Roll with History - A New Project from Mini Museum
Hi, folks!
It's Jamie here from the Mini Museum team. You may have received information about our latest crowdfunding campaign Roll With History, a new joint project with Fa...
1
0
0
Mini Museum
almost 2 years ago
Fulfillment at 99% Complete!
Hi, folks!
I just posted an update to note that we are now at 99% for fulfillment! Whew! 😅
The remaining shipments are for backers who have not completed their surveys, have errored credit cards, or are now in the queue after updating their information. If you are still wait...
0
0
0
Mini Museum
almost 2 years ago
Fulfillment at 99% Complete!
Hello, everyone!
Just a quick note to say we are now at 99% complete on fulfillment! Whew! 😅
The remaining shipments are for backers who have not completed their surveys, have...
0
0
2
Cassie
almost 2 years ago
Fulfilment at 70% and An Update From The Warehouse!
Hello, everyone!
It has been another fantastic week of fulfillment here at Mini Museum! We are past the midpoint on fulfillment on MM5 and still moving quite quickly. It has b...
2
0
1
Cassie
about 2 years ago
Fulfilment Continues, Companion Guide PDF, and 10 Years of Mini Museum!
Hello, everyone!
Today marks the end of another week of MM5 fulfillment! We have been shipping pledges for the past three weeks and are already 1/3 of the way through. Better ...
4
0
14
Cassie
about 2 years ago
📦 Fulfilment Has Begun!
Hello, everyone!
Fifth Edition museums have begun to ship! Last week, we sent out our first wave of pledges to backers and we've gotten word that they have started to arrive!
...
It's Jamie here from the Mini Museum team. You may have received information about our latest crowdfunding campaign Roll With History, a new joint project with FanRoll Dice to incorporate authentic Mini Museum Collection specimens inside beautiful tabletop gaming dice.
Last week, I posted update on the Age of Dinosaurs crowdfunding campaign. I figured I'd share it here as well. If you read that update, you can skip this one because it's basically the same message. If you missed it, enjoy a little Mini Museum rambling by yours truly. This will be the last one like this, I promise. 😅
As always, thank you for your patience and support. Sharing science and history is never easy work and crowdfunding projects are twice as hard. We try to make things interesting and relevant but life is busy and there is a lot going on in the world. Still, it sometimes feels like we are bothering people with endless updates. I back a lot of campaigns myself and so I get it. I also appreciate when creators take a moment to acknowledge the challenge and thank the backers old and new.
📸 Dinosaur Fossil Dice from Roll with History (Triceratops D6 in Focus)
So, Why Dice?
It's a great question, and the answer comes from a place we’ve been thinking about a lot lately. First, we think the world could use more science and history in everyday life, and more moments of shared wonder. We've explored this through jewelry, books, and other collaborative projects. This project is one small way of adding to that conversation.
📸 All the dice in Roll with History, Dinosaurs, Campo del Cielo, and Chain Mail
But there's always more than that with Mini Museum. There's a big picture too and that picture revolves around the underlying promise of Mini Museum, which is to say that history, time, and reality are best understood through direct, physicalcontact. We try to encourage this by making meaningful collections designed to provide a sense of one's place in the universe, connecting the present directly with moments and materials far outside everyday experience.
📸 Prepping T. rex specimens for D20 inclusion
In contrast, dice are meant to be handled as the centerpiece of interactive gameplay that involves storytelling and a shared connection with others. In that sense, they're dynamic in a way that is very different from our typical collections. We found this combination really intriguing and it inspired us to see what might be possible by merging wonderandfun.
📸 Someone's having fun!
The result is an object that captures a piece of the past inside an object designed to be used in the present. In this way, the artifact becomes something more than an item to study and transforms into a new kind of experience you engage with in a different context… hopefully an experience you share with others because that's really what Mini Museum is all about.
📸 Close-up of the T. rex D20
To bring this project to life, we're teaming up with the premier dice experts at FanRoll Dice. Together, we crafted a full dice set with seven dinosaur fossils, a solo D20 with the Campo del Cielo meteorite, and another D20 with a fragment of 15th-century chain mail from the Second Edition.
The result is a new way of encountering history, where the past is explored through interaction. Oh, and they're also pretty cool... 😎
📸 Close-Ups of all the dice in the Roll with History Collection (Campo, Chain Mail, and seven different Dinosaurs 🦕)
As noted above, the campaign is live right now. The dice are available in many different configurations. We also have some fun add-ons to enhance gameplay. We hope you'll drop by and say hello!
I was happy to get one of these for my classroom. Thanks so much for the opportunity!
