Florence Griswold Museum

The Florence Griswold Museum in Old Lyme, CT is, to coin a phrase, awesome-sauce.

(As FGM’s grants writer, they do pay me to say that – albeit with somewhat fancier words like “educationally innovative,” “inspiring and imaginative,” “committed to excellence.”)

No joke, FGM is all those things every day, but nowhere is that imaginative spirit in fuller bloom than during its annual Wee Faerie Village installation, up now through Nov. 2.

For my local-yokel peeps along the Connecticut Shoreline and in New England, this is my Day 11 of Fun Stuff for Families (in this interminable 31-Day blogging challenge): Go see Florence’s faerie houses.

This year’s theme of 26 faerie houses (crafted by lots of cool local creative types) is inspired by Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland and the oh-so au courant Steampunk Movement (calling upon the cool metal stuff of the Industrial Revolution — from clock gears to oil cans — to create these wildly fanciful versions of Wonderland.)

There are keyholes to peek through and tiny little worlds to investigate and kids love it. Almost as much as you will.

Wee Faerie Village is sort of like a Pixar movie – kid-captivating, adult-clever. Everybody wins.

Plus, there are bonus prizes with a riverfront campus that is just crazy with color this time of year. (Note to kids: feel free to run wildly about in its glory.)

And try on funny SteamPunk’d hats.

If you’re sadly a thousand miles away from swinging by for the afternoon, you can always get all inspired and craftsy and make faerie houses at home (although that would require a glue gun…). Here’s some inspiration: