Current Exhibits
McLoughlin Bros
Featured Manufacturer in Toys, Inc. Gallery
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The Doll Gallery
Thirty-five new dolls are on exhibit, including a Queen Anne-style doll (1750-1800); Baby Moss, a...
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Bridging the Gender Divide: Toys That Build STEM Skills
From chemistry to construction, toys have prepared generations of kids to pursue careers in STEM...
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Parlor Performances: Theatrical Toys for Home Play
This special exhibit features a variety of toys, dating primarily from 1880 to 1980, that...
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A Space of Our Own: Dollhouses of the 20th Century
Over the last 200 years, dollhouses have evolved alongside the children who played with them....
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Going Places: The Toy Collection of Jerry Smith
On Christmas Day in 1923, a young Kansas boy named Jerry Smith received a single...
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Toys
The toy collection documents society’s cultural beliefs, technological advancements, and the hopes and dreams of generations of children from the 18th century to the present.
Exhibits such as the award-winning Toys from the Attic: Stories of American Childhood examine the role toys play in providing comfort, and teaching skills. Stories collected and told through children’s point of view encourage visitors to think about the meaning of their own toys and fuel conversations about childhood and the importance of memories.
Explore ToysMiniatures
T/m’s fine-scale miniature collection includes architectural works, room settings, fine art, decorative art, tools, equipment, and figures made to scale (usually 1:12). These miniatures are often working reproductions of objects in the full-scale world created by master artists.
Visitors can peek into Louis XV’s study at the Palace at Versailles, an Italian Renaissance studio, or a Boston Beacon Hill mansion, all without leaving Kansas City. Interactive areas such as In the Artist’s Studio highlight the ingenuity and skill miniature artists employ to create their intricately detailed works.
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