The Croatian School Museum's Toy Collection is a result of collecting, and of the absolute need to protect, this type of cultural heritage, in accordance with the historical paradigms used in studying our daily lives, including the history of children’s daily lives, growing up and childhood.

The oldest toys arrived in the Museum for its first permanent display in 1901 as part of the Collection of Teaching Aids and School Equipment, continuing to be collected over more than 120 years of the Croatian School Museum’s existence. Over 1000 children’s toys have been collected and preserved, reflecting the diversity and abundance of the children’s world of play. All sorts of traditional and modern toys were collected, from the late 19^th century to date. Their types and purposes are: plush and soft toys, dolls, costumes and garments, furniture and items for game-playing, constructive and didactic toys, social toys, mechanical, optical and paper toys, vehicles, figures, musical instruments, etc. A special class was established to include audiovisual games/records and electronic games, which have been an inseparable part of both children’s and adults’ daily lives since the second half of the 20^th century. It remains to be seen how many electronic games we will be able to preserve considering their numbers, but we should certainly retain the most exemplary and popular items.

It is important to underline that most of the toys preserved were made by former national manufacturers: Biserka Toy Factory of Zagreb, Jugoplastika of Split, and Tila – 25. maj of Labin, as well as those in our neighboring countries, such as Mehanotehnika of Izola, Slovenia, and foreign producers.

As opposed to initial individual purchases, the Museum has recently intensified its toy and game collecting activities mostly through donations made by private individuals and, to a lesser degree, by buying them from such individuals, thus constantly enlarging and developing the collection. People are remarkably interested in donating and ready to donate personal items of sentimental value – toys they played with as children growing up.