The Strong Announces National Toy Hall of Fame Finalists

September 28, 2012 By

Courtesy of Toy Industry Association

After reviewing thousands of nominations submitted this year by toy lovers of all ages, The Strong in Rochester, Ny., has announced the 12 nominees for induction into the National Toy Hall of Fame. Two finalists will be inducted on Thursday, November 15.

The finalists for 2012 are: Clue, dominoes, Fisher-Price Corn Popper, Lite-Brite, little green army men, Magic 8 Ball, pogo stick, sidewalk chalk, Simon, Star Wars action figures, tea set, and Twister. The selected winners will join the ranks of 49 toy luminaries already in the Hall of Fame, including Candy Land, cardboard box, Crayola Crayons, Duncan Yo-Yo, Mr. Potato Head, Radio Flyer Wagon, and Tinkertoy.

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The 2011 Inductees for the National Toy Hall of Fame are…

November 18, 2011 By

Last week, The Strong announced the 2011 National Toy Hall of Fame inductees: the dollhouse, Hot Wheels, and the blanket. The honorees were selected from a field of 12 toy finalists, including Dungeons & Dragons, Jenga, the pogo stick, the puppet, R/C vehicles, Rubik’s Cube, Simon, Star Wars action figures, Transformers, and Twister.

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The Strong Announces 2010 Toy Hall of Fame Nominees

October 5, 2010 By

The National Toy Hall of Fame at The Strong has announced the 12 final nominees for the 2010 Toy Hall of Fame. The nominees are Cabbage Patch Kids, chess, the dollhouse, dominoes, Dungeons & Dragons, The Game of Life, Hot Wheels, Lite Brite, Magic 8 Ball, playing cards, pogo stick, and the Rubik’s Cube.

Criteria for induction include: icon-status (the toy is widely recognized, respected, and remembered), longevity, discovery (the toy fosters learning, creativity, or discovery through play), and innovation. The 2010 toy inductees, to be chosen by a national selection committee, will be announced at the National Toy Hall of Fame on November 4 at 10:30 a.m. Last year’s inductees were the ball, the Big Wheel tricycle, and the Game Boy. The Strong, located in Rochester, N.Y., recently changed and shortened its name from Strong Museum of National Play.

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Video: New Toy Documentary to Show at Ninth Film Festival

September 15, 2010 By

Toyland, a new documentary that takes an in-depth look at how toys and games are invented, was just accepted into the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival, the longest-running documentary film festival in the U.S. This is the film’s ninth festival. The documentary is also being supported by the National Toy Hall of Fame, housed at the Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester, N.Y.

Toyland was directed by Ken Sons (Knuckleball, Special O’Laughics), and Tim Walsh, author of Timeless Toys and designer of the game Blurt!, served as creative consultant for the film. For more information, visit www.toylandmovie.com and check out the trailer above.

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Strong Museum of Play Acquires Second-Oldest Known Monopoly Game

July 1, 2010 By

Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester, N.Y., home of the National Toy Hall of Fame, has acquired an early version of Monopoly that was used as evidence in a 10-year legal copyright battle regarding the actual inventor of the game.

The folk-art Monopoly board game, created by a member of the Heap family between 1910 and 1917 in Pennsylvania, is the second-oldest known version of the game, and the oldest version with all of its pieces intact. This version was one of the games used in the defense of Ralph Anspach in a trademark infringement case that went to the Supreme Court. Anspach challenged the lawsuit brought against him by General Mills Fun Group by producing early versions of the game that proved that Charles Darrow, the credited inventor who originally sold the rights to the game, was not the actual inventor. Anspach won the case on this evidence.

Strong Museum of Play owns 65 Monopoly sets and related games, including an additional early version of the game by Charles Darrow. The museum is considering a special display of both the Heap and Darrow games during the National Toy Hall of Fame induction on November 4.

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