Globe-trotting adventurer Peter Schmidt, a buddy of mine, recently returned back from bustling Mexico City with a tale of awe and wonder! More importantly, a tale that relates to this site due to an unscheduled visit to one of Mexico City’s hidden gems, MUJAM! Or as it is known by its full name: Museo del Juguete Antiguo México, which roughly translates to English as “Antique Toy Museum Mexico“. And it ain’t kidding! This place is chock full of antique toys, most of which originated in Mexico. As Peter told me, “This place was crazy! It was tucked away off the beaten path, but once inside you see that the building had multiple stories filled with display after display of toys. The owner himself built most of the displays. I could have spent days in there and still not seen everything.”

The MUJAM was founded by a Japanese immigrant to Mexico, who has spent his lifetime collecting toys. In fact, he sees the museum as a monument to the art of collecting itself. It is also a testament to the days when Mexico was a manufacturing powerhouse, churning out toys for international markets, including the U.S. With Chinese factories such a constant in our life today, it is hard to remember that once upon a time much of the toys in American stores came from just over our Southern borders. MUJAM doesn’t let those days be forgotten. While private collectors such as Gus Lopez and Steve Sansweet have kept phenomenal Star Wars collections that may one day be museums in their own right, we have yet to see one all-encompassing toy museum that celebrates the entire history of toys with such whole-hearted passion as MUJAM does.

Click here to check our a translated version of their webpage, then watch the video below to get a good overview of the story behind MUJAM. And finally, scroll down to see all the great pictures that Peter Schmidt took for us!