Dollhouses are on display in a newly renovated National Toy and Miniature Museum. All photos courtesy National Toy and Miniature Museum.
The toytisserie is made up of toys donated by Kansas City-area residents.
An Oscar Mayer Wienermobile, a panda painted on a grain of rice, and a seven- inch cabinet with 19 secret compartments – just a few of the items on display as the National Museum of Toys and Miniatures reopens tomorrow.
After the renovation effort, with museum greets the public with a new name, new displays and more interactive features. And museum officials say the organization is poised for success in a shrinking marketplace following an $8 million renovation.
The museum at 5235 Oak opened in 1982 as the Toy and Miniature Museum of Kansas City featuring the collections of Mary Harris Francis and Barbara Marshall. It featured historic dollhouses, dolls, and toys and miniatures, tiny exact scale models of furniture, musical instruments and other items.
The museum can now boast it has the world’s largest fine-scale miniature collection and one of the nation’s largest collections of antique toys.
Specialty museums that display in both toys and miniatures, however, have faced a rough time while the Kansas City organization has been growing and building its collection. In fact, the museum points out, more than 32 institutions featuring collections of toys and miniatures have closed in that period, making the Kansas City museum even more important.
“In the time we’ve been open, other specialty museums have closed,” Executive Director Jamie Berry says. “We’re here to stay. We plan to be here for the long haul.”
Japanese friendship doll, part of a temporary exhibit.
The National Toy and Miniature Museum is counting on the recent changes it’s made to bring in new visitors from Kansas City and across the country. Renovation began when the museum discovered a need to update its climate controls. It closed up early this year, and took the opportunity to renovate its space and add the type of hands-on exhibits visitors said they wanted.
“We are now a much more inviting experience,” Berry says. “The museum is now better suited for today’s visitors.”
For example, those visitors can now use a 1930s Orphan Annie decoder pin to figure out a cryptic message. They can x-ray toys like a Betsy Wetsy doll and a Matchbox car to see their inner workings. Miniature enthusiasts can try their hands at fine-scale miniature art by using tweezers to place hands on a seven-inch tall grandfather clock.
Another new feature is the “Toytisserie,” a two-story spinning collection of toys donated by people in Kansas City while the museum was closed.
The museum also has new temporary exhibit spaces. As it reopens, one temporary exhibit focuses on Japanese Friendship Dolls sent to the United States in 1927 to promote a better understanding between the peoples of the two countries. Another is a collection of pedal cars including a Garton Kidillac and an Oscar Myer Wienermobile.
The museum says it has lowered admission prices and expanded operating hours. It will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. every day of the week except Tuesdays
Museum Community Development Director Cassie Mundt says the museum will continue to add to its collections. In fact, the museum’s new name has led to a lot of interest from people with interesting items.
“One of the advantages of being national is that we are getting lots of inquiries about donations,” she says.
Who’s talking