National Museum of Toys and Miniatures

National Museum of Toys and Miniatures

A life-sized uniformed toy bear guards the National Toy and Miniature Museum
Established 1982
Location 5235 Oak Street, Kansas City, Missouri, United States
Coordinates 39°01′51″N 94°34′56″W / 39.0308°N 94.5822°W / 39.0308; -94.5822Coordinates: 39°01′51″N 94°34′56″W / 39.0308°N 94.5822°W / 39.0308; -94.5822
Website National Museum of Toys and Miniatures

The National Museum of Toys and Miniatures, formerly known as the Kansas City Toy and Miniature Museum,[1] is located on the campus of the University of Missouri Kansas City in a 38-room Italianate mansion at 52nd and Oak. (Bequeathed to the University in the 1960s, the home was originally designed for physician Herbert Tureman in 1906 by noted architect John McKecknie and completed by 1911.)

Boasting more than 33,000 square feet of exhibit space and a collection of more than 300,000 items,[2][3][4] the museum currently welcomes about 25,000 visitors a year.[3] The museum has undergone two expansions in its more than 30 years of operation, and closed for a $9.2 million renovation (mainly of heating and cooling systems) beginning in 2014, reopening in July, 2015.[1][3][5]

At its origin, the Museum combined the toy collection of Mary Harris Francis with the fine miniature collection of Barbara Hall Marshall; the two women were avid collectors as well as lifelong friends.[4][6] Opened in 1982, the Museum today boasts the largest collection of nostalgic toys in the Midwest, the world's largest collection of marbles, as well as the most extensive collection of fine-scale contemporary miniatures on earth.

References

  1. 1 2 Schultz, Eric. Toy and Miniature Museum adds 'National' to its Name, KSHB 41 Action News, published 7 May 2013, accessed 6 June 2013.
  2. ↑ Plannenstiel, Brianne. Amanda Clark of Kansas City's Toy and Miniature Museum, Ink, published 25 October 2011, accessed 6 June 2013.
  3. 1 2 3 Williams, Mará Rose. KC Toy Museum to get makeover, Kansas City Star, published 7 May 2013, accessed 6 June 2013.
  4. 1 2 Spencer, Laura. With A New Name, The Toy and Miniature Museum Looks Ahead, KCUR, published 25 October 2012, accessed 6 June 2013.
  5. ↑ "Photo gallery: National Museum of Toys & Miniatures reopens". Kansas City Star. July 30, 2015. Retrieved 15 November 2015.
  6. ↑ It's A Small World: Kansas City's Toy and Miniature Museum, KCPT, published 4 April 2012, accessed 6 June 2013.


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