Two exhibits, one open now at the Bruce Museum in Greenwich, the other premiering May 1 at the Wilton Historical Society complex, provide a wonderful glimpse into the world of play, and Connecticut’s role in the construction of childhood happiness. Wilton Historical Society’s MADE IN CONNECTICUT: TOYS FOR AMERICAN KIDS 1850 - 2007,shows how Connecticut’s clockmaking and tinwork industries led, by the mid nineteenth century, to the creation of the American toy industry. It offers a rare chance to see a large selection of the objects that reinforced - through play - the novel idea in American culture that childhood was a special moment, separated from the world of adult concerns.
Zip, Bop and Whir: Toys of the 20th Century focuses on the evolution of American toys into the early twentieth century, particularly toys that roll, float, fly, and which could be used for building.
Together, the two exhibits, on display in towns only 20 miles apart, give weather-weary Connecticans a great chance to spend a day museum-hopping and finding out how people played in the world before Xbox.
MADE IN CONNECTICUT: TOYS FOR AMERICAN KIDS 1850 - 2007, opens May 1 at the Wilton Historical Society and Heritage Museum
Zip, Bop and Whir: Toys of the 20th Century is on exhibit at the Bruce Museum ion Greenwich through July 8
In a wonderful convergence, two Connecticut museums give us a delightful look at Connecticut and America’s contribution to childhood play.
Monday, April 16, 2007
It’s Like A History of Happy
