155 Items Tagged

Toys

Traditional wooden nutcrackers await the finishing touches at the Füchtner family workshop in Germany, where the iconic style is said to have originated.

The Family Behind the First Traditional Nutcracker Is Still Making Them

Wilhelm Füchtner's iconic 1870s design began a legacy that continues in the same small workshop in Germany's Ore Mountains.

Carole Rosenblat December 5, 2023

Kindergarten Museum Martonvásár

Martonvásár, Hungary

Kindergarten Museum Martonvásár

This museum showcases the lives of Hungarian school children and their vintage toys.

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

Myrtle Beach Pinball Museum

If it wasn’t for a real estate agent with a penchant for old-school arcades, this hands-on collection of nostalgic flipper machines might never exist.

Beaver Island, Michigan

Beaver Island Toy Museum

On a remote island in the northern reaches of Lake Michigan, a museum of collectibles collides with a vintage toy store.

Amsterdam, Netherlands

Amsterdam Toy Museum

This collection of 20th-century toys is filled with a lifelong personal toy collection brought from the U.S. to Amsterdam.

7 Places to Fall in Love With Nintendo

From 8-bit to the big screen.

Jonathan Carey April 28, 2023

The 1902 political cartoon that kicked off the Teddy bear craze.

Washington, D.C.

First Teddy Bear

The story behind this beloved toy—named for Theodore Roosevelt and owned by his grandson—is more complicated than you might guess.

Roman soldiers

Valencia, Spain

L'Iber Museo de Los Soldaditos de Plomo

From grand battles to daily life, this Spanish museum offers a view of world history in miniature.

Skeleton fair.

19 Toy Museums That Take Playthings Seriously

The holidays aren't the only time to enjoy the world of toys.

Jonathan Carey December 9, 2022

Kyotomangekyo Museum

Kyotomangekyo Museum

Visitors to this museum will discover that kaleidoscopes are much more than toys.

The sign and part of the first wall

Amesbury, Massachusetts

Plum Island Museum of Lost Toys & Curiosities

Explore the odd assortment of items that have washed up on the beaches of Plum Island.

The Hidden Magic of Maine

There’s a lot you don’t know about Maine—yet.

Sponsored By The Maine Office of Tourism

Podcast: Ponyhenge

Join us for a daily celebration of the world’s most wondrous, unexpected, even strange places.

The Podcast Team February 21, 2022

Robert's sailor suit is not original to the doll. It may have first belonged to one of his former owners, Robert Eugene Otto.

objects of intrigue

The Story Behind the World's Most Terrifying Haunted Doll

Robert the Doll is Key West's most cursed object.

Andy Wright October 25, 2021

Clarkes Collectibles & Lunchbox Museum

Nice, California

Clarkes Collectibles & Lunchbox Museum

An ever-updating collection of retro Americana.

Permanently Closed

Hartford, Vermont

Vermont Toy Museum

Inside this community-run museum, visitors are treated to the history of toys and games.

World's largest wooden yo-yo, in all its glory

Chico, California

World's Largest Working Wooden Yo-Yo

Hidden inside a gift shop that doubles as a museum, this gargantuan yo-yo can only be operated by crane.

Good luck with the dense details on this 1746 map of London—the image at left is just one corner of the map—based on a survey by John Rocque.

Cartographic Puzzles Are Poised for a Comeback

When nothing in the world seems to fit together, “dissected maps” offer a cognitive balm.

Jessica Leigh Hester May 5, 2020