Sally Hopman has been collecting snow domes for 20 years, those little bubbles of kitsch, that are as much advertisement and tourist trinket as signpost to the times.

More than 500 of her snow domes are now on show at the Canberra Museum and Gallery in an exhibition perfectly called All Shook Up.

CMAG curator Sharon Bulkeley said the snow domes were a a marvellous mix of "kitsch, artistry and whimsy".

"And they bring such joy to people,'' she said. "People walk into the room with a look of wonder on their face."

That's just Sally's motivation for sharing her collection with the public. And to thank the many friends - and sometimes complete strangers - who have bought her a snow dome, usually from their overseas travels.

"My first snow dome was one from Paris, a little blue plastic one with the Eiffel Tower in it," she said.

"People started to see them at my home and at work and the next thing I knew, I'd have a new snow dome put on my desk."

Among her favourites are one of the Twin Towers in New York before the September 11 terrorist attacks which, in the exhibition, is placed next to another featuring Ground Zero.

"There's a social history there," Sally said.

"There's humour and there's whimsy and they are clearly tacky but there is a social message in some of them."

Some of the snow domes' message is simply to "buy, buy, buy". Sally has ones from Chanel and Givenchy and Tiffany and Co, reflecting their origins as tools for advertising in 19th century France.

As Sally explains in the exhibition notes, "with snow domes, there is no best or worst".

"They’re all quite dreadful," she said.

"With their garish colours, strange-looking folk inside who look like they’d kill to escape their glass or plastic tomb, to say nothing of the irritating pretend snow/glitter/bats in heir eyes. Yes bats—check out the Jenolan Caves one.

"I love that there is a Broken Hill snow dome. That there’s one from Hawaii with water in it (melted snow, get it?)

"Another from Portland, Oregon which rains when you turn it upside down.

"This obvious illogical-ness is probably why I have such a passion for them."

Sally, who works in media liaison at the National Library but is on secondment to Parliament House, said it was not her in nature to be the story.

"I am a behind-the-scenes person so it is quite different," she said. "But the gallery has done such a wonderful job displaying them all that it really is a great reward."