The 60 greatest kids' toys ever invented

Raggedy AndyLinda Tanner/Flickr


Since 1999, the Toy Hall of Fame has inducted toys that have met their strict criteria for admission. The toys need to have achieved icon status, be more than a passing fad, promote creativity and learning, or be innovative enough to have totally changed the toy game. So far, 60 toys have made the cut, and they're represented at the Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester, New York, which houses the Hall of Fame.

The toys on this list range from Barbies to Super Soakers, with plenty of surprise in between. There are high-tech gizmos like the Nintendo Game Boy right alongside the most basic toy of all time — a simple wooden stick.



BARBIE: Sure, she's garnered a decent amount of criticism, but Barbie is perhaps the ultimate doll and a fashion icon.

Barbie is a classic toy.
Tracheotomy Bob/Flickr

Inducted in 1999.


CRAYOLA​ CRAYON: With a seemingly infinite number of creatively named colors, Crayola Crayons are a creative staple for young budding artists.

Everyone loves a box of crayons.
Clyde Robinson/Flickr

Inducted in 1999.


ERECTOR SET: Though they haven't been made since the line was discontinued in 1980, Erector Sets were the go-to for kiddie engineers as far back as 1911, when the toy was invented.

Do you remember this toy?
David MW

Inducted in 1999.


ETCH A SKETCH: All it takes is a shake to make a detailed masterpiece disappear, but that's part of the Etch A Sketch's appeal. And, be honest: You never really got the hang of drawing a diagonal line, did you?

Hours of fun.
Rusty Clark - On the Air M-F 8am-noon Follow/Flickr

Inducted in 1999.


FRISBEE: Don't be fooled by other "flying discs." Without the Frisbee, there would be no Frisbee Golf or Ultimate Frisbee.

Petey21/Wikimedia Commons

Inducted in 1999.


HULA HOOP: Though it's named after the hip-gyrating Hawaiian dance, the Hula Hoop was actually inspired by a toy used by Australian kids in the late 1950s.

Adam Baker

Inducted in 1999.


LEGO: Here's a fun fact — Lego makes more rubber tires than any other company in the world, including corporations like Bridgestone and Goodyear. Granted, Legos tires are much, much smaller.

Philippe Wojazer/Reuters

Inducted in 1999.


LINCOLN LOGS: Lincoln Logs were named after President Abraham Lincoln's childhood cabin, but were initially inspired by earthquake-proof building techniques in Japan.

David Wilson/Flickr

Inducted in 1999.


MARBLES: Ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans all played with marbles in some form or another. Just don't lose them.


Inducted in 1999.


MONOPOLY: Despite being a never ending​ endurance test that's been known to ruin friendships, this iconic board game is a proud member of the Hall of Fame.

William Warby

Inducted in 1999.


PLAY-DOH: According to the Hall of Fame, kids have played with an estimated 700 million pounds of Play-Doh over the years. Even the smell is iconic.

Betsy Weber/Flickr

Inducted in 1999.


RADIO FLYER WAGON: The Radio Flyer wagon was invented by an Italian immigrant, and its name is an homage to another Italian invention: The radio.

Teri Lynne Underwood/Flickr

Inducted in 1999.


ROLLER SKATES: The first roller skates were just wheels that clamped on the bottom of a normal pair of shoes, but without them we wouldn't have rollerblades or roller derbies​.


Inducted in 1999.


TEDDY BEAR: Famously named after President Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt, Teddy Bears are one of the most beloved stuffed-animals around.

Ben Fitzgerald-O'Connor/Flickr

Inducted in 1999.


TINKERTOY: This classic peg and wheel construction toy is one of the finest examples of toys that help develop children's "spatial intelligence."

Mike Mozart

Inducted in 1999.


VIEW-MASTER: The View-Master was introduced at the 1939 New York World’s Fair, but it wasn't until the invention was bought by a company with the licensing rights to all Disney characters that it really became a success.

Getty Images

Inducted in 1999.


DUNCAN YO-YO: Pedro Flores, a Filipino immigrant working as a bellhop at a California hotel, delighted guests with his skills on this traditional toy (the name meant “come come” in his native language), but Yo-Yos went mainstream when Donald F. Duncan noticed him and bought him out in the late 1920s.

Mikey Lemoi/Flickr

Inducted in 1999.


