ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Fisher-Price Little People are facing off against little green army men for a spot in the National Toy Hall of Fame.
The classic figures are among 12 finalists for the class of 2014 that were to be announced Thursday.
Also in the running are: paper airplanes, American Girl dolls, the game Operation, pots and pans, bubbles, My Little Pony, Rubik’s Cube, Slip ‘N Slide, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and the toy trucks sold each holiday shopping season at Hess gas stations.
A national selection committee made up of 23 experts, including toy collectors, designers and psychologists vote the winners in to the hall each year.
Anyone can nominate a toy, but in order to become a finalist, they have to be widely recognized, proven to be more than a passing fad and foster learning, creativity or discovery through play.
The 2014 winners will be displayed alongside last year’s honorees, the rubber duck and chess, along with the 51 other toys that have been inducted since the hall was established in 1998.
Museum officials held up last year’s winners as examples of extremes in the world of play, with chess being strategic and rule-driven and the rubber duck representing pure fun.
Other past winners include Etch A Sketch, Play-Doh, Barbie, Mr. Potato Head and alphabet blocks. But things like the cardboard box and stick also have made the hall for inspiring kids to transform them into play things on their own.
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