I work with middle school special education, and I love being able to provide high interest learning opportunities. While it only arrived yesterday, the kids dove into the booklet, branched out into their own research, and started discussing what they would want to include if they could make their own.
For a group of kids who "hate" school and read significantly below average, it makes my heart happy to be able to provide these sorts of experiences.
Thank you for making it happen!!
I just posted an update to note that we are now at 99% for fulfillment! Whew! 😅
The remaining shipments are for backers who have not completed their surveys, have errored credit cards, or are now in the queue after updating their information. If you are still waiting for your pledge rewards, make sure to drop by the Pledge Manager to see if we're waiting for information from you!
Just a quick note to say we are now at 99% complete on fulfillment! Whew! 😅
The remaining shipments are for backers who have not completed their surveys, have errored credit cards, or are now in the queue after updating their information. If you are still waiting for your pledge rewards, make sure to drop by the Pledge Manager to see if we're waiting for information from you!
It has been another fantastic week of fulfillment here at Mini Museum! We are past the midpoint on fulfillment on MM5 and still moving quite quickly. It has been wonderful to see them arrive in homes and we want to give a major thank you to backers who have shared photos of their new museums!
The Full Mini Museum Lineup from Backer David!
If you want to share a photo of your own, send it to us at [email protected]!
Now, we have a special word from our cofounder Jamie to share on the status of MM5! Take it away, Jamie!
An Update from the Warehouse
Hey, folks!
Jamie here reporting in from the warehouse with an update on shipping.
Right now, we are at 70% complete on shipping. The warehouse team has been working hard to inspect and prepare shipments, so I thought I’d give a behind-the-scenes look at the process.
Like everything we do, there are many little steps, each carefully considered to make each Mini Museum the best Mini Museum it can be. And, as you might expect, preparing Mini Museums for shipment is no exception. It’s all part of running a business where everything is handcrafted.
Before Mini Museums arrive at the warehouse, they are inspected twice: once after casting and polishing, then again during the laser etching process when they are individually wrapped and packed into small, white boxes for shipping. After they arrive at the warehouse, they are inspected yet again and then placed into their microfiber pouches.
An MM5 is placed in its pouch!
While this is happening, the team is also prepping Companion Guides and Certificates of Authenticity for inclusion in the final packaging. Each Guide and Certificate are slipped into clear plastic bags to protect them from scuffing during transit. This step also provides protection for the Certificate so that it doesn’t get bent by accident.
I can tell you from experience it is a little challenging to put the Guides and Certificates into their little bags until you get the rhythm. The Fifth Edition Guides are also a little thicker so that’s been fun too. :D
Safe and sound
Once all the components are ready, the Mini Museums are queued up for final packing. Display Boxes are inspected at this step, and each Mini Museum is carefully placed into the custom-cut foam insert.
We also make sure that the little cinch ball on the pouch fits into the knockout slot so that it doesn’t bang into the acrylic during shipping.
Perfect fit!
When I’m packing Mini Museums, I often think back to the First Edition when we designed this foam insert and the lively discussions we had with our manufacturer.
With the Mini Museum tucked safely inside, we add the pre-packed Guides and Certificates, seal the box using the magnetic clasp, apply a numeric label to match the Mini Museum, and then place the box inside a custom bubble wrap bag.
MM5 Large 1629 is ready to go!
Now the Mini Museum is ready to ship, but the adventure is just beginning because our warehouse is somewhat… remote.
A view from the warehouse's front door
This region of the Appalachian Mountains is home to dramatic rock formations showcasing the ancient Iapetus Ocean. Formed during the Silurian Period roughly 443,000,000 years old, the ocean floor was twisted 90 degrees through powerful geological processes similar to the formation of Uluru in Australia. Exposed through erosion, these rock faces run all along the mountains here, and the most famous is Seneca Rocks.
A dramatic shot of the Seneca Rocks I took on a warehouse trip in 2021.
Seneca Rocks is sometimes referred to as the Yosemite of the East. It is a beautiful place to visit and every Mini Museum leaving our warehouse pays this crag a visit as it heads over a very exciting mountain road.
I’ve driven this route myself several times, usually in the daytime, but two weeks ago I came over at night. It was absolutely spectacular, but also a little spooky since I didn’t see another car for nearly an hour.
I stopped on the road briefly for a picture when it was clear there was no one around for miles and miles.
This far-flung location wasn’t selected by design, but rather, it was the outcome of searching for a partner who cared as much for our Mini Museums as we do. As you can see above, just packing a Mini Museum is a careful process and it was important for us to find a partner who could treat our product with care and love.
We’ve been working together down here for almost ten years now and we really wouldn’t have it any other way.
-Jamie
That's all for now! If you have other questions, feel free to reach out to us at [email protected]!
