Review: Mini Museum

As this WaPo story explains, the Mini Museum was a childhood dream for Hans Fex, one which he pursued with undying ambition until crowdfunding made it possible to realize it. The idea is simple enough: create a portable doorway to wonder by encasing miniature exhibits ranging from bits of ancient meteorites over Ammonite fossils to parts of the Cray supercomputer.

Now in its second limited edition, it comes in at about $300 in the large version and $100 in the small one. That may seem like a hefty price tag, but if you’re looking for an awesome gift for the science nerd in your life (young or old), this is a pretty great find.

The attention to detail here is really quite stunning. For example, among the items encased in the beautiful block of Lucite are shipwrecked Spanish coins. But of course the coins would be too large, so instead the encased pieces themselves are shaped like coins! The tiny pieces of meteorites for the “asteroid belt” exhibit are similarly arranged to look like an asteroid belt.

Each item has a story, and the booklet that accompanies the museum provides a good starting point for Wikipedia searches and further exploration.

I can find nothing to criticize here – this is a product made with abundant love for curiosity, science and wonder. I highly recommend it.