The Strong National Museum of Play has announced the 2024 inductees into the Toy Hall of Fame.
Transformers, My Little Pony and Phase 10 made the cut this year.
It was My Little Pony’s seventh attempt.
The winners were announced Tuesday morning during the “Today” show.
People were able to vote on the Hall of Fame’s website in September to help decide what toys would be put into the museum. The votes were compiled into what accounted as one member of the committee that makes the decision.
The two toys and one game beat out balloons, “Choose Your Own Adventure” books, Hess Toy Trucks, Pokémon TCG, remote control vehicles, Sequence, Apples to Apples, stick horses and trampolines.
The Toy Hall of Fame described the winners earlier this year:
My Little Pony
From the Hall of Fame: My Little Pony toys were first introduced in the 1980s but disappeared until they came back in 2003. The “mini-horses encourages children in traditional forms of doll play—fantasy, storytelling, hair grooming, and collecting.” They come in more than 1,000 varieties and at one point even outsold the Hall of Fame toy Barbie.
Phase 10
From the Hall of Fame: “In 1982, Black game inventor and entrepreneur Ken Johnson introduced Phase 10. The rummy-style card game challenged players to collect various groups of cards to complete 10 phases, in sequential order, before their opponents.” It is considered one of the best-selling card games in the world.
Transformers
From the Hall of Fame: Introduced by Hasbro in the 1980s, Transformers were toys that were paired with a backstory from Marvel comics and a cartoon series that eventually expanded to movies, electronic games, and other branded items. " For more than 40 years now, the appeal of Transformers is, in part, that the toys do what kids do anyway—change the toy to suit the needs of play.”
The National Toy Hall of Fame was started in 1998 by A.C. Gilbert’s Discovery Village in Salem, Oregon. When it got too big for that museum it moved to 2002 to The Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester, New York.
To be considered for induction the toys must be iconic, have longevity, can foster discovery and be an innovation. Anyone can nominate a toy at any time online or by mail then an advisory committee pares down the list to the finalists.
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