The allure of miniature villages has receded in modern times, perhaps because young people can now build, play and live in virtual worlds that dwarf even the most complex model builder's vision.

Safety Village at the Crystal Bay Centre for Special Education mirrors a similar village run by the Ottawa Safety Council in Britannia Park for more than 30 years before it closed in 2006.

In the end, it took six men five years to execute the final vision: a 1:9-scale reproduction of all the surrounding buildings (about 100 models), each one carefully constructed from carved Cotswold ...