How is a man named Stan, five million toothpicks, fifty gallons of glue and a ratio of 1:164 all connected? Simple, Toothpick World!
This tiny world on the top floor of the Milton J. Rubenstein Museum of Science & Technology in Syracuse, New York delights both young and old, with scenes of iconic buildings to the whimsical.
Always explore!
We stumbled upon this section of the museum accidentally, while exploring, we noticed a display case near an elevator honoring Notre Dame de Paris after the recent fire. Near the display was a sign advising people to go upstairs to see Toothpick World.
The first thing you notice as you get off the elevator is the sheer scale of the creations. They are all done in 1:164 scale, which helps you see the difference in size between buildings. The area is divided up into three primary areas, cityscapes, religious buildings, and fantasy/sci-fi.
Fun Fact: Why 1:164 scale? That is the size of a building that Stan could fit into his house.
The closer you look the more you see.
Yankee stadium caught our eye with its colorful grass amongst the beige colored skyscrapers and famous structures. The exciting thing is that the longer you looked at the field, you started to understand just how much effort Stan puts into creating these works of art. He has taken the time to color the individual fans in the seats. The attention to detail he shows in his works is something that we appreciated.
Temples and Towers
The current exhibit is a collection of some of the worlds great temples and towers from multiple countries. The Home page contains a list of the structures by
Having the opportunity to view the different structures side by side at scale was a great conversation starter with the kids. Comparing the size of
Fun Fact: Like what you see? You can commission Stan to recreate a building, ship, or ancient structure out of toothpicks for you.
How big is it?!
While it was not part of the current display, Stan’s largest structure is the Golden Gate Bridge at forty feet long! There are some images of it at Toothpick World and from his gallery. Do you recognize any of the buildings in your area??
Toothpick structures of America:
Boston, MA: Fenway Park, Hancock Place, Trinity Church
Chicago, IL: Water Tower, Willis Tower
Colorado Springs, CO: US Air Force Academy Cadet Chapel
Eureka Springs, AR: Thorncrown Chapel
Las Vegas, NV: Stratosphere, Little White Wedding Chapel
New York City: Chrysler Bldg, Empire State Bldg, Flatiron Bldg., Freedom Tower, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Statue of Liberty, Temple Emanu-el, United Nations Complex, Yankee Stadium
Salt Lake City, UT: Mormon Church
San Francisco, CA: Golden Gate Bridge, TransAmerica Pyramid
Seattle, WA: Space Needle
St. Louis, MO: Gateway Arch
Washington DC: US Capitol, White House, Washington Monument
Other: USS Nimitz (CVN-68), USS New Jersey (BB-62), Hughes H-4 Hercules (“Spruce Goose”
Conclusion – Of this article and GOT…
When you visit the MOST, allow yourself about 20 – 30 minutes to explore this area, it is well worth the investment of time. Be sure to check out their Facebook page for additional images and videos. With over 300 structures built, we are sure you will find something to capture your families imagination!
One last thing that we wanted to point out, the quality of the work at Toothpick World is something that you would expect to see displayed at Disney World.
Bonus Reason for Why Disney Should Buy Toothpick World: Families love seeing it and think that more people should be able to enjoy it each year!
NOTE: The MOST is a participant in the ASTC Travel Passport Program. So if you have a family membership at a local museum and live more than 90 miles away and this museum is more than 90 miles away from where you purchased the membership, it will be FREE!
