April 11, 2020
Make a Tiny Museum
There’s a delightful new museum built exclusively for a pair of gerbils by a museum curator and an artist. Filippo Lorenzin and Marianna Benetti spent a few hours making a tiny museum for their pets to explore.
They created gerbil-infused copies of well-known masterpieces to hang on the walls in frames—and even added proper labels with QR codes.
The tiny museum was designed with a neutral, minimalist theme, keeping the emphasis on the art. Despite the warning sign asking the visitors to not chew, the guests seemed to really enjoy exploring the museum. (All items were made of gerbil-friendly materials.)
Try Making Your Own Tiny Museum!
By Marshall Astor - Flickr: Wayne-Thiebaud
De-Young-1 label, CC BY-SA 2.0,
Even if you don’t have pets to entertain with renditions of Van Gogh, you can still have fun making a tiny museum from simple materials like a cardboard box, white paper and pencil crayons. Hang your own art pieces or make tiny replicas of your favourite masterpieces. Be sure to add proper labels that include the artist’s name (and birth year), the title of the art and the year it was created, the materials used, and information about the donor.
And if you make a tiny museum, please send us pictures so we can feature your work on our Facebook and Instagram pages!
Explore More
For inspiration, read more about the gerbil museum or watch the video:
www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/quarantined-couple-builds-gerbil-museum-entertain-their-pets
Want to learn more about museum labels? Visit this Wikipedia page.
Want to take it to the next level? Try turning an old doll house into a mini museum! Every room could feature a different collection. Check out this mini museum for more inspiration: Tucson’s Mini Time Machine Museum of Miniatures.
Like miniatures? Visit our virtual exhibit of John McNeely McCrae’s miniature carvings.