About Istanbul Toy Museum

Istanbul Toy Museum: A First in Turkey, A First in the World Poet/author Sunay Akın founded Istanbul Toy Museum on April 23 (National Sovereignty and Children's Day), 2005. The stage design artist Ayhan Doğan the decoration of the museum. The Istanbul Toy Museum locates in a historical mansion and exhibits the most famous examples of toy history from the 1700s until today.

Istanbul Toy Museum was established with the toys that Sunay Akın bought from auctions and antique shops in more than 40 countries over 20 years. The museum aims to present world history to its visitors with more fun and catchy learning method. For example, in the space toys section, the effort to reach the Moon, and in the train toys section, the industrial revolution is described in the language of toys. 

One of the essential features of the Istanbul Toy Museum is that it embraces the family with all its members. In the Istanbul Toy Museum, three generations can spend time together and share common happiness. Grandparents, father/mother, and grandchildren enjoy telling each other about their time as they are in a time machine voyage. The corridors of the toy museum resound with sounds that begin with the sentence "I had this one!" and stories about childhood memories.

Istanbul Toy Museum held The TOYCO-2012 Istanbul (European Association of Toy and Children's Museums) meeting in November 2012. As a first in the world, this meeting was held in Turkey for the first time. In this way, the Istanbul Toy Museum became a pioneer in establishing the association of children's and toy museums globally. It gave Istanbul the title of "capital of toy museums."