The Museum’s collection includes bricks and construction sets produced by many of the leading toy manufacturers.
Alphabet blocks are thought to be one of the first toys designed to have an educational purpose. Alphabet blocks can…
The wooden construction set pictured was originally designed at the Bauhaus school in Germany by Alma Siedhoff-Buscher in 1923, who…
In 1933, the plastics engineer and entrepreneur Charles Bird Plimpton set up the Plimpton Engineering Co. Ltd in Liverpool, specifically to…
Inspired by the drinking straw, K’Nex was the brainchild of the American Joel Glickman and his brother Bob Glickman. The…
Lego was invented in Denmark by the carpenter Ole Kirk Christiansen who started making wooden toys in 1932. By 1934…
At the beginning of the 20th century the toy industry was based predominantly in Germany. During the First World War, imports…
In 1901 Frank Hornby (1863-1936), a clerk from Liverpool, invented and patented a new toy called ‘Mechanics Made Easy’. Hornby,…
Made by the Premo Rubber Company from 1935-1976, Minibrix construction sets enabled children to build their own miniature houses. As…
The invention of New York-born George Lerner, Mr Potato Head was launched by the toy company Hasbro in 1952. The…
In the early 1900s, Bing was a famous German brand name and the largest toy company in the world, best…
This unusual example of a construction toy can be built out of 29 plastic sections. The brightly coloured pieces slot…
The Museum is open daily from 10.00 to 17.45 in Bethnal Green, London.
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Friday 20 December – Sunday 5 January