Toys here. Games there. Fun everywhere. With activities and amusements galore, Family Day: Toys and Games at the N.C. Museum of History in Raleigh will have something for everyone — for free! Yes, it won’t cost a penny to enjoy toys and games from North Carolina’s past. All the fun takes place on Saturday, June 11, from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Weekend parking is free.

“This is a great opportunity to learn about toys and games — without batteries or power cords — that have been popular for a long time,” says Nancy Pennington, Associate Curator of Programming.

Among the activities, go on a Gallery Hunt to search for toys in exhibits, fold and launch paper airplanes and helicopters, make a colorful checker set and other toys to take home, and play traditional games. Whew . . . and this is only the beginning.

Watch Tar Heel toymaker Luther Ashby make traditional wooden playthings with fun-to-say names like Flipper-Dinger, Gee-Haw Whimmydiddle and Do-Nothing Grinder. Ashby owns Pioneer Folk Toys based in Hudson, N.C.*

Make an eye-catching checker set from recycled materials with Nico Morrison, founder of the Redo Reuse project. Weave fabric strips together to form the checkerboard, and paint bottle caps to use as checkers.
Play with toys from North Carolina’s past, and see how everyday materials made great pastimes. Check out the tavern puzzles, ball-and-cup catchers, string games, dancing dolls, cornhusk dolls and cloth dolls. Join in jump rope games; races; bowling; and chunkey, a traditional American Indian game.

Hear stories about toys and participate in other stories that are actually games. Test your toy knowledge by spinning the Wheel of History to win a prize.

In the museum lobby, be sure to see the small exhibit Toys, Toys and More Toys! From teddy bears to Beanie Babies, the 51 toys in this exhibit offer a kid’s-eye view of American culture over the last century.

For more information about Family Day or the Museum of History, call 919-807-7900 or access ncmuseumofhistory.org or the museum's Facebook page.

Reprinted press release from the N.C. Museum of History 

Images:

Top: Barbie in Toy Exhibit. JPG: These Barbie and Ken dolls, 1961-1963, are featured in the small exhibit Bottom: Toys, Toys and More Toys!Toy Exhibit. During Family Day: Toys and Games at the N.C. Museum of History, see the small exhibit Toys, Toys and More Toys!