LEILA FADEL, HOST:
Now some fun and games. The Strong National Museum of Play has announced 12 finalists for this year's Toy Hall of Fame.
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
Every year since 1998, this museum in Rochester, N.Y., which is really cool, Leila - I've been there.
FADEL: Oh, really?
INSKEEP: Yeah, I've taken my kids.
FADEL: You have?
INSKEEP: Yeah, absolutely.
FADEL: Oh.
INSKEEP: You can fly through the museum on a zip line - inside on a zip line.
FADEL: That's so cool.
INSKEEP: Anyway, it has recognized - not that I did, of course. But, you know, it's fun to watch. Anyway, it has recognized the most fun-inducing toys of all time, and this year's list includes some real heavy hitters.
FADEL: Remote controlled vehicles.
INSKEEP: Pokémon trading cards.
FADEL: And balloons.
CHRIS BENSCH: If you've ever had a water balloon lobbed at you, you would know that that wasn't just a decoration. That was something that somebody was playing with and trying to get the better of you.
INSKEEP: Boom. Chris Bensch is the museum's chief curator and a spokesman for the National Toy Hall of Fame, who says the contest always tries to think outside the box.
BENSCH: In 2005, we inducted the cardboard box into the hall of fame.
(LAUGHTER)
FADEL: That makes total sense. I always buy my nephews and nieces toys, and they play with the box.
INSKEEP: Exactly. As fun as this sounds, it's serious business. This year, The Strong Museum had to choose 12 finalists from about 400 toys. And soon a committee will decide which three reach the hall of fame.
FADEL: Early indications point to one classic toy brand as a sentimental favorite.
BENSCH: I think lots of us are rooting for My Little Pony. This is their seventh time as a finalist. It's tough to be always a bridesmaid and never a bride. So maybe this will be their Susan Lucci year, in soap opera terms, that finally they get that big award and their chance in the spotlight.
INSKEEP: My Little Pony? It's going to be hard to beat.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "(LET ME BE YOUR) TEDDY BEAR")
ELVIS PRESLEY: (Singing) Baby, let me be around you every night. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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