TOYS! – Grand Rapids Public Museum

Baby Boomers loved Paper Dolls, Erector Sets, and Mr. Potato Head, Gen Xers preferred Holly Hobbie and Hot Wheels, and Millennials have never known a world without Super Mario or My Little Pony. Some toys, like Barbie and G.I. Joe, have adapted to appeal to different generations and remain popular today. Toys and games have changed over time, but the desire to imagine, compete, and create has not.

Explore the new exhibit, TOYS! opening Saturday, October 27.

TOYS! is an interactive, multi-generation exhibition of toys and games to rekindle childhood memories and spark the creation of new ones. This GRPM original exhibit features toys and games from the Museum’s Collections and on loan from the community, allowing visitors to imagine, compete and create, while going on a journey of toys through generations. The exhibit will even include a 1980s style arcade!

Through the design process of the exhibition, the Museum worked with several experts from the community making sure the design was as inclusive as possible so everyone visiting can enjoy it. The exhibition will be presented in both English and Spanish, and will also include Braille.

Museum members have the first chance to see TOYS! on Saturday, October 27 during the members only preview from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m.!

TOYS! is great for school groups!

Book your trip today and add on one of our Guided Programs for TOYS!

Guided Programs

Explore: TOYS!

Pairs great with TOYS! exhibit!

Explore is one of the Museum’s core educational programs, and it will help learners understand how to use the exhibit TOYS as a tool for exploration, investigation, and discovery. Students will practice two thinking moves which will allow them to get the most out of experiencing museum exhibits. First, they will make observations of displayed objects and images and explicitly record the emotions, memories, and questions that these toys and games bring up. Next, they will dig deep into an exhibit section to ask themselves, “What is the Big Idea of this exhibit?” and “What story is this exhibit telling me?” Learners will leave Explore programs with the tools and experience to enjoy learning throughout the GRPM and beyond.

Availability:Monday through Friday; times based on availability of exhibit and program space.

Capacity: 32 students

Cost: $4 per student

Recommended age level: Grades K-12; materials and instructional techniques are adapted to grade level.

Objectives:

Students will reflect on what a museum does and why museums are important spaces.
Students will recognize and record various features of the exhibit TOYS! that evoke emotions, connections, and questions.
Students will make detailed observations in TOYS! and will be able to verbalize their understanding of the exhibit’s core message, or big idea.

Investigate: Toys & Games

Pairs great with TOYS! exhibit!

During the Investigate programs, students will take the role of museum curators and use close observation and critical thinking to discover the origin, meaning, and importance of real toys and games from the Museum’s Collection. As they rotate through fun, hands-on stations, students will learn how to handle and study primary sources and will be pushed to consider the value or learning lesson of various toys and games that have existed across time and cultures.

Availability: Available days & times: Monday through Friday; times based on availability of exhibit and program space.

Capacity: 32 students

Cost: $4 per student

Recommended age level: Grades 3-12; materials and instructional techniques are adapted to grade level.

Objectives:

Students will be able to analyze primary sources (artifacts, specimens, and photographs) and make inferences about the story or significance of the sources.

Curriculum Connections:

NGSS Science and Engineering Practices: Constructing Explanations; Engaging in Argument from Evidence
Michigan K-12 Social Studies Standards: H2 Living and Working Together in Families and Communities, Now and Long Ago, G4 Human Systems, P1 Reading and Communication, P2 Inquiry Research and Analysis

STEM: Design with littleBits

Pairs great with TOYS! exhibit!

During this design program, students become real engineers and are challenged to create an invention using design thinking strategies to make visitor experience at GRPM even more fun! Using littleBits electronic building blocks to construct their inventions, students take ownership of their own creations while learning how to prototype, iterate, fail, and verbalize their ideas while working in teams. Students will be prompted to reflect on what it means to be an inventor and the importance of collaboration and revision when designing.

Available days & times: Monday-Friday, times based on availability of exhibit and program space.

