V&A Museum of Childhood

Bethnal Green, London
Museum of Childhood Open daily 10.00 to 17.45 Admission free Menu

Construction toys

The Museum’s collection includes bricks and construction sets produced by many of the leading toy manufacturers.

Alphabet Blocks

Alphabet blocks are thought to be one of the first toys designed to have an educational purpose. Alphabet blocks can…

Bauhaus Bauspiel construction set

The wooden construction set pictured was originally designed at the Bauhaus school in Germany by Alma Siedhoff-Buscher in 1923, who…

Bayko

In 1933, the plastics engineer and entrepreneur Charles Bird Plimpton set up the Plimpton Engineering Co. Ltd in Liverpool, specifically to…

K’Nex

Inspired by the drinking straw, K’Nex was the brainchild of the American Joel Glickman and his brother Bob Glickman. The…

Lego

Lego was invented in Denmark by the carpenter Ole Kirk Christiansen who started making wooden toys in 1932. By 1934…

Lott’s Bricks

At the beginning of the 20th century the toy industry was based predominantly in Germany. During the First World War, imports…

Meccano

In 1901 Frank Hornby (1863-1936), a clerk from Liverpool, invented and patented a new toy called ‘Mechanics Made Easy’. Hornby,…

Minibrix

Made by the Premo Rubber Company from 1935-1976, Minibrix construction sets enabled children to build their own miniature houses. As…

Mr Potato Head

The invention of New York-born George Lerner, Mr Potato Head was launched by the toy company Hasbro in 1952. The…

Structator construction set

In the early 1900s, Bing was a famous German brand name and the largest toy company in the world, best…

Super Helta-Skelta

This unusual example of a construction toy can be built out of 29 plastic sections. The brightly coloured pieces slot…

V&A Museum of Childhood
Bethnal Green

The Museum is open daily from 10.00 to 17.45 in Bethnal Green, London.

Visit us

Exhibition - Playing with Buildings

22 March 2019 – March 2020

View the exhibition

Event - May half-term 2019

25 May – 2 June

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V&A Museum of Childhood collections

Discover the national collection of Childhood related objects, from ideas to design, toys to schoolbooks. All Museum of Childhood Objects