Raving Toy Maniac

Top 20 Chosen by Children's Museum Visitors and Fans to determine the '100 Toys (& their Stories) that Define Our Childhood'

INDIANAPOLIS, Aug. 21, 2012-- The results are in and more than 20,000 Children's Museum of Indianapolis online visitors and fans have voted for their favorite toys from the last century. It is all part of the '100 Toys (& their Stories) that Define Our Childhood' interactive in which the museum asked people to choose the top 20 toys to represent the last 100 years. This list of 20 iconic toys includes:

G.I. Joe®
Etch A Sketch®
Transformers®
Spirograph™
LEGO® Toys
Hot Wheels®
Barbie®
Candy Land®
View-Master®
Lincoln Logs®
Bicycle
Raggedy Ann®
Play-Doh®
Little Golden Books®
Crayons
Mr. Potato Head®
Cabbage Patch Kids®
Roller Skates
MONOPOLY®
Silly® Putty

Beginning today, the public is once again invited to vote for their favorites among the top 20 to rank the toys, which will ultimately determine the Gold, Silver, and Bronze winners.

"Toys can play such an integral role in inspiring people of all ages to let their imaginations explore infinite possibilities and in some cases problem solve while contributing to family learning and the development of memories," said Dr. Jeffrey H. Patchen, president & CEO, The Children's Museum of Indianapolis. "We've enjoyed hearing how various toys affected individuals, families and multiple generations. With so many engaged fans sharing their stories, we are sure there will be much spirited debate as to the order for the final 20 and we look forward to hearing even more stories for each of these."

In mid-July, The Children's Museum asked for public input to help choose and share their own memories of the most iconic toys from the past century (1910-present) that define childhood. Museum visitors and online fans answered the call providing more than 20,000 votes in the first four weeks and submitting more than 600 stories from their own childhood memories.

"The public truly turned out en masse to not only vote, but to share stories of their own favorite toys. Childhood memories were provided by fans across the nation and internationally as well - with stories submitted from Germany, Canada and Australia," said Patchen. "Thanks to stories and votes shared by a passionate and nostalgic public, the toys leading the pack of online votes changed many times with everything from View-Master®, to Barbie®, to Transformers®, to G.I. Joe® topping the list at different points during the voting period."

Voting to determine the final order for the top 20 runs through Sept. 7, 2012, and results will be announced to the public on September 11, 2012. To view the top 20 list of toys, vote and share your own toy story, visit The Children's Museum of Indianapolis online at http://www.childrensmuseum.org/100toys.

About The Children's Museum of Indianapolis
The Children's Museum of Indianapolis is a nonprofit institution committed to creating extraordinary family learning experiences that have the power to transform the lives of children and families across the arts, sciences and humanities. For more information about The Children's Museum, visit http://www.childrensmuseum.org, follow us on Twitter @TCMIndy, http://Facebook.com/childrensmuseum and http://YouTube.com/IndyTCM.