house filled with miniature objects. As you can see by the opening closeup, the objects within the artwork are crafted beautifully and with care.

Before I share any more about this beautiful museum, I can tell you that photographing the miniatures is a real challenge. You’ll note that many of the photos in this post are shot from an angle. I did that because almost all of the miniatures are protected by plexiglass shields, and reflections are a real issue for photographs taken there.

This miniature is one of the few that was not protected by plexiglass, and I could easily capture the image of the facade. At intervals, the front facade opens up to reveal the interior.

According to the accompanying plaque, the miniature was created in the 1950s or 1960s and refurbished in 1981 by a team of artisans. However, photographing these miniature interiors presents another issue. Even though the rooms are lit by tiny bulbs, they are still darker than the surrounding environment. After all, it wouldn’t be realistic to blast the interiors with high-intensity lighting. That would not be at all realistic.

I resorted to post-processing tricks for all of the interior photos in the post. I didn’t have a tripod for long-exposure photography, and they wouldn’t have allowed me to use one anyway. Many exhibits’ interiors are dark enough that visitors can borrow a flashlight to help them look inside.

Probably my favorite miniature is the artist’s take on the Dogs Playing Poker paintings. The details are simply amazing. The work was created in the 1990s.

In this close-up, the dog on the right had “smoke” coming from his pipe. This miniature is one of the dimmer exhibits. The Auto-ISO for the image chose 8000, so the image was quite noisy. Adobe Lightroom Classic’s AI denoise removed the noise pretty well, but it’s a challenging capture. If you have a lens with a faster opening than f/4, your images will be less noisy, though depth of field will become your biggest problem. Even at F/4, the depth of some larger creations meant that parts of the close-up would be out of focus unless I resorted to focus-stacking multiple images.

John Ackerman is a renowned model builder of firefighting equipment, fire stations, and related apparatus. One of his works is on display at the museum, and it is probably the most accurately detailed model I saw at the “Mini Time Machine.”

His workmanship is impressively detailed. This close-up was created by cropping the 25-megapixel image to about 1.3 megapixels. I enlarged the gages to 400 percent in Lightroom Classic, and they were still easily readable. I couldn’t get much closer to the model for a macro shot because the focal distance of the lens at the near end of its range lost sharpness.

Even though we visited in early January, many exhibits featured Halloween subjects. This small framed work is probably my favorite example. Marcia Backstrom is known for her intricate and whimsical creations. Her work often features fantastical elements and draws inspiration from folklore and fairy tales.

Marcia was a substantial talent in the miniature doll world. Her original dolls are still displayed in private collections and museums worldwide. A Google search of her name provides several pages of collectible doll creations available for sale.

The diorama is one of the largest miniatures I viewed in the museum. The house and surrounding landscape feature many miniatures, dolls, furniture, and other accessories.

This close-up of the right edge of the diorama features a clown and a man with a monkey approaching a neighboring doorway. I couldn’t find a placard to give this elaborate creation a title or credit. Still, I learned from a docent that the work is an amalgam of miniatures assembled by the museum’s founder, Patricia Arnell.

This miniature features a dry goods store in years gone by. It provides a glimpse into the typical layout and merchandise found in such stores, with shelves stocked with various goods and a counter for transactions.

The placard on display indicates Mary Paul Yankey is responsible for the miniature’s concept and interior design. Given the merchandise styles and overall aesthetic, the miniature represents a historical dry goods store from the late 19th or early 20th century.

As a devotee of live theater, I found Stages of Imagination enlightening in describing the use of miniatures in set design. The exhibit, featuring the work of David Korins, is scheduled through the end of May 2025. It delves into how set designers transform imaginative ideas into tangible, three-dimensional sets that transport audiences to different worlds and enhance the storytelling experience. The creation of miniature stage sets is part of the design process.

The exhibition features miniature replicas of iconic sets from several well-known Broadway productions, showcasing set design’s intricate details and artistry. Five of his projects are featured in the exhibit. Hamilton, Beetlejuice, Tommy, Here Lies Love, and Dear Evan Hanson are presented as examples of set design.

These models aren’t just built for fun. They have a practical aspect. According to the sign on the display:

“Model-building in the Studio

“Why do you need a model when you have research, sketches, and renderings? Images can easily be misinterpreted, and rarely show the entirety of the design.

“3D SCALE MODELS DO NOT LIE

“They are exactly representative of the finished design. It ensures that everyone on the team understands the design before they sign off to build the real life-size version.‘

“-Emily Wright, Head of Fabrications 2012-2019”

The placard on the upper left of this photo quotes Brad Lammand, associate scenic designer at Beetlejuice.

“The Burtonesque style overlay was very much in the forefront of the design. We achieved this with a deep dive into research and by countless revisions and reviews in both drawing and model form. We built white model versions of each piece in scale and then nipped and tucked until it felt like it belonged in the Burton world.”

There are several photos of the finished Broadway sets and the models they used to design the final production set. The image of the finished set is from the Richard Rogers Theater, where Hamilton is still playing to large audiences.

If you enjoy the technical aspects of live theater, you may also find this temporary exhibit one of the most interesting in the entire museum. The set design exhibit was a fascinating glimpse into the set design process for professional theatrical productions.

This unique museum houses a vast collection of miniature exhibits, ranging from intricate dollhouses to miniature towns and historical dioramas. The attention to detail in each miniature is astonishing, showcasing the incredible skill and artistry of the creators. The museum offers a fascinating and engaging experience for people of all ages, providing a glimpse into history and inspiring a sense of wonder and appreciation for the miniature world.

The Mini Time Machine – Museum of Miniatures is open Tuesday through Saturday from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM and Sunday from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM. We paid $12 each for senior admission, but rates and hours of operation can change. Be sure to check with the museum’s website here for the latest information.

John Steiner