Thank you to our Campaign Co-Chairs, Margaret Silva and J. Scott Francis. Your enduring leadership and generosity ensured the Campaign was a success. Because of your commitment, the Museum continues to help create a culturally vibrant community.

The National Museum of Toys and Miniatures launched The National Excellence and Community Impact Campaign in 2020 to renovate and create new galleries for rotating exhibitions, expand and upgrade collections’ storage for a more robust preservation environment, enhance visitor accessibility to the collection, increase opportunities for object interpretation, and increase exhibitions and educational opportunities.

With the community’s generous contributions, the ambitious goal of $2.5 million has been met and exceeded, raising over $2,735,000. The Campaign’s supporters have created a lasting legacy, which will allow the Museum to continue to nurture creativity and inspire curiosity for generations to come. In alignment with the Museum’s mission, the campaign enabled a series of transformative expansions, detailed below.

Want to learn how you can further engage with the Museum? If so, please click on the button below to email us. We look forward to hearing from you.

“The Sunderland Foundation’s ongoing support of The National Museum of Toys and Miniatures demonstrates how deeply we value building places where young minds grow and thrive and where communities come together for celebration and inspiration. Our support of The National Excellence and Community Impact Campaign signifies our trust in the Museum and the positive impact they have on our community.” – Randy Vance, President of The Sunderland Foundation

Guests enjoying the Miniature Art Museum, Mark McDonald, photographer.

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Discover the Campaign’s Impact

“My pride in the leadership and staff at The National Museum of Toys and Miniatures is the main reason I supported The National Excellence and Community Impact Campaign. Their dedication to the Museum’s mission while holding the Museum accountable to the highest standards is evident as they create experiences of joy and wonder for ever-expanding audiences.” – Margaret Silva

Miniature Art Museum

Out of the public eye for over half a century, this English Cotswold Cottage (1933-1934), part of a series of rooms produced by Narcissa Niblack Thorne, resurfaced on the North Shore of Chicago in 2019. This unexpected and fortuitous acquisition expands the Museum’s ability to present the history and significance of fine-scale miniatures. Produced on a 1:12 scale, this 17th-century Cotswold Cottage is characterized by its simplicity and functionality, reflecting the lived experiences of rural laborers.

English Cotswold Cottage, 1933-1934, Narcissa Niblack Thorne, Landon Collis, photographer.

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Miniature Maze

The Miniature Maze showcases cherished miniature rooms acquired by museum co-founder Barbara Marshall. Renovations to the Maze included upgrading cove lighting for easier mobility, new unobtrusive overhead ceiling lighting, and freshly painted walls to further renew the space. A significant enhancement transformed the southeast corner into a Miniature Art Museum, offering rotating exhibitions of fine-scale miniature paintings in a museum within a museum, providing visitors with captivating new experiences.

Left: Miniature Maze gallery space. Right: Architect’s Classroom, circa 1900, 1993, William Robertson.

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Left: Girl Scouts enjoying the Five Senses Badge workshop. Middle: Children creating optical toys. Right: Boys and Girls Club of Greater Kansas City participants experiencing Keisha’s Tea Party.

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Exhibitions

The Museum provides dynamic temporary exhibitions in the galleries showcasing historically significant toys and dynamic miniature artworks. These changing exhibitions highlight the cultural significance of toys and the work of a diverse array of historical and contemporary artists considering small things in their creative process. The rotating exhibitions allow the Museum to expand collaborations with collectors and artists to examine delightful objects, discuss sometimes challenging subject matter, and consider new perspectives through varied lenses.

Left: Mid-Century Magic: A Tale of Toys and Aluminum Christmas Trees exhibition. Middle: Transformations: New Perspectives on the Art of Miniatures opening reception. Right: Thanks for the Memories: Toys and the Stories They Hold exhibition.

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Your Commitment and Support

The Museum is thrilled to provide visitors with enhanced spaces, exhibitions, and programs. Your time, talent, treasure, ties, and testimony allows the Museum to continue to help create a vibrant, culturally enriched community and leave a lasting legacy for generations to come.

Want to learn how you can further engage with the Museum? If so, please click on the button below to email us. We look forward to hearing from you.

“We have supported The National Museum of Toys and Miniatures for many years.  We are proud to have invested in The National Excellence and Community Impact Campaign in 2023 through the Haverty Family Foundation.” – Mike and Marlys Haverty 

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Thank you, Campaign Donors!

Many thanks to the following individuals and charitable foundations for their support of The National Excellence and Community Impact Campaign.

Questions? Contact Jill Grotzinger, Director of Development, at 816.235.8006 or JillGrotzinger@toyandminiaturemuseum.org.