• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
Open Today clockOpen 10 a.m.–5 p.m., Fri. 10 a.m.–8 p.m.
  • Educators
    • Philosophy
    • Pre-K to Grade 6
    • Grades 7 to 12
    • Field Trips
    • School Visit FAQs
    • College and University Programs
    • Professional Development
  • Woodbury School
    • Woodbury School FAQs
    • Woodbury School Staff
    • Current Academic Calendar
  • Blog
  • Journal of Play
    • About
    • Journal Issues
    • Information for Authors
    • Book Reviews
    • Subscribe
  • search-icon
Logo for The Strong National Museum of Play with a marble replacing the "O" in "Strong". The word "Strong" is in purple as well as the word "Play" in the subheading.

The Strong National Museum of Play

Visit the Ultimate Play Destination

  • Visit
    • Hours and Admission
    • Directions and Parking
    • Events Calendar
    • Membership
    • Accessibility
    • Museum Rentals
    • Dine and Shop
  • Exhibits
    • Museum Exhibits
    • Online Exhibits
    • National Toy Hall of Fame
    • World Video Game Hall of Fame
    • Skyline Climb
    • Play Lab
    • Butterfly Garden
    • Carousel and Train
  • Collections
    • Search Collections
    • Brian Sutton-Smith Library & Archives of Play
    • International Center for the History of Electronic Games
    • The National Archives of Game Show History
    • Research Access
    • Research Fellowships
    • Donate an Artifact
    • Preservation
  • Support
    • Expansion Campaign
    • Individual Giving
    • Corporate Giving
    • The Play Ball
  • About
    • Margaret Woodbury Strong
    • Museum News
    • Board of Trustees
    • Play Makers Leadership Council
    • Community Access
    • Annual Reports
    • Press Room
    • Books
    • Play Quotes
  • Donate
  • Buy Tickets

Etch A Sketch

Etch A Sketch

Inducted Year: 1998

French electrical technician André Cassagnes applied his experience with the clinging properties of an electrostatic charge to invent a mechanical drawing toy with no spare parts. He called his creation L’Ecran Magique, the magic screen. Introduced at the International Toy Fair in Nuremberg, Germany, in 1959, the gadget failed to draw much attention. Numerous manufacturers passed over a chance to pick up the new toy, concluding that Cassagnes wanted too much money for it. However, the Ohio Art Company took a second look and invested $25,000, more than they had ever paid for a license. Ohio Art renamed the toy “Etch A Sketch” and began mass production later that year. Saturation advertising on television turned the toy into a must-have item for Christmas, 1960, and Ohio Art’s factory worked feverishly until noon that Christmas Eve. Etch A Sketch has changed little since then. Static charges hold a mixture of aluminum powder and tiny plastic beads to the inside of a clear plastic screen. Knobs control the horizontal and vertical rods that move a stylus where the two meet. The point scores a line across the screen’s reverse side. Experts can draw a curved or diagonal line. Turning the screen over and giving it a shake erases the picture.

Etch A Sketch artifacts

Factoyd: The Etch A Sketch Club was formed in 1978 and today includes more than 2,000 Etch a Sketch artists and enthusiasts

Published on:
August 20, 2021

Sign Up for Museum E-News

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
  • opens in a new windowYouTube
  • opens in a new windowTwitter
  • opens in a new windowTripAdvisor
  • opens in a new windowInstagram
  • opens in a new windowFacebook

One Manhattan Square
Rochester, New York 14607
+1 (585) 263-2700
info@museumofplay.orgcreate new email

Become a Member

  • Visit
    • Hours and Admission
    • Directions and Parking
    • Events Calendar
    • Membership
    • Accessibility
    • Museum Rentals
    • Dine and Shop
  • Exhibits
    • Museum Exhibits
    • Online Exhibits
    • National Toy Hall of Fame
    • World Video Game Hall of Fame
    • Skyline Climb
    • Play Lab
    • Butterfly Garden
    • Carousel and Train
  • Collections
    • Search Collections
    • Brian Sutton-Smith Library & Archives of Play
    • International Center for the History of Electronic Games
    • The National Archives of Game Show History
    • Research Access
    • Research Fellowships
    • Donate an Artifact
    • Preservation
  • Support
    • Expansion Campaign
    • Individual Giving
    • Corporate Giving
    • The Play Ball
  • About
    • Margaret Woodbury Strong
    • Museum News
    • Board of Trustees
    • Play Makers Leadership Council
    • Community Access
    • Annual Reports
    • Press Room
    • Books
    • Play Quotes

Copyright 2021 The Strong. All Rights Reserved.

  • Careers & Internships
  • Privacy & Terms of Use
  • Site Mapopens XML file