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Where else than in the heart of the Midwest should you expect to find the mecca of the best farm toys? The National Farm Toy Museum is located just there, in Dyersville, Iowa. This museum showcases the history of American agriculture through toys and memorabilia.
I know what most people think of when they hear Dyersville: the Field of Dreams. Here is the thing – if you are interested in the history of tractors, or even the preservation of the history of agriculture, you need to learn more about the founders of the Ertl company.
National Farm Toy Museum
The National Farm Toy Museum was founded by Dave Bell and Claire Scheibe. Since 1978 they had the Dyersville Toy Tractor Show and needed a larger space to host it. That lead to the National Farm Museum being established in 1986. Now it is the home of the National Farm Toy Show. Now known as the Farm Toy Capital of the World, Dyersville has a museum that gets over 30,000 guests each year and has about 30,000 farm toys on display, making it fun for the true collector, but neat for the whole family to see.
The museum’s mission is to provide an educational experience of the history of agriculture through farm toy collecting. To preserve and promote the rich history of agriculture through farm toy collecting To provide a unique and educational experience to visitors To extend valuable resources to farm toy collectors.
They are totally prepared for kids to visit with their play area, creative dioramas of farms from the past, and displays that show how the toys are actually made all on the first floor. There is even a place you can sit and watch a short film to learn more about toy production in Dyersville…it is only about ten minutes long yet very informative.
I know there is a second floor but never had the chance to check it out or the unique exhibits it is supposed to house.
It was almost overwhelming as the National Farm Toy Museum includes one of the largest collections of cast iron farm toys. I even saw pedal tractors!
Did I have Ertl toys?
It got me thinking about the large box of farm toys that I saved from Pop’s collection after he passed.
When I got home I looked back over some of those metal gems that were just a fraction of what he accumulated over dozens of Tractor Shows that he and mom explored over the years. He took turns buying full-sized toys to restore and then things you would expect to find from the Ertl Toy Museum Dyersville Iowa.
I had to hunt for makings to see if they were indeed Ertl Toys, and they were some of the National Farm Toy Museum tractors that I had gotten pictures of.
They were!
He had a few John Deere, Farmall, and even Case SpecCast collectibles along with a toy farmer or two – all set to create a small scale adventure. It had me thinking of all the little imaginations that would plan out successful harvests, with these unique scale models over the years.
I have to figure out a way to display them now!
National Farm Toy Museum gift shop
If you are like me and have a difficult time thinking about leaving a place like this empty-handed, no worries! You can purchase a toy or two, along with other fun farm decor or clothing right there in the gift shop. They have items for every price range. And if you are looking for farm toys online? They have you covered too! link – https://www.nationalfarmtoymuseum.com/shop.html
National Farm Toy Museum Hours
It helps to know where to go, when they are open, and what it costs. The National Farm Toy Museum of Iowa is open Monday through Saturday from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm and Sunday from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. Tickets are just $7.00 for Adults ($6.00 Senior for seniors 65+), $5.00 for Juniors (6-17), and Free for kids 5 & under.
You can find the National Farm Toy Museum at 1110 16th Avenue Court SE in Dyersville, Iowa. It isn’t far from nearby Dubuque – so make it one of your must-hit stops on your Iowa adventure!
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