Classic Toys of the National Toy Hall of Fame Archive

Over the years, Barbie has had countless competitors, including Jem and the Holograms, the Disney Princesses, and even Spectra, the chic pink-haired gal from outer space with metallic limbs and eye makeup rivaling the likes of David Bowie. Among the many contenders, none have challenged Barbie quite like the Heart Family, who—ironically—appeared to be the complete opposite of all that Barbie represented. Odder still, the Heart Family was manufactured by Mattel Incorporated, the very same company responsible for the Barbie […]

Continue Reading about The Heart of the Issue: Mattel’s Forgotten Family Published on:
July 9, 2013

Life at The Strong provides me with access to wonderful historical resources. As cataloger for the Brian Sutton-Smith Library and Archives of Play, I typically deal with toy trade catalogs that date from the 1960s through the 1990s. Recently, however, I’ve dealt with some older catalogs from the 1930s through the 1950s. As I worked with a 1942 pamphlet from Holgate Brothers Company, a small slip of paper tucked in it caught my attention. It was a notice from the […]

Continue Reading about The Home Front: Toy Production during World War II Published on:
June 11, 2013

Most of us recall our first bike with great fondness. We remember how long we waited for it, how difficult it was to first master, and how much fun we had with it. The day we received that bike was one to be remembered—a milestone, whether it was Christmas, the first day of spring, a birthday, or just an average Thursday. No wonder the bicycle holds a place of honor in the National Toy Hall of Fame at The Strong.
Like […]

Continue Reading about A Boy and His Bike Published on:
June 6, 2013

Have you ever heard anyone say “I think I have too many Star Wars action figures”? Of course not. Who would ever say such a thing?
So, you can understand my excitement last December when an opportunity arose to acquire a collection of Star Wars figures. After all, just the month before, The Strong had inducted the iconic action figures into the National Toy Hall of Fame, and we held a big celebration, complete with Darth Vader, Chewbacca, R2-D2, and several […]

Continue Reading about A Galaxy’s Worth of Star Wars Action Figures Published on:
May 28, 2013

What is it about construction toys that continues to entertain us as both children and adults? Is it the satisfying “click” we hear as pieces come together? Is it the towering structures we create? Or is it the tactile nature of the medium, allowing us to bring imaginative play to life, creating something that, moments before, only existed in our minds?

Continue Reading about Constructing Creativity Published on:
May 7, 2013

The presents have been unwrapped, the new year celebrated, and the holiday treats devoured. Now what? For many folks, the post-holiday season appears bleak, with only frigid weather and sunless days stretching out over the weeks ahead. But for some, the fun has only begun. If you’re an avid skier, snowboarder, or snowmobiler, you’ve just started enjoying the season and delighting in fresh white blankets of snow. Perhaps you’ve even pulled out your snowshoes or the old Sno Bronco.

As a […]

Continue Reading about The Weather May Be Frightful, But Snow Play Is Delightful! Published on:
January 29, 2013

In the big picture of play, all toys have a purpose: they teach physical and mental skills, develop young imaginations, and encourage kids to think in new ways. However one category of toys has puzzled me for years: housekeeping toys. The term seems like an oxymoron. I love a well-cooked meal, nicely laundered and pressed clothes, and a thoroughly cleaned house as much as the next neatnik, but housekeeping as play? Only the young could think so—because they are too […]

Continue Reading about (House)Working at Play Published on:
January 22, 2013

Many of us grew up playing domino games. And once the game was over, we carefully lined the dominoes up on end, just to watch them topple in a chain reaction. With a history stretching back more than 700 years, dominoes today look the same as they did two centuries ago. Dominoes are devices, like cards and dice, which provide hundreds of different games. And like playing cards, a 2010 inductee to the National Toy Hall of Fame at The […]

Continue Reading about Dominoes: A 2012 National Toy Hall of Fame Inductee Published on:
November 28, 2012

If you haven’t spent the last week in a galaxy far, far away, you have probably heard that on November 15, Star Wars action figures joined the 50 other august toys honored in the National Toy Hall of Fame at The Strong. It seems like big honors for such itty bitty, 3.75-inch toys, but these figures demonstrate the iconic stature, longevity, and creative play essential to earning Hall of Fame status. Given their inauspicious beginnings, however, these action figures might […]

Continue Reading about Star Wars Action Figures: A 2012 National Toy Hall of Fame Inductee Published on:
November 20, 2012