BICYCLE: Without bikes (and maybe a little help from training wheels), kids wouldn't have the ability to roam far and wide around their neighborhoods.


Inducted in 2000.


JACKS: Tossing a ball and attempting to pick up the pieces is one of the oldest games in the world, and it's gone by many names. Iguni, Abhadho, Cincos Marias, Huripapa, and, of course, Jacks.

Bovlb/Wikimedia Commons

Inducted in 2000.


JUMP ROPE: Jumping rope started out as an activity for young 17th-century Dutch settlers — hence the "dutch" in "double dutch."


Inducted in 2000.


MR. POTATO HEAD: The first ever televised toy commercial was for Mr. Potato Head, who at the time was just a collection of facial features meant to be stuck in a real potato. The classic plastic potato came about in 1964, and was immortalized​ in the film "Toy Story."

Roland Tanglao/Flickr

Inducted in 2000.


SLINKY: Though getting them to walk down stairs is trickier than it looks, Slinkys have managed to sell more than 250 million units over the decades.

Mike Mozart/Flickr

Inducted in 2000.


SILLY PUTTY: Silly Putty was invented in a failed attempt to create a synthetic rubber substitute while America was at war with Japan during World War II. It failed to live up to its original purpose, but made for a pretty fun toy.


Inducted in 2001.


TONKA TRUCKS: The Mighty Dump Truck has been the flagship toy in Tonka's fleet ever since it was released in 1965, but there are more than 30 different trucks, bulldozers, and cranes filling out the line.


Inducted in 2001.


JIGSAW PUZZLE: The first puzzle was invented around 1760 by an English mapmaker, and they became something of a craze in the 1930s until TV came around in the 1950s.


Inducted in 2002.


RAGGEDY ANN: This cloth doll was one of the first real tie-ins. The doll was created in 1915, and a book series about the character followed three years later.

Randen Pederson/Flickr

Inducted in 2002.


ALPHABET BLOCKS: According to writings by the famed philosopher John Locke, alphabet blocks have been around since at least as far back as 1693.

Steven Depolo/Flickr

Inducted in 2003.


CHECKERS: Checkers is a very simple board game, and that's exactly why it's so enduring. And who doesn't love being able to declare "king me?"

Daniel McAnulty/Flickr

Inducted in 2003.


G.I. JOE: The original G.I. Joe was advertised as the first "action figure" rather than a doll, and tended to be fairly realistic army men. In the 1980s a more fantastical version of the classic toy line came out alongside the colorful Saturday morning cartoon.

JD Hancock

Inducted in 2004.


ROCKING HORSE: A basic rocking horse is easy to make with a little bit of carpentry know-how, and the simulated pony rides have thrilled little kids and make-believe cowboys for centuries​.

Caleb Zahnd/Flickr

Inducted in 2004.


SCRABBLE: If nothing else, Scrabble is responsible for a huge number of people knowing that "qi" is a word.

David Martyn Hunt/Flickr

Inducted in 2004.


CANDY LAND: Candy Land is a very simple but very sweet game — in more ways than one. The board game was created in the early 1940s to help entertain children who were recovering from Polio, and bought by Milton Bradley in 1949.

John Morgan/Flickr

Inducted in 2005.


CARDBOARD BOX: Time machine, fort, car, spaceship, castle, diorama, dollhouse, television — a plain ol' cardboard box can transform into whatever a kid's imagination wants it to be.


Inducted in 2005.


JACK-IN-THE-BOX: Is the jack-in-the-box the average child's first introduction to the concept of suspense? It's possible.

Herry Lawford/Flickr

Inducted in 2005.


EASY-BAKE OVEN: All it takes is an ordinary light bulb and an Easy-Bake Oven, and suddenly any old kid can feel like a master baker — and eat like one too.


Inducted in 2006.


LIONEL TRAINS: Though these days Lionel's extremely detailed and realistic trains are collectors items, they were once a ubiquitous feature around Christmas trees and toy boxes.

Roy Luck/Flickr

Inducted in 2006.


ATARI 2600 GAME SYSTEM: The Atari 2600 wasn't the first home video game console, but it certainly was the one that changed the game forever. It features the ability to change cartridges and boasted classic titles like "Space Invaders" and "Frogger.

