Tinkertown Museum

It took Ross Ward over forty years to carve, collect and lovingly construct what is now Tinkertown Museum. His miniature wood-carved figures were first part of a traveling exhibit, driven to county fairs and carnivals in the 1960s and 70s. Today, over 50,000 glass bottles form rambling walls that surround a 22 room museum. Wagon wheels, old fashioned store fronts and wacky western memorabilia make Tinertown's exterior as much a museum as the wonders within.

Inside, the magic of animation takes over. The inhabitants of a raucous little western town animate to hilarious life. Under the big-top, diminutive circus performers challenge tigers and defy gravity while the Fat Lady fans herself and a polar bear teeter-totters.

Throughout, eccentric collections of Americana (wedding cake couples, antique tools, dolls, bullet pencils...) fill Tinkertown's winding hallways. Otto the One-Man-Band and Esmerelda, the fortune Teller need only a quarter to play a tune or predict your future. Through a doorway and across a ramp waits a big-sized surprise: a 35 foot antique wooden sailboat that braved a ten year voyage around the world.

Ever a work in progress, Tinkertown is ready to inspire your imagination and awaken your creative spirit. Visit it soon. Tinkertown is located on the Turquoise Trail National Scenic Byway in Sandia Park on New Mexico Highway 536, on the way to the Sandia Crest. Take exit 175 north off of I-40. Tinkertown is just 20 minutes from Albuquerque.