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	Kendra Decker, the gallery and museum store manager at the Tucson Children’s Museum in Arizona. Decker was photographed with Folkmanis puppets.

lush toys may not be the most sophisticated gadgets on the market today, but for customers at children’s museums, they still rank high on the list for in-demand merchandise.

“Cuddly never goes out of style,” said John Foote, store manager at Exploration Place in Wichita, Kan. “Plush gives people a sense of comfort, and we coordinate our plush with exhibits in our museum so the toys become a learning tool as well.”

The Explore Store, Exploration Place’s gift shop, is approximately 3,000 square feet and earns over $340,000 in sales, with all revenue going to support the exhibits at the museum. Eighty percent of the museum’s plush is from Ty™. Exploration Place’s gift shop already has Ty Beanie Babies in stock as well as Ty Girlz, an interactive plush doll. Owners of the doll register online and can play games and take their Girlz shopping. A new line of Ty interactive toys will hit the store this spring. Ty Beanie Babies 2.0 allows the same kind of Internet activity as the Ty Girlz line. However, the Ty 2.0 plush are realistic and cuddly animals.

Science kits and Giant Microbes toys are available at the Tucson Children’s Museum store. The Giant Microbes toys are plush pieces that are 1,000,000 times the actual size of the disease-causing bacterium. Ailments represented include the common cold, sore throats, stomachaches and other illnesses.

“Ty is an exceptionally successful line for us. They are durable and not price restrictive for our customers. In addition to Ty, we also carry plush that correlates with our exhibits,” said Foote. “Last spring, we hosted an exhibit called ‘When Crocodiles Ruled’ and we brought in the K&M International’s Wild Republic’s Steve and Bindi Irwin Collection. This winter, the museum is hosting a winter bird watching exhibition and the museum shop will have in stock Wild Republic’s Audubon Birds, which make real bird calls.”

For Exploration Place, the most exciting plush addition is that of “Chirpie,” the museum’s own mascot, who is seen throughout the museum. Chirpie, who looks like a cross between the University of Kansas’ Jay Hawk and Woody Woodpecker, is already a star in his own right. The museum has made several short movies for Exploration Place’s dome theater. This year, a 45-minute movie starring the charismatic bird will not only be shown at Exploration Place, but at other domed theaters at children’s museums throughout the country. In anticipation of Chirpie’s newfound celebrity status, Exploration Place will host a red-carpet movie preview that will feature a life-size Chirpie. The museum store has contracted with a toy manufacturer to make plush Chirpies, and in fact, the store already has 3,000 in stock ready to go. At least an entire section of the store will be dedicated to Chirpie merchandise. Along with the plush toy, Foote and his staff use Chirpie stickers to point out other toys in the store that are “Chirpie Approved” so that parents can help children select gift items that meet with their standards. The museum shop also plans to expand on the Chirpie plush line and introduce Chirpie’s sister and Urso the Russian Bear — both museum originals

	Science kits for sale at the Tucson Children’s Museum store. Museum shops such as Tucson’s provide guests with toys that are a cut above typical playthings without sacrificing a sense of fun.

As store manager for the last year and a half, Foote has seen the success of plush toys and has worked to bring more of this type of merchandise into the Exploration Place shop. With a full wall of plush toys on display, his young customers can see and touch all the cuddly critters that live in the shop.

“We provide educational toys, dinosaurs and pirate merchandise, but nothing has brought as much success to us as our plush, and now with Chirpie on the scene, we expect that our plush sales will really go through the roof.”

At the Cape Cod Children’s Museum in Mashpee, Mass., director of operations and exhibits, Holly Dayton, searches for merchandise that reflects the exhibits of the museum.

Marci Bynum Robertson, director of Collections and Research at the Museum of Discovery: Arkansas’ Museum of Science and History. Natural science toys and kits are good selling for the attraction’s shop.

“Plush and puppets are still a big part of our shop, especially the plush toys that are interactive.”

In existence for 15 years, the Cape Cod Children’s Museum is home to the Parent Trap, the museum’s gift shop. Owned by the museum, The Parent Trap earns about $50,000 annually, all of which is returned to support the museum’s programs.

“Our plush is equally divided between Webkinz ® and Ty. Anything that is dogs and cats sells like crazy,” Dayton noted. “The Webkinz and Ty animals are very realistic, and the kids gravitate toward that. The parents gravitate to the reasonable price as well. We try and keep everything at a reasonable price and try not to go above the $15 to $20 range.”

Dogs and cats are the most popular plush toys followed by wild animals. Puppet animals are also high in demand. After dogs and cats, the next most popular plush items are the wild animals followed by bears.

	A view of displays at the Museum of Discovery: Arkansas’ Museum of Science and History’s store. Merchandise at the shop ties in with the attraction’s exhibits

At the Interactive Neighborhood for Kids in Gainesville, Ga., Melissa and Doug® toys, puzzles and games rule the roost at the Ink Spot Gift Shop. Recently re-located to downtown Gainesville, which draws visitors from not only the Atlanta region but 12 surrounding counties as well, the new Interactive Neighborhood will be over 30,000 square-feet when its construction is completed. The store, which now grosses about $18,000, will be able to expand its inventory and continue to use its revenue to support museum exhibits and programs.