Capacity: 32 students

Cost: $5 per student

Recommended age level: Grades 3-12; materials and instructional techniques are adapted to grade level.

Objectives:

Students will be able to work within a set of given criteria and constraints to design a solution to a problem
Students will be able to identify and explain the value of each phase of the engineering design process
Students will able to assess their own personal invention process and reflect on what it means to be an inventor.

Curriculum Connections:

NGSS Disciplinary Core Ideas: ETS1-1 and ETS1-2: Engineering Design
NGSS Science and Engineering Practices: Defining Problems; Developing and Using Models; Designing Solutions

Thanks to the many donors, lenders, collaborators and friends of the GRPM who shared their toys and ideas with us. We couldn’t have created this exhibit without you:

Arcade Market, Mr. and Mrs. Cornelius Alkema, Jr., Susan Bair, Hannah Barker, Kristin Barrington, Peter Berghoef, Gladys Biazan, Alice Bickley, Gina Bivins, Emily Brieve, Paul Brown, Vicki and Larry Burghdoff, Lara Carling, Lee Carlson, Catholic Diocese of Grand Rapids, Bryant Chandler, Katherine Chase, Timothy J. Chester, Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, Lora B. Cleary, Comprehensive Therapy Center, Corporate Color, Aimee DeHollander, Dave Dennett, D. J. DePree, Eileen DeVries, Sarah Dilley, Thomas Dilley, Jim Engelking, Eudora Estabrook, FASTSIGNS, Alan Forist, Alex, Sara & Sophia Forist, Melissa Fortino, Organized by Melissa, Andrew Fraser, Abigail Gautreau, William J. Glasgow, Grand Rapids Griffins, Grand Rapids Public Museum School, Grand Rapids Public Schools, Great Start to Quality, Brian Gritter, Chris Hanks, Andrew Harwood, Brian Hauenstein, Craig Anne Heflinger, Herman Miller Incorporated, Ruth Herrick Highscope Educational Research Foundation, Torin Hodgman, Annette Hollister, Arnold Hooton, Stevie Hornyak, Inclusive Performance Strategies, Marcia Jagger, Marilyn Jenkins, Kathleen L. Johnston-Calati, Douglas J. Karel, Mary Jane Keeler, Chris Kemmler, Rebecca Kenny, Katherine and Robert Kimball, Phyllis Kramer, Dr. Mira Krishnan, Lakeshore Museum Center, Falon Large, Catherine Leiber, Virginia Lettinga, Edward Lowe, Angelique McGuire, Meijer, Andrea Melvin, Marilyn and Meredith Merdzinski, Elizabeth A.R. Miron, Marilyn Monte, Sarah Murphree, Mike Myers, Carin Obits, Mrs. Arthur Ormsbee, Rick Overway, Kevin, Andrew & Ashleigh Palmiter, Ward A. Paul and Charles G. Schoenknecht, Maria Petlichkoff, Playmonster, Tim, Emme & Isabel Priest, Terry Priest, Tom Priest, Matt Priest, Pyramid Scheme, Helen M. Ranta, Mrs. Edith Richards, Dale and Sonja Robertson, Amanda Roozeboom, General John H. Schouten, Cyanne, Cora, and Rob Schuitema, Becke & Brad Shiel, Lynn Marie Skrobot, B. D. Slack, Spaces to Experiences, Mrs. Stuart L. Spindler, Breanna Stayskal, Dr. Phil Stegink, Raymond Stoutjesdyk, Stow and Davis Furniture Company, James A. Straub, Andy Strong, Linda Sweigart, Kelly Tasma, Dave Taylor, Jennifer Teaker, Paris Tennenhouse, Georgia Thompson, Mike Traxler, Reuben, Melissa, Neal & Silas VanTil, Vidiots, Mary Voss, Gloria Warren, Jack Wheeler, Karen Wilburn, Willoughby Associates, Katherine Wills, Mary Wisnewski, Jim Wisnewski and Pat Zimmer.

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