“Klassiks for Kinder: German Toys with Joy" at the German American Heritage Center -- through January 7.
Through Sunday, January 7
German American Heritage Center, 712 West Second Street, Davenport IA
German toys have had a significant impact on the world's toy industry, particularly in the areas of design and innovation, and through January 7, these wondrous innovations will be on display in Klassiks for Kinder: German Toys with Joy, an interactive, family-themed exhibition housed in Davenport's German American Heritage Center.
From the invention of the teddy bear to the development of the modern plastic building block, German toy makers have left their mark on the industry. Klassiks for Kinder: German Toys with Joy consequently celebrates and showcases the wide range of toys that have come from German manufacturers or have been inspired by German design. Guests are invited to appreciate colorful displays, take part in the many hands-on stations, and try some of these toys for themselves in this exhibition abundant with wonder and imagination for both children and adults.
Among some of the most notable of global toy operations, Schuco is a German manufacturing company founded in 1912 by Heinrich Müller and the businessman Heinrich Schreyer in Nuremberg, popularly known as Germany's toy capital. The company's specialty was making toy reproductions of cars and trucks in tin, plastic and die-cast. Based in Fürth and founded by Paul Bruder in 1926, Bruder Spielwaren is a German toy manufacturer that initially made brass reeds for toy trumpets. Paul's son Heinz Bruder joined the company in 1950 and production of small plastic toys began in 1958. Gescha was the name of a toy manufacturer established in Nuremberg, Germany, in 1923, with most of its early products tin wind-up toys creatively designed to move in a variety of ways. And Schleich is a German producer of hand-painted toy figurines and accessories headquartered in Schwäbisch Gmünd. Half of the sales are generated outside of the German domestic market, and Schleich-branded play figurines and playsets are sold in more than 60 countries, with approximately 40 million figurines sold in 2022 alone.
Klassiks for Kinder: German Toys with Joy will be on display at the German American Heritage Center through January 7, with regular venue hours Tuesdays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sundays from noon to 4 p.m. Exhibit entrance is free with $3-5 museum admission, and more information is available by calling (563)322-8844 and visiting GAHC.org.
