Games, Playthings and Plush

Toys for the Times (From page 32)

you throw it out — it doesn’t stay and take up space in your house,” Reiss explained.

Apart from frisbees and Ultra Gliders planes from

“The goal of everything we have is to tie into the exhibitions. We also want to carry the fun and trendy items that everyone’s looking for - the cool learning kits and little trinkets.” the Toysmith line, outdoor toys are not a major category at the Jackson store. Reiss said that in a region that takes its youth athletics seriously, parents are looking for sport-specific gear, not toy balls.

Reiss explained, where they are less about winning and more about learning to take turns. Yet this year, elementary-aged kids snapped up titles like Mermaid Island, Duck Duck Dance and Hoot Owl Hoot.

Giant stuffed snakes — a hit for years at zoo and aquarium gift shops — are still number one at the expERIEnce Children’s Museum in Erie, Pa. “They are five or six feet long, so kids can wrap themselves in the animal,” explained Julie Boam , visitor services and volunteer coordinator, who oversees sales in the Visitor Center’s 120-square-foot retail area. At $15, the snakes are also well priced, and they catch kids’ eyes with multicolored flippy sequins.

But a surprising hit this winter has been board games for children aged 5 to 7. “Before this year, those had not sold particularly well,” Reiss noted. Board games typically score better with the preschool set,

Boam said her clientele is budget sensitive. The low-end best seller is a line of sensory putty toys, at $5$10; at the higher end, $20, a miner’s hard hat helmet with a light is popular since it’s “a great value,” Boam said. With so many toys back-ordered due to supply chain issues, the museum has filled in with housemade learning kits that tie into exhibitions. One favorite, “Camp To Go,” has activities themed around the museum’s summer camp.

Jere Krueger , associate vice president of Retail Services at the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, emphasized the importance of extending the experience from gallery to gift shop. “Our knowledgeable sales staff shows off our ‘must-have, unique and museum exclusive’ product,” he said. Exhibit-related toys, journals and books allow guests “to take home a memory from their museum visit.”

Recent best-sellers have included color and shape matching toys, such as the Snap-n-Learn matching Dinos from Learning Resources, as well as peg puzzles from Learning Journey. Krueger said parents love the Nature Exploration toys from Thin Air Brands because they get kids playing outdoors. Along those lines, “you can never go wrong with bubbles,” Krueger added.

But at the end of the day, “nothing else even comes close to plush,” the retailer affirmed. Krueger explained that stuffed toys appeal to all ages and genders and spark imaginative play. Especially during the pandemic, when people have been more isolated, plushies have filled in as comforting best friends. “They can help in development of empathy and social skills,” Krueger noted. ❖