“I was surprised at how successful the plush was this year,” said Dana Miller, marketing director of the museum. “The kids just love them. They are huggable and realistic. The kids want to cuddle the small toys and they want to ride the big plush. I have them displayed at their eye level, so the kids come in and some get attached immediately and even name the toys. Luckily, we price the plush very reasonable so that no little hearts are broken and mostly everyone takes a plush toy home.”

Along with the plush and puppets, the Ink Spot also has a Stuff-A-Zoo section where children select an animal and buy the stuffing kit. Also available in the gift shop are clothes and accessories to dress the new creation.

Jan Gilmer, who works as the admissions supervisor and in the gift store at the Interactive Neighborhood for Kids in Gainesville, Ga., photographed with customer Cameron Carter on Jan. 11, 2008. Melissa and Doug® toys, puzzles and games are top-sellers at the Ink Spot Gift Shop.

As the museum expands, Miller plans to match her store inventory to the new exhibits, which includes a real airplane, fire truck and a walkthrough human body.

“A museum gift shop has to educate and entertain. We use a lot of colors and patterns in our store and displays to attract the children and their parents. We want to be a place for kids and adults of all ages.”

Marci Bynum Robertson, director of Collections and Research at the Museum of Discovery: Arkansas’ Museum of Science and History, has seen other merchandise overtake the popularity of plush.

“In the past few years, we have noticed that the educational toys, especially the natural science toys and kits have reigned supreme. The children love the rocks and stones, and the parents love them because they are not an expensive remembrance of their day here with us.”

Robertson has cut down on her plush in favor of other merchandise that reflects more accurately the museum’s hands-on exhibits, such as the “Room to Grow” Castle, which is a 3,000-square-foot early childhood exhibit aimed at the pre-reading age. One of the most popular gift items that goes along with this exhibit are the “Grow Animals,” which when submerged in water grow to at least five times their original size. The museum store sells spiders, snakes, dinosaurs, frogs and farm Grow Animals.

	Cameron Carter, 7, was photographed with a plush piece at the Interactive Neighborhood for Kids. Carter, of Dawsonville, Ga., was visiting the Ink Spot Gift Shop with her father Chuck Carter. Reasonably priced plush is displayed at eye level for children at the store.

As host to more than 100,000 guests per year, the Museum of Discovery owns its gift shop, which is located at the entrance of the museum. All its proceeds are returned to the museum for future projects. The store’s mission statement demands that merchandise reflects the museum’s exhibitions. Along with its “Room to Grow” exhibit, the Museum of Discovery also has a Pirates Cove and Construction Zone among its exhibits, so the store sells pirate-related merchandise and toy construction vehicles as well.

“We try to target guests of all ages in our store, and we display our merchandise accordingly. I have a 2 year old and nieces and nephews of all ages. I use them as experiments when it comes to displays,” Robertson joked. “Seriously, I keep in mind the age groups that come into our museum. We get toddlers through adults here and a lot of school groups. We need to keep vigilant on which displays are at eye level. For instance, none of our natural stones are low to the ground where the babies can get at them.”

Another important consideration at the Museum of Discovery is price.

A plush display at Exploration Place in Wichita, Kansas. The attraction’s Explore Store earns over $340,000 in sales. All of the shop’s revenue supports exhibits at the museum.

“We want to make sure that everyone can take a souvenir home. Our prices start at 25 cents for some of our stones, and those stones are sought out by kids and adults alike.”

Plush toys are a welcome newcomer to Toyastorus, the museum shop at the Tucson Children’s Museum in Arizona. With only 300-square-feet of retail space, the small gift shop earns more than $30,000, which goes back to the museum to fund other exhibits.

“We are dedicating 20 percent of the store to our plush and puppet merchandise,” said Kendra Decker, gallery and museum store manager. “We decided to add plush and have been pleasantly surprised. We carry merchandise from vendors such as Gund®, Aurora Plush® and Folkmanis Puppets®.

Also important to Decker is making sure that her merchandise coordinates with the museum’s exhibits. With the Dinosaur Canyon exhibit, the gift shop sold a variety of dinosaur products and science kits. This spring, the museum will host a Health and Wellness Exhibit and the gift shop will carry merchandise that focuses on the human body and living a healthy lifestyle.

	Maple building planks from Keva are among the unique toys available at the Tucson Children’s Museum store. The precision-cut planks allow children to build everything from tall, narrow towers to structures with architectural elements, putting a new twist on playing with wooden blocks.

Decker believes that to run a successful museum shop, a store manager must know what is out there in the commercial market as well.

“A children’s museum gift shop should be different than a commercial toy store. It should be more educational but not as expensive,” she noted. “It’s important to see what retail stores are selling and at what price they are selling their merchandise. Museum shops are not about everyday toys. We want to offer toys that teach as well as give kids comfort and fun. That is what makes our stores different.”

While museum shops cater to children of all ages, they are expected to provide merchandise that is a cut above the rest of a toy store’s offerings without sacrificing a sense of fun. Plush toys and puppets are a big part of museum store merchandise because they fit that criterion. They are realistic, cuddly, and able to tie into many of the themes at museums. It seems as if plush will always have a place to call home at children’s museums.