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Toys: Made in Minnesota: More

Online Resources

Sifo Toys, Antique Toy Collections.
Manufactured from 1944-1975, Sifo produced several different pull toys which were designed to help children build their bodies by simple exercise, their minds through solving simple problems, and providing necessary recreation, improving their motor and mechanical skills through trial and error, repetition and use of memory. They advertised that their wood was cut and sawed in their Norway, Michigan plant which was then sent to St. Paul to be finished.

Beka Inc.
Beka Inc. makes a wide variety of easels, block sets, art & play tables, puppet theaters, and looms for both children and adults - all in their family owned woodshop in St. Paul, Minnesota. 
 
For over a quarter of a century, LARK Toys has offered remarkable toys, most notably their handmade heirloom wooden toys. Lark Toys is located in Kellogg, Minnesota.

Collections Outside of MNHS

The Strong, The Strong National Museum of Play.
A website featuring the collections held at the Strong, a highly interactive museum devoted to the history and exploration of play. Minnesota-based toys in the collection include the Happy-To-Be-Me Doll, Tonka Toys, Schaper Toys, Sifo, BEKA, and Manhattan Toys.
 
The Winifred Museum, located in Winifred, Montana, is home to over 3,000 Tonka Toys, possibly the largest collection in the world. 

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