Evan-Amos/Wikimedia Commons

Inducted in 2007.


KITE: There are reports of kites dating back to 200 BC in ancient China. Today, they come in almost every shape and size, able to pull off impressive aerodynamic moves or soothingly float in the breeze.

Scott Akerman

Inducted in 2007.


RAGGEDY ANDY: Raggedy Ann's brother, Raggedy Andy, didn't make it into the Hall of Fame until 2007, but now he sits beside his sister.

Linda Tanner/Flickr

Inducted in 2007.


STICK: It's a stick.


Inducted in 2008.


BABY DOLL: Before the 1800s, little kids were mostly limited to dolls that were meant for dress up or tea parties, but Baby Dolls allow them to try their hand at being a mommy or daddy.

Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images

Inducted in 2008.


SKATEBOARD: Skateboarding was most likely​ originally invented as a means to replicate the thrill of surfing while on dry land, but its long-since given what to a skate culture all its own.

Naoki Tomeno/Wikimedia Commons

Inducted in 2008.


BALL: How it took until 2009 to admit the ball into the Toy Hall of Fame is a mystery.

Zaheer Mohiuddin/Flickr

Inducted in 2009.


NINTENDO GAME BOY: While the Atari 2600 is in the Hall of Fame for bringing video games into the home, the Game Boy is here because it brought them back out. Now, kids could play "Kirby's Dream Land," "Pokémon Blue," and hundreds of other games no matter where they were.


Inducted in 2009.


BIG WHEEL: The Big Wheel is the racecar of tricycles. It's low to the ground, so there isn't a big risk of flipping over, allowing little speed demons to really haul-ass without fear.

John Morgan

Inducted in 2009.


THE GAME OF LIFE: While adults might find the Game of Life unfair and based on luck (kind of like real life), kids get a thrill out of playing a make-believe future on a cool 3D board.

Sheila Sund/Flickr

Inducted in 2010.


PLAYING CARDS: Without a deck of cards, you can't play War, Poker, Go Fish, or even 52 Pickup, but only a jerk would play that last one.


Inducted in 2010.


HOT WHEELS: Mattel, the company who owns Hot Wheels, has produced more than three billion cars over the decades.

Dave Parker/Flickr

Inducted in 2011.


DOLLHOUSE: The first dollhouses were miniature status symbols for the elite, but over time manufacturers realized that they were the perfect home for a young child's imaginative storytelling.


Inducted in 2011.


BLANKET: Drape it over some furniture and you've got a fort. Wrap it around yourself and you've got a cape just like Superman. Then, when you're all tuckered out from playing, take a nap.


Inducted in 2011.


"STAR WARS" ACTION FIGURES: The original "Star Wars" didn't just change movies, it changed the toy game. Merchandising considerations became a major part of how blockbuster movies were made from that point on.

JD Hancock/Flickr

Inducted in 2012.


DOMINOES: There are multiple games you can play with dominoes, but chances are most folks just want to line them all up for the thrill of knocking 'em all down.

Bro. Jeffrey Pioquinto, SJ/Flickr

Inducted in 2012.


RUBBER DUCK: Rubber ducks have been around since the late 1800s, but it wasn't until 1970 when Ernie sang about his "Rubber Duckie" on "Sesame​ Street" that the toy became a bath time classic.


Inducted in 2013.


LITTLE GREEN ARMY MEN: Entire platoons of Little Green Army Men have battled for backyards across the world. The National Toy Hall of Fame recognizes their service — and when firecrackers are involved, sacrifice.

PV Ks/Flickr

Inducted in 2014.


BUBBLES: Soap has been around for a long, long time, but paintings of children playing with bubbles indicate that it's been a fun activity since the 17th century.

Cristian Bortes/Flickr

Inducted in 2014.


PUPPET: Puppets have existed in various forms for more than 6,000 years. Whether they're a simple sock or an elaborate marionette, they can always put on a good show.

MIKI Yoshihito/Flickr

Inducted in 2015.


TWISTER: Twister is a game that children and adults enjoy on two very, very different levels.

Eugene Kim/Flickr

Inducted in 2015.


SUPER SOAKER: Sure, Super Soakers these days might not be as powerful (and dangerous) as they were back in the '90s, but they still make getting wet a literal blast.

Graham Dean/Flickr

Inducted in 2015.

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