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It’s a tough question for adults every holiday season—what will the kids really like? Have no fear, the answer is here. During this unusual year in which holiday shopping may be complicated by COVID-19 concerns, toy shopping just got easier for grown-ups. The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis’ annual Kid-Tested, Kid-Approved toy vote just wrapped up and the list of top ten favorites includes something for everyone. For more than 20 years, The Museum Store invites children to play with a wide variety of cuddly, squishy, slimy, educational, and just plain fun toys to determine their favorites. This year, voting was different. Due to COVID-19 precautions, the voting was done virtually. From November 2-8, 2020, families watched video demonstrations of 20 toys then voted electronically for their favorites.
And the winners are….
1. Hexbug Nano Land—Ages 3+. Discover the power of vibration technology as your nano® bounce off the walls of the new HEXBUG nano Land! This mix and match playset includes the newest, fastest nano yet—nano Flash, 2 HEXBUG nanos, and flexible jelly walls to build imaginative playgrounds.
2. Shadows In The Forest—Ages 8+. A Unique Tabletop Adventure Shadows in the Forest is a thrilling, immersive play experience that brings a distinctive twist to game night—you play it in the dark! One player moves the LED lantern around in search of Shadowlings, mysterious creatures who avoid the light. The lantern illuminates the forest and trees, casting real shadows on the game board. The rest of the players work together, strategically moving their Shadowlings to stay out of the light.
3. Water Wow—Ages 3+. Keep your kids entertained and learning while on the go without any mess! Colors are revealed with an included water filled brush, then disappear when it dries. Use over and over again for mess free fun. Teaches numbers, colors, dinosaur names and more!
4. Creatable World—Ages 6+. Creatable World inspires all kids to get creative with doll play. Deluxe Character Kits provide a blank canvas along with the pieces to create unique characters, over and over again! Deluxe set includes a doll, a wig, clothing and accessories that can be mixed and matched to create more than 100 characters and looks!
5. Lego Architecture Toyko—Ages 16+. Recreate some of Tokyo’s most famous buildings! This toy construction set includes scale models of Tokyo Skytree, the world's tallest freestanding tower, Tokyo Tower, Mode Gakuen Cocoon Tower and Tokyo Big Sight.
6. Luminescent Lab: Glow Science—Ages 8+. This kit contains everything you need to complete 5 unique experiments. Make a glow stick, create chalk that you can see in the dark, and glowing snow you can build figures with or grow plants in! Learn all about photoluminescence and how things glow.
7. Galaxy Orb—Ages 5+. A sensory toy filled with galactic possibilities. Kids can’t help but give this blob of squishy space squeeze for an oh, so satisfying squish!
8. Dino-Faurs Pullback Vehicle—Ages 3+. Pull back and race into a monstrously fun adventure! The large, deep-tread rubber tires and authentic spring suspension keep the excitement rolling over all kinds of terrain while the fascinating dino design launches the imagination into overdrive. The arms move on hinges, the great big jaw opens and shuts, and the tail pivots up to allow for amazing pop-a-wheelies.
9. Cat Stax Puzzle Game—Ages 8+. Stack up the cats! Select a challenge and then arrange all of the cats on the card so that they fit perfectly within the grid. The cats come in all shapes and sizes, so you'll have to figure out how they precisely nestle together to solve each challenge.
10. Loonacy – The Maniacal Matching Card Game—Ages 8+. Loonacy is a rapid fire game where players race to be the first to empty their hand by matching one of two images with the images on the open piles in front of them. It’s easy enough to teach in a single sentence, and so addictive you can’t play just one game.
These toys are on sale with 4,000 others at The Children’s Museum Store and online at www.childrensmuseum.org/store. Don’t miss an opportunity for great savings. From Friday, November 27th–Sunday, November 29th, all regular-priced items in the Children's Museum Store will be discounted by 25% (no other discounts may be applied). Guests can make their purchases in the store or online. The After-Thanksgiving purchase price cannot be applied to prior purchases. Gifts purchased online will have an additional delivery fee.
Don’t forget museum memberships also make a great gift. It is a present that adults can also enjoy while spending quality time with the children who mean so much to them. Memberships may be purchased at the museum, online at www.childrensmuseum.org/membership, or by calling (317) 334-4000.
On December 24, 2020, The Children’s Museum will offer free admission from 10 a.m.–2 p.m. The store will be open to make those last minute holiday purchases.
The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis is proud to partner with Riley Children’s at Indiana University Health, Old National Bank and Ice Miller LLP.
About The Children's Museum of Indianapolis
The Children's Museum of Indianapolis is a nonprofit institution committed to creating extraordinary learning experiences across the arts, sciences, and humanities that have the power to transform the lives of children and families. For more information about The Children's Museum, visit www.childrensmuseum.org, follow us on Twitter @TCMIndy, Instagram@childrensmuseum, YouTube.com/IndyTCM, and Facebook.
