On our last morning on Penang Island, I took the bus to the Teddyville Museum, hosted by the DoubleTree Resort between George Town and Batu Ferringhi. As you may have guessed, this museum is all about Teddy Bears - but it also tells the history of Penang using Teddy Bears as the characters in a large number of well-done dioramas!
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| This 1905 bear is the oldest in the museum |
The museum has many Steiff brand toy bears from Germany. Richard Steiff designed and sold his bears beginning in 1902. Meanwhile, Teddy Roosevelt inspired American Morris Michtom to make a small, stuffed bear cub to put in his candy shop window, after Roosevelt refused to shoot a small bear cub while on a hunt in 1902. Thus the "Teddy" bear was born and has since proliferated around the world. |
| Francis Light established George Town in 1786 |
Francis Light was a British sailor and explorer who established George Town as a trading hub/port in 1786. He leased Penang Island from the local Sultan to establish the first British settlement in Southeast Asia for the East India Company. Fun note: Francis was the father of Colonel William Light who later founded the City of Adelaide in South Australia in 1836. They are now Sister Cities.
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Diorama showing the multiethnic active port city of George Town |
The museum has so many dioramas I can only show a few of my favorites! If you read my post on the Thaipusam Festival this scene will make a lot more sense! The Waterfall temple depicted is the largest temple dedicated to Lord Murugon outside of India and thousands of devotees climb the 511 steps up to this temple during the festival and outside that time as well.
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| Thaipusam Festival in George Town |
We also experienced both Chinese New Year and the beginning of Ramadan when we were in Malaysia. I love this country scene of the local Malay (mostly Muslim) celebrating with their families in their ancestral homes.
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| The Kampung House is a wooden village house elevated on stilts |
Some of the diorama's have larger bears enacting important roles in Malaysian life. I'm not sure if Khalid from Mypintu Plate would welcome the comparison, but this is a hard-working bear cooking Malay food!
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| Cooking Malay street food for the other bears! |
And here is a woman bear creating a Batik. Compare this diorama to the photo I took earlier of a real woman creating a batik in the Penang Batik Factory!
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| Woman hand-painting a batik cloth |
Speaking of fashion, did you know that Jimmy Choo began his shoe apprenticeship at 11 years old under his father in Penang in 1959! Of course the Teddyville Museum commemorated that with its own Jimmy Choo bear.
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I don't think Jimmy Choo would appreciate these shoes!
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The Teddyville Museum has many more dioramas and darling displays - and then the gift shop has D.I.Y. dress-up for your mini-bears. Reminds me so much of our daughter and her friends and their very adventurous stuffed animals!
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| "Piggylet" and her friends would have loved to shop here! |
I have a soft spot for Teddy Bears as I loved my mother's bear from her youth during my own youth. My mom's name was Theodora, but she went by "Teddy". I've been thinking of her pretty constantly as I write this post. Below is one last Teddy photo from the 3D Museum in the Oriental Village on Langkawi Island.
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| Feeling loved by the giant bear at the 3D Museum! |
