Short answers, pulled from the story.
Ed Sobey launched the National Toy Hall of Fame in 1998. He initially placed the program inside A. C. Gilbert's Discovery Village in Salem, Oregon before moving it to Rochester, New York by 2002.
Four specific standards guide every decision at the hall including icon status, longevity, discovery, and innovation. These rules apply equally to a simple stick and a complex video game system while educators and civic leaders form panels to weigh each nomination against these four pillars.
November 1999 marked the announcement of the first class of honorees which included Barbie, Lego bricks, and the Frisbee. Other early inductees included Crayola crayons, Erector Sets, Etch A Sketch, Hula hoops, Lincoln Logs, Marbles, Monopoly, Play-Doh, Radio Flyer wagons, Roller skates, Teddy bears, Tinkertoys, View-Masters, and Duncan Yo-Yos.
The hall expanded its scope from physical objects to digital media over twenty years starting with the Atari 2600 joining the ranks in 2007 as a video game system. Game Boy received induction in 2009, Dungeons & Dragons entered the collection in 2016, Slime made it into the 2025 class, and the Pokémon Trading Card Game appeared as a finalist in 2024 but did not win immediate induction.
Fan campaigns directly influenced the induction of Raggedy Ann in 2002 after supporters campaigned for a full year before the doll was finally honored. The Strong Museum highlighted frequent past finalists through a public-driven vote called Forgotten Five which brought My Little Pony dolls and Transformers action figures back into contention while public voting also helped bring the Corn Popper into the 2023 class alongside Baseball cards and Cabbage Patch Kids.