National Toy Hall of Fame facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Quick facts for kids
National Toy Hall of Fame
The entrance to The Strong museum, where the Toy Hall of Fame is located.
Established	1998; 27 years ago (1998)
Location	The Strong, Rochester, NY
Type	Hall of Fame
Collections	Toys

The National Toy Hall of Fame is a special museum in the United States that honors the greatest toys and games ever made. To get into the Hall of Fame, a toy can't just be a passing trend. It has to be a true classic that people have loved for a long time.

The best toys are chosen based on four main things:

Icon Status: Is the toy famous and easily recognized?
Longevity: Has it been popular for many years?
Discovery: Does it help kids learn, be creative, or discover new things?
Innovation: Did it change the way people play in a big way?

The Hall of Fame started in 1998. In 2002, it moved to its current home at The Strong museum in Rochester, New York. As of 2024, 88 toys have earned a spot in this special collection.

The First Toys (1998-1999)

The very first toys were added to the Hall of Fame in 1999. When the list was announced, some college students held a fun protest because their favorites, Mr. Potato Head and Barbie's friend Ken, didn't make the cut. (Don't worry, they were added later!)

Etch A Sketch
Glass marbles
Hula hoops
Barbie dolls and creator Ruth Handler
Crayola No. 500
Lego pieces
Tinkertoy pieces
Monopoly board

Inductees of the 2000s

Class of 2000

A Triumph bicycle
Knucklebones, also known as Jacks
A metal Slinky
Jump rope

The following toys were added in 2000:

Class of 2001

An old-style steel toy truck by Tonka
Silly Putty molded into a cube

The following toys were added in 2001:

Class of 2002

A Raggedy Ann doll
A completed Jigsaw puzzle

The following toys were added in 2002:

Class of 2003

caption1 = Blocks with letters and numbers
A checkers board

The following toys were added in 2003:

Alphabet Blocks
Checkers

Class of 2004

A rocking horse
A game of Scrabble

The following toys were added in 2004:

G.I. Joe
Rocking horse
Scrabble

Class of 2005

A simple cardboard box

The following toys were added in 2005:

Candy Land
Cardboard box: A surprise choice! The museum honored the cardboard box for its ability to become anything a kid can imagine.
Jack-in-the-box

Class of 2006

The first three versions of the Easy-Bake oven
Lionel toy trains

The following toys were added in 2006:

Easy-Bake Oven
Lionel Trains

Class of 2007

The Atari 2600 video game console
Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy
A kite in flight

The following toys were added in 2007:

Atari 2600
Kite
Raggedy Andy: He joined his friend Raggedy Ann in the Hall of Fame.

Class of 2008

A dog playing with a stick
A baby doll
A skateboard

The following toys were added in 2008:

The stick: That's right, a simple stick! The museum experts loved that a stick costs nothing and can become anything you imagine—a magic wand, a sword, or a tool for drawing in the dirt.
The baby doll
The skateboard

Class of 2009

A ball
The Nintendo Game Boy
A Big Wheel tricycle

The following toys were added in 2009:

Ball
Game Boy
Big Wheel

Inductees of the 2010s

Class of 2010

The board for The Game of Life
Playing cards

The following toys were added in 2010:

The Game of Life
Playing cards

Class of 2011

caption1 = A Hot Wheels car
A three-story dollhouse
A blanket fort

The following toys were added in 2011:

Hot Wheels
Dollhouse
Blanket: Like the stick and the box, the blanket was honored for being a simple item that sparks imagination, turning into forts, capes, and more.

Class of 2012

People dressed as Star Wars characters
A set of dominoes

The following toys were added in 2012:

Star Wars action figures
Dominoes

Class of 2013

A chessboard
A rubber duck

The following toys were added in 2013:

Class of 2014

A little green army man
A child blowing soap bubbles
A Rubik's Cube

The following toys were added in 2014:

Class of 2015

A German hand puppet
People playing Twister
A Super Soaker water blaster

The following toys were added in 2015:

Class of 2016

A Dungeons & Dragons game
Swings on a playground

The following toys were added in 2016:

Dungeons & Dragons
Little People
Swing

Class of 2017

A Clue game board
A Wiffle ball
A paper airplane

The following toys were added in 2017:

Class of 2018

A Magic 8-Ball
A row of pinball machines
A deck of Uno cards

The following toys were added in 2018:

Magic 8 Ball
Pinball
Uno

Class of 2019

The cover of a coloring book
People playing the card game Magic: The Gathering
Matchbox model cars

The following toys were added in 2019:

Coloring book
Magic: The Gathering
Matchbox model cars

Inductees of the 2020s

Sidewalk chalk
A Jenga tower

The following toys were added in 2020:

Baby Nancy
Sidewalk chalk
Jenga

Class of 2021

The Risk board game
Children playing in a sandbox

The following toys were added in 2021:

Class of 2022

Lite-Brite
People dressed as Masters of the Universe characters
Spinning tops

The following toys were added in 2022:

Class of 2023

Two boys showing their baseball cards
A Nerf dart and two Nerf balls

The following toys were added in 2023:

Baseball cards
Cabbage Patch Kids
Corn Popper
Nerf

For 2023, the museum did something special. They let the public vote for a fourth toy to be added from a list called the "Forgotten Five." These were popular toys that had been finalists before but never won. The Fisher-Price Corn Popper won the vote and joined the other winners!

Class of 2024

The following toys were added in 2024:

My Little Pony dolls
Transformers action figures
Phase 10 card game