The National Museum of Toys and Miniatures hosts the world’s largest fine-scale miniature collection and one of the largest collection of antique toys on display. Indeed, it is one of the few places were multiple generations can share a trip down memory lane, finding common ground in the toys and games of childhood years past and present.
The museum only recently re-opened after extensive remodeling. It first opened in 1982 as the Toy and Miniature Museum of Kansas City in a modest, Italianate mansion at the corner of 52nd and Oak on the University of Missouri — Kansas City campus. Since that time, it has grown to house over 300,000 unique items.
Recent renovations to the building have helped to modernize not only the structure, but also the displays. Multiple video screens are associated with several of the exhibits, displaying history and demonstrations related to the craft of toy and miniature making and manufacture. There are also a couple of hands-on displays for folks to get an idea of the artistry behind these items.
The main floor contains an extensive collection of miniatures and houses from the past hundred years or more. The houses and set displays represent a variety of cultures and sizes; tiny one room displays to castles, and everything in between. Those items not in a home of their own are artfully set into the walls behind glass in small one-room displays.
Parents will be doing some heavy lifting throughout this area though, as not all of the displays are at a level easily accessible to smaller patrons. Indeed, they will definitely need some help looking through all of the houses. The curator should consider adding some viewing steps for little ones, to ease the burden on their guardians.
Following the stairs up around a column of toys spiraling from floor to ceiling, the second floor is not quite as challenging to view for the small ones. Many of the toys are behind wide display windows with plenty of hall space to get a good view. There are still a few though that will need parental assistance.
Nearly every era of toys and games for children and children-at-heart are on display, featuring some of the most popular ever known, and folks will be surprised at how far back the origins of some reach. There are few more dollhouses on this floor, but these are the grander and gaudier, and a few owned by local residents; including one owned by Kansas City native Josephine Bird, daughter of one of the founders of Emery Bird Thayer Department Store. Outfitted with an array of personal family heirloom items, it also contains many items obtained from the department store, when Josephine was but a child in the late 1800s.
The Golden Age of Pedal Power As an added bonus, two special exhibitions were in progress on the second floor during this particular visit. “Pedal to the Metal” carried over from August, highlights some of the most fantastic pedal-powered inventions of the 20th century. It is a stroll though the history of the pedal car and an entire generation that rolled down the city streets and through farm backyards under their own power, and in their own version of the Ford, Chevrolet, and Kiddilac. There is even an Oscar Mayer Weiner mobile!
In a separate exhibit, “Messengers of Goodwill” enables visitors to discover a part of American history lost, in a display devoted to the American Blue-Eyed Dolls and Japanese Friendship Dolls. The display tells the story of how these three-foot tall dolls played a part in mending diplomatic relations between the two nations during the 1920s, as well as their subsequent relegation to the shredder at the beginning of World War II.
This little museum is definitely one of Kansas City’s own unique treasures and an adventure that will capture the imagination of young and old alike. It is open daily year-round, except for Tuesdays and major holidays, and at the time of this writing, only 5 bucks for children ages 5 to 100.
. . .
further reading
Kansas City, MO
No comments:
Post a Comment