YOU CAN BORROW TOYS TO SUPPORT CHILDREN’s HEALTHY DEVELOPMENT
CaPE Cod toy Library
Toys are carefully selected for quality, safety and educational enrichment. All materials are cleaned and inspected between users.
The Toy Library provides a curated collection of 2,000+ toys, games and puzzles and 300+ resource library books for children (0-8) and for children with differing needs. Many games and puzzles are appropriate for inter-generational family play and all ages.
The hundreds of non-electronic, upcycled, recycled and new toys have been donated by 100+ families and businesses for imaginative dramatic play, creative construction, music play, puzzle play, science and math exploratory play, and physical active play. Children’s experiences with the play materials foster social-emotional, sensory, and cognitive brain development. They provide foundational learning experiences for language, math, and science skills.
How DOES the Toy Library WORK?
Just like a traditional library, you can check out items to try and exchange them for new ones as often as you’d like!
WHO CAN USE THE TOY LIBRARY?
Families, foster parents, relative care families, childcare providers, educators, tutors, specialists, mental health practitioners, and anyone who works with children any age.
Adults, who care for or work with adults, can also use the Toy Library to find toys, puzzles, and games, including memory games.
PUrchase A Play Passport Subscription
Purchase a Play Passport Subscription for less than $1 per day – less than a cup of coffee!
1-month subscription $30
2-month subscription $60
3-month subscription: $90
6-month subscription: $180
12-month (annual) subscription: $360
Register on our Toy Lending online platform.
Visit the Toy Library and browse the collection of 2,000+ toys and 300+ resource books to choose from. Selections can also be made online to reserve selected items from our digital/online catalog for easy pick-up.
Families can select up to 6 items at a time. Professionals can select up to 12 items.
Use the toys/books on loan for two weeks, return items, and make a new selection of toys/books to borrow. Items can be renewed for another two weeks.
Toy Library hours - Saturdays 10-1. For a Friday or Saturday appointment time call 508-648-3227 or email info@capecodtoylibrary.org
Community Play Space hours are also Saturdays 10-1. The programs and events are free of charge with a suggested donation of $5.00 per family. Cash donations can be made into the Toy Library donation boxes. Online donations with options for Venmo/PayPal as well as credit cards can be made through the website or QR codes.
The Toy Library is located at 1663 Main Street (6A), West Barnstable (at the back of the First Lutheran Church) - Just a mile down the road from Barnstable Park & Ride, the Cape Cod Community College and the YMCA.
Need Financial assistance FOR PLAY PASSPORT SUBSCRIPTION?
Financial assistance to obtain a Play Passport Subscription is available to those in need to the extent our financial assistance fund grows through sponsorships and grants. We are proud participants in the Card to Culture program, a collaboration between Mass Cultural Council and the Department of Transitional Assistance, the Women, Infants & Children (WIC) Nutrition Program, and the Massachusetts Health Connector, by broadening accessibility to cultural programming.
Massachusetts EBT, WIC, and ConnectorCare cardholders can receive a 3-month ($90 value) Sponsored Play Passport Subscription to borrow toys from the Toy Library at a "pay-what-you-can” rate (0-$30 per month). The Sponsored Play Passport can be renewed every 3 months at a "pay-what-you-can" rate”.
Applications for Financial Assistance for Play Passport Subscriptions can be downloaded or completed in-person at the Toy Library during our open hours.
For Financial Assistance applications or more information, please contact us info@capecodtoylibrary.org or call 508-648-3227.
Why Become A Play Passport Subscriber?
More choice, Low cost, Less clutter, Eco-friendly, Happy & Healthy children
I think one of the most valuable elements of the Cape Cod Toy Library is the Play Passport subscription. When you consider the high cost of purchasing toys for your children such as at Walmart where you will not get quality, developmentally appropriate, sturdy toys - or the cost of well designed toys such as Melissa and Doug, you will spend about $200 or more per child. I discovered this when buying a single Child’s Christmas Wish List for a local fund drive. A trip to Walmart shocked me. I watched the numbed faces of parents trying to buy toys for their children’s Christmas and sorting through the shelves of poorly made and extremely expensive selections.
From a financial standpoint, spending the cost of a Play Passport for a family, is less than what most families pay for a single child’s annual toy budget. Families either spend more than that or considerably less, which means their access to a larger number of toy options is lower.
The Toy Lending idea gives the entire family access to a rotating selection of toys, games and books for the cost of a single child’s annual toy buying budget. High quality toys and games create brain and coordination development that help further children’s imagination and creativity through play objects.
As a psychotherapist and grandmother I am delighted with the concept of borrowing toys which can be returned and selected in rotation. One of the best ways to grow better brains is novel experiences. Every-time a brain encounters something it hasn’t seen before, it grows. So investing in a rotation of sturdy, developmentally appropriate play enhanced toys makes a lot of sense.
In this modern world ACCESS is everything. Having a door of opportunity opened in which a child can explore through play, develop key elements of creativity and imagination with a greater number of options helps families support their children.
A Play Passport is a gold mine of enjoyment for any family - throughout the year and grandparents and visiting families!
Janet Doucette, LMHC
For more information contact: