Skip Navigation

About

Meet Your Museum

Museum Exterior_2015

Founders Mary Harris Francis & Barbara Hall Marshall

T/m Exterior

The National Museum of Toys / Miniatures Exterior

Mission Statement
The National Museum of Toys and Miniatures educates, inspires, and delights adults and children through the museum’s collection and preservation of toys and miniatures.

Learn more about the history of the museum in a short introduction video.

Rooster-Skittles

HISTORY

T/m was established in 1982 as the Toy and Miniature Museum of Kansas City, featuring the collections of Mary Harris Francis and Barbara Hall Marshall. Operating in the historic Tureman Mansion on the corner of 52nd and Oak on the University of Missouri – Kansas City campus, the 7,500-square-foot museum had two full-time staff members.

Over the next 30 years with expansions in 1989 and 2004, the museum grew to 33,000 square feet. During the same period, the collection increased to over 72,000 objects. In 2012, the museum embarked on its first public capital campaign to raise $10.2 million to support building and exhibit improvements. The campaign raised $10.73 million, and the museum began a 19-month renovation in 2014.

The museum reopened as The National Museum of Toys and Miniatures on August 1, 2015, with the world’s largest fine-scale miniature collection and one of the nation’s largest historic toy collections on public display. T/m’s collection currently numbers more than 93,000 objects – and counting.

Today, T/m is a place where art meets history and every visitor leaves a little younger.

Mary Harris Francis Biography

Barbara Marshall Biography

  1. 1982

    T/m was established as the Miniature Museum of Kansas City

  2. 1989

    Museum expansion

  3. 2004

    The museum grew to 33,000 square feet during another expansion. With this expansion, the museum was able to increase its collection to feature over 72,000 objects

  4. 2005

    Mary Harris Francis (co-founder) passes away

  5. 2010

    Barbara Hall Marshall (founder) retires

  6. 2012

    The museum embarked on its first public capital campaign to raise $10.2 million to support building and exhibit improvements

  7. 2014

    Raising $10.73 million, the museum began a 19-month renovation

  8. 2015

    The museum reopened as The National Museum of Toys and Miniatures, with the world's largest fine-scale miniature collection and one of the nation's largest historic toy collections on public display

  9. 2016

    Toys from the Attic exhibit receives Leadership in History Merit Award from the American Association of State and Local History

  10. 2018

    Playing for Keeps: The VFW Marble Tournaments, 1947-1962, exhibit receives Leadership in History Merit Award from the American Association of State and Local History

  11. 2021

    Barbara Hall Marshall (co-founder) passes away

our staff

ADMINISTRATION

Petra Kralickova, Executive Director
kralickovap@toyandminiaturemuseum.org 816.235.8001

CURATORIAL AND COLLECTIONS

Amy McKune, Curator of Collections
mckunea@toyandminiaturemuseum.org 816.235.8002
Calleen Carver, Collections Manager
carverc@toyandminiaturemuseum.org 816.235.8003
Museum Registrar
816.235.8008

LEARNING AND ENGAGEMENT

Madeline Rislow, Sr. Manager of Learning and Engagement
rislowm@toyandminiaturemuseum.org 816.235.8004

MARKETING

Marketing and Communications Coordinator
816.235.8009

EARNED REVENUE AND VISITOR SERVICES

Ash Wood, Earned Revenue and Visitor Services Manager
ashleewood@toyandminiaturemuseum.org 816.235.8007
Mandy Farrow, Lead Visitor Services Representative
farrowma@toyandminiaturemuseum.org 816.235.8010
Milica Acamovic, Visitor Services Representative
milicaacamovic@toyandminiaturemuseum.org 816.235.8010
Audrey Seider, Visitor Services Representative
audreyseider@toyandminiaturemuseum.org 816.235.8010

STUDENT ASSISTANTS

Makayla Cambiano, Visitor Services Assistant
816.235.8010
April Cowan, Visitor Services Assistant
816.235.8010
Everett Dufur, Visitor Services Assistant
816.235.8010
Tayt Tillman, Visitor Services Assistant
816.235.8010

board of directors

MUSEUM FOUNDERS/ Mary Harris Francis, Barbara Marshall

OFFICERS/ Corey Ziegler (Chair), Lori Beam (Past Chair), William A. Hall (Treasurer), Rachel Sterbenz (Secretary)

BOARD OF DIRECTORS/ Dr. Antonio Byrd, Wolfe Brack, Troy Lillebo, Anne Manning, Teresa Martinez, Margaret McGuiness, Saralyn Reece Hardy, Susan Stanton, Jean-Paul Wong

COMMITTEE MEMBERS/ Julia Gargallo, Julia Jackson, Bob Simmons, Carla Smocks

HONORARY DIRECTORS EMERITI/ J. Scott Francis, David Francis, Margaret Silva

Mable dixon steiff bear

Careers

Thank you for your interest in working at The National Museum of Toys and Miniatures. T/m is committed to attracting, developing, and retaining a highly qualified workforce and offers a variety of career opportunities. At T/m, employment is much more than just work. Employees enrich and develop their love of museums, history, and art while contributing their specific skills and talents to the museum mission. The museum is an equal opportunity employer. For more information on our diversity mission, visit the Office of Diversity and Inclusion website. Join the T/m team today!

Marketing Strategist

The purpose of this role is to support T/m’s mission to reach new and returning audiences and donors through marketing and communication initiatives. The Marketing Strategist is responsible for planning, development, and implementation of T/m’s strategies for communications and public relations activities. The Marketing Strategist is the first point of contact with the media and works on developing and strengthening media relationships. THIS POSITION REMAINS OPEN UNTIL FILLED with an initial review date of April 27, 2023. APPLY ONLINE at www.umkc.edu/jobs / Job # 46125 or click the orange arrow below for a direct link.

Marketing Strategist

Director of Development

The purpose of this role is to support T/m’s mission by developing and implementing the museum’s strategic fundraising goals. As part of the Management Team, the Director of Development will coordinate and implement a fundraising strategy for individuals, foundations, and corporate support throughout the Kansas City region and nationally. The Director of Development will work with the Executive Director to operationalize, oversee, and expand fundraising activities for T/m. THIS POSITION REMAINS OPEN UNTIL FILLED, APPLICATIONS ARE NOW BEING ACCEPTED. Apply online at www.umkc.edu/jobs / Job # 45534 or click the orange arrow below for a direct link.

Director of Development
tilt top table

press

For further information or to schedule a press visit, please contact by email at info@toyandminiaturemuseum.org or call 816.235.8009.

PRESS KITS
Museum Fact Sheet 2023

PHOTOGRAPHY
For high-resolution images of the museum and collection, please email to info@toyandminiaturemuseum.org or call 816.235.8009.

Please review the museum’s photography rights and permissions.

ANNUAL REPORTS & FINANCIALS
2018 Audit
2018 990
2019 Audit
2019 990
2020 Audit
2020 990

Back to Top