The Toy Worlds Museum Basel is located in the heart of Basel's city centre and houses a unique collection of historical teddy bears, dolls, merchants' shops, dollhouses and contemporary miniatures on four floors and over 1000 square metres. Families, collectors and visitors from all over the world immerse themselves in fascinating toy worlds here.
The current special exhibition shows the important legacy of women who have shaped the toy industry with their inventions and designs.
Pioneers such as Margarete Steiff, Elena Scavini, Käthe Kruse and Sasha Morgenthaler are introduced and their creativity, their working conditions and the fight for equality are highlighted. Alma Siedhoff-Buscher and Libuše Niklová have left a lasting mark with their innovative designs. Contemporary designers such as Renate Müller and Cas Holman are committed to inclusive and diverse children's toys. Through innovation and entrepreneurial spirit, the women portrayed have created toys that can now be found in museums around the world.
Insight into the special exhibition, photo: SWMB, Henry Freitag
The exhibition offers interactive play opportunities for children as well as a varied accompanying programme: In May, for example, there is the Swiss Reading Day, where storytellers read stories by famous authors such as Astrid Lindgren, Trudi Gerster and many others. And in the style of the pioneer Caroline Märklin, an outdoor railway will be set up in October. The highlight this year is again the big summer festival at the end of August with numerous games and handicraft stations as well as a competition.
The popular animated storytelling tour, which brings objects from the exhibition to life, has been supplemented with new stations.
8 March to 27 October 2024
www.spielzeug-welten-museum-basel.ch
Animated narrative tour, photo: SWMB, Henry Freitag
