The Big E 100 Years: Reynolds & Evans' Majestic Miniature Circus Exhibit

In advance of The Big E's Centennial Season, New England Fall Events treats you to a taste of what this classic New England festival has in store for you and your family. Each of our posts leading up to their 100th year will feature a different section of the The Big E experience but if you want the whole enchilada at once, click to read our article "New England Fall Events' Complete Guide to The Big E."

The Circus Museum

The sandwich board invited us in.

One of the most delightful exhibits at the fair is also one we nearly missed completely! After 10 hours of fun, we were quickly developing fair fatigue and decided to call it a day. We were walking to our car when we spotted a sandwich board inviting us into the “Clyde Reynolds and Brooke Evans’ Circus in Miniature” and we couldn’t resist a detour.

Housed inside the Hamden Building, this peek into circus history as conveyed through spectacular miniatures was a sight to behold! The museum boasts a number of large and small scale circus scenes which were donated to The Big E from the private collection of native New Englander Clyde Reynolds, a life-long circus lover, collector, and talented model builder himself.

It is here where fairgoers young and old can marvel over tiny, detailed, hand-painted, (and many hand-carved) creations capturing moments in time both under the big top and behind the scenes. Ranging from Mr. Reynolds’ wood-carved Circus Wagon Parade to the diminutive hand-painted recreations of classic circus posters from the Hagenbeck & Wallace side show, you’ll want give yourself time to really take in this splendid exhibit.

Just a sample of Clyde Reynolds' detailed circus wagons on parade inside The Big E's Miniature Circus Museum. 

Retired carnival manager-turned-model-builder Brooke Evans’ display of The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus as captured from 1946 is both expansive and breathtaking. With many of the pieces hand-carved, the birds-eye view perspective of the circus in miniature is a fascinating way to understand the true scale and production of a circus.

A miniature sneak peak into circus life in front of the tent, under the tent, and circus life behind the scenes.

Children will adore peering into these teeny scenes encased by Plexiglas cases. The cases, though, are not at eye level for younger children which means you will get some exercise lifting your little ones up to see the panoramic displays.

Miniature Ringling Bros. Circus display

Considering that The Big E hosts an average over 79,000 people daily on their fairgrounds, it was rather surprising that there were just six people browsing the museum when we were there. It is unfortunate that this gem wasn’t on our original “must-see” radar—and we quite nearly missed it altogether-- despite our advance research. In fact, there isn’t much at all about this museum on their otherwise comprehensive website so you’ll just have to see it first-hand. 

One of the absolute treasures of The Big E, we implore you not to miss the Miniature Circus Museum and, if you attend in the evening like we did, you might even have the place to yourself!

Ready for more? Read our Complete Guide to New England's The Big E!