International Doll Museum

Dolls Donated by Hollywood Rotary

Doll museum highlights Rotary's ethnic diversity from the International Rotary Magazine, Oct. 2005, Vol.12 • No.2

"Gathering representatives of 101 Rotary countries is a big challenge for
any one Rotary club to take on. But the Rotary Club of Bangalore Midtown, Karnataka, India, found a fun and manageable way to make it happen: having native dolls serve as emissaries from clubs around the globe.

So far, more than 120 dolls representing 56 Rotary countries are on display in Cubbon Park, Bangalore, as part of the club’s new doll museum. The goal is to acquire dolls from 101 countries in honor of Rotary’s centennial anniversary and the first year of its second century. Bangalore Midtown members feel the museum is a novel way of depicting the organization’s global network of volunteers, according to 2004-05 club president Kiran Boal. The club began its collection by sending e-mails to Rotary clubs worldwide, requesting a doll and a club flag, and it
inaugurated the museum in May.

Museum visitors can see an eclectic mix of dolls and club flags displayed by region. Dolls from the United States include a dancing Hopi in full regalia, Elvis Presley, and an Eskimo. The Asian display showcases a broad range of traditional dress from across the region, including a Japanese doll that dates back to 1740. Dolls from Kenya and South Africa are part of the African collection, a Depression-era swagman hails from Australia, wooden dolls portray 450 years of Portuguese culture in Timor-Leste, and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is Austria’s melodious ambassador. The collection also features stuffed animals, marionettes, and carved figurines, which delight both children and adults.

Boal says the members continue to expand the doll collection and would like the museum to become a Bangalore tourist attraction, as well as an educational destination for schoolchildren learning geography and history."