It's not as highbrow as The Ringling or as avant-garde as the Sarasota Art Museum. There’s no science like at The Bishop Museum, and there are certainly no Indigenous middens like at Historic Spanish Point. But the new Sarasota Toy Museum, however, is a place where functional art, history and fun meet for visitors of all ages.

The museum opened to the public last week. Owner Richard Pierson moved to Sarasota last year after visiting Siesta Key on vacation for several years. He had already acquired a vast collection of toys—between 30,000 and 40,000 items—and thought this area would appreciate such treasures as much as he does. The majority of the toys on display at the museum, however, are not Pierson's.

"Most are from a personal collection of a gentleman in Vermont named Gary Neil,” says Pierson. “I had a vacation cabin in the Green Mountains of Vermont, and we met there while I was antiquing. There, he had his 40-year toy collection that he had accumulated and built into what you see here today. He was 74-years-old and wanted to move the collection on to someone else, but didn’t want it to be sold off. He wanted it to be kept as a museum.”

Pierson walks me through the museum, which is anchored by a sprawling replica of the Green Mountains and five toy train tracks.

“It was built by a famous layout builder," says Pierson. "Gary bought it 15 years ago and reconstructed it. We took it apart and brought it here, about 100 pieces. It took about five months to put it back together because all the tracks had to be reconnected. We’ve now upgraded it so you can use your iPhone to run the trains. Soon we’ll have iPads to operate them so kids can use them to blow the horns and whatnot. Whether you’re a train person or not, it’s just a beautiful piece of artwork.”

On the other side of the museum, I find an impressive display of lunchboxes.

“I think I have the largest collection of lunchboxes on the coast—we have over 600,” says Pierson. “No matter how old you are, I probably have your lunchbox. I even have the first licensed lunchbox. These Hopalong Cassidy lunchboxes are the first time a character was put on a lunch box, circa the 1950s.”

The walls of the museum are lined with glass cabinets built by Pierson that are filled with toys ranging from the late 1800s to today, and you’ll spot favorites like a Howdy Doody doll, Steve Urkel and Mork & Mindy figurines, PEZ dispensers and, of course, local star Pee-wee Herman (played by the late Paul Ruebens).

Pierson points out a green Space Age robot named Big Lou.

“Big Lou is my favorite toy," he says. "He was made by the Marx [toy company] during the Space Age. He shot missiles and lit up. He’s really hard to find in this condition with all of his pieces. He was one of Gary’s, but is definitely my favorite.”

“There’s something for everyone here,” Pierson continues, walking through the museum. “We have someone coming today for her 70th birthday with 12 of her friends to just walk around and see everything.”

But the Sarasota Toy Museum delivers more than just pure nostalgia. There are plenty of newer toys, as well. Pierson points to a Dragon Ball Z cabinet, anime characters and oodles of Barbies. And the entrance of the museum operates as a retail shop for vintage and rare toys and comic books, under the name Moose Head.

“I was a big comic book collector and as I was buying big collections, I’d get some toys with them, too, because those things kind of go hand and hand,” explains Pierson. “I continued to educate myself on toys and that realm of collecting, as well. When I had the opportunity to purchase Gary’s collection, it was like someone did all the hard work for me. Now I get to have all the fun.”

Admission for the museum is $10 for children and seniors and $15 for adults.

Pierson notes, “I want people to know that while we do charge an admission fee, anyone with special needs is welcome here free of charge. This is a place where we want everyone to have fun, with total acceptance.”

Sarasota Toy Museum and Moose Head Toys and Comics is open 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday and 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Friday and Saturday at 3580 17th St., Sarasota. For more information, call (941) 993-1897 or click here.