When it comes to important symbols of the United States that encapsulate our national aspirations to stand for values such as democracy, freedom, and inclusion, the Statue of Liberty might be at the top of the list. Ever since her inauguration in 1886, she has lifted her torch above New York Harbor, serving as a beacon for countless immigrants. Movingly, Emma Lazarus’s poem “The New Colossus” evokes the sense of welcome that the Statue of Liberty represents and concludes, “Send […]
Let’s Put on a Show!
When I was growing up and my sister and I got together with our favorite cousins, there was hardly anything we liked better than putting on a show for the grown-ups. As I recall, the five of us kids would descend to our basement rec room where we’d cook up a script, cast the parts, devise costumes from the dress-up box, and practice our dramatic extravaganza. Meanwhile, I suspect our parents were upstairs rolling their eyes and bracing […]
Chalking Up a Win
Congratulations to sidewalk chalk for earning a place of honor among the three toys inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame on November 5, 2020. For a plaything that’s been around ever since our early ancestors were drawing on the walls of the caves they called home, that’s proof persistence earning well-deserved acclaim.
But 2020 wasn’t the first year that chalk received recognition as one of the 12 finalists for the Hall of Fame. Back in 2016, chalk’s inclusion on […]
Pin the What?!
What sort of party games stick in your memory? No, not the ones from your teen years which involved getting your first kiss. I’m thinking of the classic party games for children’s birthday parties. And one of the top party games for that demographic—at least in my childhood—would have to be Pin the Tail on the Donkey. The earliest donkey pinning games in The Strong museum’s collection come from the 1890s, which aligns with accounts from the internet (because you […]
Cooking for Fun
When I left home for graduate school and my first apartment, I could barely boil water. But I rapidly recognized that I couldn’t afford to go out to eat very often and I didn’t want to subsist on products from the supermarket’s freezer case. My solution? Learn to cook! Living alone let me experiment and hone my kitchen skills without anyone else around to say, “I thought we were going to eat before 8 p.m.” or “Did you really mean […]
Playing with Almost Nothing
In these days of lockdowns and social distancing, resourcefulness has become a watchword in so many facets of our lives. All of us are working to become a little more adept at making the most of what’s immediately at hand in our homes. Fortunately, when it comes to play, sometimes the primary raw material turns out to be ingenuity—something that doesn’t require a trip to the store or an online purchase.
Thinking back to activities from my childhood, it’s kind of […]
Family Aggravation
However much you care for them, there’s no denying that families can be aggravating. That said, in my experience growing up, aggravation wasn’t an emotional response to stresses in our household—it meant Aggravation, my family’s favorite board game.
But before Aggravation—both in my family and the world of games—there was Parcheesi or, in its original name, Pachisi. About the time that the global calendar transitioned from B.C. to A.D, Pachisi established itself as a classic board game in India. […]
Down the Rabbit Hole
Working at The Strong museum sometimes involves surprises—of the good kind. That was the case when I received an inquiry about the potential donation of a set of hand-carved Alice in Wonderland figures. “Please tell me more,” I responded. What I discovered proved to be a fascinating story of a creative individual who pursued play in numerous dimensions of his life—something ideal for the collection of the National Museum of Play.
Michael Cubitt (1899–1989) worked as a […]
Valentines for Trolls
Sometimes it seems as if civility and kindness are in exceptionally short supply today. The Internet liberates a portion of the populace from any standards of decent behavior. As I catch myself lamenting about the dark side of human nature, it helps me to think about Valentine’s Day and bear in mind that bad behavior is nothing new. “What?!” you exclaim, “Valentine’s Day? That day of chocolates and roses for sweethearts? How do snarkiness and insults apply there?” But come […]