The Museum of the Modern Snowglobe was a micro museum that physically existed from 2010-2012. Currently it exists in our hearts.

Contact Info

Interested in hosting the museum? Let's talk.

Archive (2000-2014)

There's a partial record of the museum on the associated Flickr account and on the Internet Archive.

About and History

It began innocently enough: a snowglobe from Philadelphia, sent to a friend in Boston in 1997 inside a tiny, handcrafted wooden box. A few more particularly kitschy examples were acquired, and soon there were a dozen snowglobes on a windowsill. Now it was a collection, and once friends and family decide you collect something, you can't fight it. Who among us hasn't gotten a strange gift from a grandparent with a note like, "I remembered you collect unicorns!" (twenty years ago).

Within no time, a dozen snowglobes became fifty, fifty became one hundred. Why fight it? The collectors were both museum professionals, as were many of their donors, so began acknowledging gifts with credit lines and accession numbers. A database was created. A website soon followed. The collection was even used in a Volkswagen advertisement.

In 2004 the snowglobes were packed up for a move but never got unpacked—until now. Welcome to the first public viewing of the newly christened Museum of the Modern Snowglobe.

Collecting Policy
  • The donor must have visited the location in question. No eBay purchases.
  • Relief snowglobes are preferred—the ones with tiny sculptures inside.
  • Glass globes are not encouraged.
  • The cheaper, the better.
Collection Highlights

Explore snowglobe facts and figures on the collection page.

Museum News

Read the complete archive of entries on the news page.

Photos of the Museum
Preparing the snowglobes for installation, November 2010
Prototypes of wall labels, April 2011
Cutting out the final wall labels, April 2011
Blank postcards for visitors to draw on, April 2011
Interior view of the museum, April 2011
Statistics
  • First snowglobe: 1997, Philadelphia
  • Most recent acquisition: 2013, Sweden
  • Total snowglobes: 198
  • Museum groundbreaking: September 2010
  • Museum opening: November 6, 2010
  • Opening weekend attendance: 273
  • Construction cost: $276.02
  • Yearly operating budget: $2,850.00
  • Number of countries represented in the collection: 19
  • Number of continents represented in the collection: 5 (missing Australia and Antartica)
  • Most snowglobes from: Las Vegas, 6 snowglobes
  • Most generous donor: Gina S., 10 snowglobes
  • Farthest traveled snowglobe: Hong Kong, 7,975 miles; runner up is Cairo at 5,431 miles