Full of hot air? Balloons lead list of Toy Hall of Fame hopefuls
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — For an annual list founded on fun, the Finalists for the National Toy Hall of Fame sure do spark some intense debates.
“The BALLOON? The balloon isn’t a TOY!”
That’s the honest, unvarnished, and immediate reaction blurted out by an otherwise level-headed veteran of the WISH-TV newsroom, when she first saw this year’s 12 finalists. It’s the kind of passionate response the Hall has come to inspire.
(Our scribe will remain anonymous to shield her from the scorn of the balloon lobby, but the intensity of her argument still hangs in the newsroom air like, well, a balloon.)
The Toy Hall of Fame is part of the Strong Museum of Play in Rochester, New York. The Hall dates back to 1998, when the inaugural “class” included Barbie, Legos, Play-Doh, marbles and seven other classics that likely led to relatively few disputes.
Since then, the process and the conversations around it have grown – with more steps, more hopefuls, and more modern contenders pitted against old standbys.
In alphabetical order, so as not to play favorites, the 2024 Finalists are:
- Apples to Apples board game
- Balloons
- Choose Your Own Adventure books
- Hess toy trucks
- My Little Pony
- Phase 10 card game
- Pokémon Trading Card game
- Remote Controlled (R/C) cars
- Sequence card-and-board game
- The stick horse “The STICK HORSE is not in the Hall of Fame already?!?” (Whoops! Sorry, that’s our newsroom vet again…)
- The trampoline
- Transformers
If the list inspires strong feelings, you can express them through the ballot box. A “Players Choice” poll underway right now will help winnow the list of 12 down to the new inductees, to be announced in November. The ballot is open through Wednesday.
84 toys are currently in the Toy Hall of Fame, from alphabet blocks to the Whiffle Ball. Click here to sort through all of them (and relive past debates!).