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Your Favorite Toys
Someday, I'm going to make it to the Strong National Museum of Play.
It is in Rochester, N.Y., not too far from where I grew up, and sounds like a fantasy land for pretty much any kid. There are lots of interactive exhibits, the world's largest collection of toys and dolls, and the National Toy Hall of Fame.
The Hall of Fame recognizes toys that meet certain criteria. They must be widely recognized, more than a passing fad, foster learning and have changed play or toy design.
The usual suspects are already there - Crayloa Crayons, LEGOS, Play-Doh, the Radio Flyer wagon, Silly Putty, Tonka trucks, Easy-Bake Oven (which I never had) and more.
Now the museum is seeking nominations for the next round of inductees. Here are the details on how to nominate a toy. You have until Sept. 5.
My daughter's favorite toys might be her Thomas the Tank Engine train set and my old Cabbage Patch Kids, which she carries around with her all the time. My daughter has played with Kelly and Kiddo (as in Cabbage Patch Kiddo, a nickname my father gave the doll) more than I ever did.
I'm guessing these toys will make it to the hall of fame some day.
My all-time favorite toy probably won't.
It's a marble roller. I first played with one as a young child at my grandparents' house in
Indiana. My grandfather made the roller, a popular toy in the nearby Amish community.
I remember being fascinated by the speed of the marbles, the noise they all made as they ran down a series of chutes to a bin at the bottom. It is mesmerizing. My cousins and I could spend hours lining up the marbles, watching them fall, chasing after them if they ran out of the bin at the bottom.
My own daughter played with the game a couple of years ago when we visited my grandparents. She was about 18 months old and squealed with delight for hours as she watched the marbles (and I tried not to have a panic attack worrying that she'd put one in her mouth). She loved it so much that my mom got her one for Christmas that year. She still pulls out the game on a regular basis.
So what are your kids playing with? What's your favorite toy?
Comments
My kids also loved marble rollers! Doubtful the marbles can get past the safety standards, but what a great toy for creativity--especially the rollers with all the different arms that can be put together any way for unlimited options of marble tracks. Seems like building train tracks, or hotwheels loops would have similar appeal; but no, there is something special about the simplicity of a marble track that is mind expanding and fun!
The ones my grandparents and my daughter have are simple - you just put the marbles in the chute and they roll down. Nothing to manipulate though my daughter likes to figure out what kinds of things she can use to dam up the chute to hold the marbles back. And then we put in just the green marbles or just the orange. And we talk about which ones are faster. It's funny that such a simple thing can bring so much excitement.