The museum is primarily a bunch of displays of different toys from various periods in history. Some were cool, others were just creepy. There were a lot of dolls. Big dolls, little dolls, fancy dolls, simple dolls. Even a doll with it's head on backwards. It was one of the nicer dolls, but it still reminded me of chucky. Who makes a doll display (presumably, one of your nicer displays in a toy museum) with a doll with its head on backwards? And what about all the doll houses and the like? How about one for a butcher shop, complete with toy dead animals to hang in the window. Huh?
Overall the Museum of childhood was ok. It has some interesting things in it, but it also had some weird and creepy things. But, it was free. I wouldn't put this on the top of your list of places to visit in Edinburgh, but if you're passing by and have a half hour to kill then stop in. This musuem is a good if you're traveling with children, as they'll be interested in the toys, yet there is a small gift shop, not a big money sucking one like we have in the US.In contrast I did stop at The People's Story, another museum on the Royal Mile. At the time I thought it was kinda lame, but in hindsight, for a free museum, if you don't mind guiding yourself (I had done quite a few attractions that included an audio tour and got lazy) through a musuem, this one wasn't too bad. It is also a free museum so you shouldn't get your expectations too high, but it's another place you can fill a half hour or an hour of time and maybe learn something too.
