I have had the pleasure of visiting a number of toy, play and pop culture museums and exhibits over the last couple of months. The New York area is rich in such exhibitions. But what about the rest of America, Canada and Mexico. Let's work together in building a list of collections, exhibitions and museums by you letting us know what is available where you live. Please send me any information you have so that we can begin to tie these sites together in our toy and play consciousness.
I am going to seed the list with some museums I have located:
214 California Drive
Burlingame, California 94010
Tuesday through Saturday - 10:30 AM – 5:30 PM PST
Located near San Francisco airport, this museum constains examples of every PEZ dispenser ever created.
300 Paradise Lane
Paradise Township, PA
Open Weekends
In the middle of Pennsylvania Dutch Country; a major collection of trains that range from mid-19th century to modern times.
4597 Noble St
Bellaire, OH 43906
Open 12:00 to 5:00 PM Wednesday through Sunday
Called by some the "Unofficial Lego Museum." It unfortunately has a fairly unintelligible website. Sounds cool though.
Victoria & Albert Museum of Childhood
Bethnal Green, London
Cambridge Heath Road
London E2 9PA
United Kingdom
Thank you Leslie Scott for this addition. You are right; let's list the world's great toy museums.
National Museum of Toys and Miniatures
5235 Oak Street
Kansas City, MO
Thank you David Miller. It has an amazing collection of doll houses and a fantastic exhibit of marbles.
1880 Gaylord Street
Denver, CO 80206
Open Wednesday – Saturday: 10 am – 4 pm; Sunday: 1 pm – 4 pm
They are working on a long-term plan and are looking for people to get involved. Who better than toy and play industry members.
Hi David
I am very familiar with the National Museum of Play but I was trying to name museums that are not in New York City or New York State. Thanks for submitting.
Richard
What a great idea!
Of course there’s the National Museum of Play in Rochester, New York, which I’m sure you forgot to mention just because it’s so well known and obvious.
Another one I’ve visited is the National Museum of Toys and Miniatures in Kansas City, Missouri. It has an amazing collection of doll houses and a fantastic exhibit of marbles.