Explore dozens of dollhouses and miniatures from the museum’s deep collections—from some owned by museum founder Margaret Woodbury Strong to the more modern Barbie Magical Mansion—at Dollhouses Unveiled opening September 27. Learn about the history of dollhouses, first used as teaching tools and later beloved toys, and see how they reveal how shifting ideas about domestic life, innovative design, and imagination shape the way we play.
This is a unique opportunity to see inside the museum’s vault. Some of the rare dollhouses and miniatures from The Strong’s collections (many not seen on public view in decades) include:
- The charming Amsterdam House (1837), first displayed at the Hotel Des Pays-Bas in Amsterdam.
- The Blue Roof Victorian Mansion (1890), featured by F.A.O. Schwartz as a Christmas exclusive.
- The Betsy McCall Dollhouse (1955)—a split-level built from the McCall’s Do-It-Yourself Full-Scale and Transfer Pattern.
- The Wedding Cake House (1963)—built by Margaret Woodbury Strong’s carpenter as a replica of a ship builder’s Kennebunk, Maine home from 1825.
- More modern Barbie Dreamhouse (1979) and The Kaleidoscope House (2001).
Dollhouses Unveiled is on display through January 4, 2025, and produced by The Strong National Museum of Play.