The official page for the NC Museum of Dolls, Toys & Miniatures in Spencer, NC - a nonprofit museum that showcases dolls, toys, miniatures, trains, and more. We are open weekly Thursdays through Saturdays from 10 am to 4 pm. Our website is www.ncmdtm.org
Admission:
Adults - $10
Seniors and Military - $8
UFDC and NAME Members $8
Youth (4-15 Years Old) - $5
Children ages 3 and under - Free! About us:
The North Carolina Museum of Dolls, Toys & Miniatures is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization founded in 2012 that is dedicated to the preservation, education, conservation, collecting, and appreciation of dolls, toys, and miniatures. Our museum includes a wide selection of dolls, dollhouses, miniatures, toys, model trains, and more across multiple decades and centuries. Come visit us and enjoy a joyful, enchanting experience for the whole family. All ages are welcome to enjoy treasures from the past and present! Our collection includes one-of-a-kind sights and histories ranging from Barbies and antique dolls to Lionel trains and model planes, incredible miniatures and dollhouse, and nostalgic toys through the decades and centuries. Plan your visit during our open hours or reach out to us to arrange a special experience for a group! Take advantage of the exclusive perks when you sign up to be a member of The NC Museum of Dolls, Toys & Miniatures! Membership benefits include free year-round admission, invitations to special member-only events, and sneak-peeks of new exhibits. We unite communities across generations in celebrating and understanding the unique art and history of dolls, toys, and miniatures. Our goal is to preserve the joy, passion, artistry, and historical legacy that these precious items contain and unite our community and hobbyists of all ages across the country in appreciation and play. Our doll, dollhouse, toy, model train, and miniature museum is one of only 30 such museums left in the country. We were founded in 2012 by the mother and sister of Amy Dawn Morris, a young woman and passionate collector who passed away just before her 22nd birthday. Amy and her sister, Beth, spent hours playing with dolls as children. Amy lived with Werdnig-Hoffman disease, a rare form of spinal muscular atrophy, and used a wheelchair for daily mobility. When playing with dolls, Amy was able to escape into another world where she could move freely, ride horses, dance, and imagine just about anything. That idea along with Amy’s sense of humor, love, kindness, and resilience inspired Beth and their mother, Susan, to start the NC Museum of Dolls, Toys & Miniatures after Amy passed away. One of Amy’s favorite dolls to collect were Bob Mackie Barbies, and Amy’s beloved Bob Mackie Barbies remain a part of the collection today. As we finished the move to our new location in December 2024, we were able to give Amy’s Barbie collection and her story a bigger spotlight so her legacy can be seen by our new visitors. Legacy is a big part of what we do. Whether it is a doll collection or a perfectly detailed dollhouse, we know that these collections reflect and represent the individual legacies of so many individuals, from collectors to skilled artists to entrepreneurs and innovators. Dolls and dollhouses capture centuries of culture and style and can tell us so much about traditions and values across different time periods. Preserving all of those elements - artistry, history, passion, and individual legacies - is why we do what we do here at the museum.
