I visited the Museum of Childhood in Edinburgh yesterday and found it fascinating. The Museum was created in 1955 by the batchelor Andrew Murray, an optician and local councillor. It was the first Museum of Childhood in the world.

I’d recommend it for an all-weather family day out. I’ve highlighted some of the exhibits that caught my attention but there’s lots more to do and see there. It’s free to enter and open from Monday to Saturday from 10am – 5pm.

The Search for the Loch Ness Monster

I really liked the “Pierrot serenades the Moon” automata made in Paris around 1880 by J Vichy. Originally the pierrot, perched on the edge of the Moon, played his mandolin and moved his head while the Moon smiled and rolled its eyes.

Pierrot serenades the Moon

The Dixon Royal Marionettes were made and performed in Edinburgh between 1940 and 1953 with frequent shows in Princes Street Gardens. Each string puppet has between 16 – 18 moving parts. In the photo below you can see two of the popular characters, “Jean, the Highland Dancer” and “Dinova, the Ballerina”.

Dixons Royal Marionettes

I couple of board games caught my eye. The Game of Motor Tour, where you undertake the 440 mile trip from Edinburgh to London in the early 20th century by motor car, with incidents such as “lights out and no matches to relight” and “motor on fire, go back for water”.

Game of Motor Tour

The Panorama of Europe, dating from 1815, has beautiful colour engraving of the cities en route, on a rather meandering trip, from Oporto in Portugal to London via Glasgow and Edinburgh. The game was intended be educational but surely not in navigational skills.

Panorama of Europe

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