the museum of childhood, edinburgh

i wanted to do a separate post for this because i had a lot of pictures 

[although most are from my phone or without flash]

and also because i found it to be incredibly awesome.

totally nerdy, i know.

i have said it before...but i really love museums. 

i was so excited to go here.

the entrance leads you into a tiny vintage toy shop, and in the back you can catch a glimpse of a small hall lined with glass cases stuffed with toys, pictures, and memorabilia.

at first, it was a bit misleading, thinking it was that small.

but, since it was free, i figured, 'eh...why not?'

but once i realized that it was filled with not one, not two, not three, but four floors of vintage childhood toys and games...it was on.

i loved seeing all of this old stuff.

it reminded me of playing with old toys in my grandmother's home.

all of these were in the main hall and stairwells.

the game board that looks like scrabble, is actually a biblical scripture game, and the 'mappa-muni' may have been my favorite from the 'craft and games' floor. we actually weren't allowed to take photos on that one floor, so those were the only games i got before i was asked to put the camera away...ops.

but i couldn't resist. i love old games and you should have seen all of the vintage puzzles lining the wall.

the next floor was all about dolls.

organized by year and style, my favorites were the dolls from around the world.

shocker, right?

yay for bad quality iphone pictures!

the next floor was definitely my favorite. it housed model trains, cars, carnivals, zoos, palaces, and my favorite thing, doll houses. doll houses are one of those things that i just love, (i know, i have a lot) but really, some of my favorite toys growing up were the wooden doll house i got from santa one christmas (i was very skeptical about how he got the huge thing down the chimney...) & the vintage doll house at my grandma's house. 

i'm only now a "girly-girl" and i wasn't at all when i was younger. i really think that my adoration with these things came from my early obsession with architecture and design. i rearranged my room all the time, but that's another story for another day.

anyway...

the doll houses.

wow. they were amazing. so elaborate and full of detail.

i was very, very envious.

 doll houses, train yard, and a palace.

model trains + old cars.

nostalgia.

+++

so, then the last floor finished up with old tea sets from around the world.

i, of course, managed to only take two 'usable' photos.

so, all in all, this museum has to rank third on my top three.

1. OMSI

2. The Louvre

and now,

3. The Museum of Childhood

people, if you're ever in edinburgh, i'm going to say this is a must see.