Inducted Year: 2003
Simple rules. Straightforward play. Sociability. These hallmarks have kept checkers popular even in an age of complex video games and colorful board games. Checkers, or draughts as people elsewhere know it, dates back several centuries. By the 1600s, people purchased the first checkers’ strategy book. Throughout its history, checkers’ simple equipment has included pieces made of colored stones, dyed slices of corncob, or painted wood. Boards could be scratched on the ground, carved in wood, or printed on […]
Alphabet Blocks
Inducted Year: 2003
For centuries, parents understanding the connection between play and development have made alphabet blocks standard equipment of the well-stocked toy box. Alphabet blocks appeared as early as 1693, when philosopher John Locke pointed out that “dice and play-things, with the letters on them to teach children the alphabet by playing” would make learning to read a more enjoyable experience. A century and a quarter later, Friedrich Wilhelm August Froebel, a museum curator who pioneered kindergarten, introduced geometric solids […]
