'Toys Through Time' Exhibition

'Toys Through Time' Exhibition

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Posted 2015-03-30 by Irenke Forsythfollow

Sat 28 Mar 2015 - Sun 09 Aug 2015

Journey back through history and your childhood in this new exhibition about toys with more than two hundred original treasures that will resurrect memories for some and fascinate others not so old. The Museum of Sydney is the venue for this display that runs through to August.



It is Sydney's toy history and a look at the toy manufacturers and toy sellers. Toys from the early days of Sydney's settlement to the 1970's are covered in this nostalgic trip where you will encounter a mix of strange and wonderful play things that have delighted generations of Sydneysiders.

There's peg dolls and barbies, tin soldiers and train sets, rattles and rocket ships to transfix you. In the late 50's the world's first artificial satellite was launched in Russia (then known as U.S.S.R), Sputnik I, and everyone became interested in space. A burst of toys came onto the market during this golden age of space flight. One such interesting product was the Space Station Morse Code Signalling Set. Sounds like fun. What child wouldn't want to reach out to others in the universe and maybe even talk to an alien.



Games have been around for centuries and provide plenty of fun and laughs. One of the best socially interacting options of all time, whether it be a board game, a party game or games played outdoors. Here at the museum are a collection of Victorian parlour games to enthrall you. Through time, games have developed from the simple snakes and ladders to more complex creations. Here's a timeline of some of the most popular games: -

1896 - Darts with a numbering system on a board
1913 - The first crossword was devised
1934 - Monopoly was introduced
1948 - Scrabble and Cluedo
1966 - Twister had us all over the floor
1974 - Rubik's cube was invented

Rocking horses and pedal cars also make an appearance in this exhibition and have been a big part of many children's pasts. I remember a red metal car we sat in and pedalled around the backyard as well as dinky's and wagons. I so wish we had kept them. Leichhardt-based manufacturer Roebuck made rocking horses by hand back in the 1880's before mechanisation in the 1930's enabled production to increase but then as the Great Depression hit they teamed up with the Cyclops factory in order to survive. Cyclops were making tricycles, dolls prams and pedal cars. With this collaboration, the pedal pony was born.



The advent of plastic and tariffs on foreign imports being removed saw the demise of favourites like Ferris tin plate trains. A new generation of toys came, such as Mr Potato Head and his friends, Lego bricks, action figures and superheroes. Time continually sees more evolvement and creativity with no end to the imagination.

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Children can follow the kids trail and play in a specially designed space with different challenges and games. They can even make their own toy to take home.

No doubt this exhibition will keep them busy.

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!date 28/03/2015 -- 09/08/2015
%wnsydney
121072 - 2023-06-12 22:49:20

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