Toys of the 50's, 60's and 70's

The Minnesota History Center features a stroll down memory lane with their special exhibit: Toys of the 50's, 60's and 70's. It is a nostalgic look at toys that capture the joys of childhood. The exhibit also looks at how the toys we play with reflect the times in which we live. It delves into the culture and history of the times.

The three decades that the exhibit covers encompass a unique era in the development of toys and society. The toy business boomed like it never had before after World War II. It was fueled by the vast baby boomer market of toy-hungry kids, the development of faster and cheaper manufacturing technologies (such as plastic injection molding) and the emergence of TV and its powerful advertising.

A highlight for me was remembering the toys my children happily played with. My son loved his Big Wheel and spent many, many hours going up and down the sidewalk.

And then there was the Star Wars Craze. Not only did we have the spaceship and I might add still have it along with all the action figures.

   Our daughter had an extensive Barbie Doll collection 

and one of her prize possessions was Barbie's Friendship Ship. And it was well after her college years it finally went to Ebay as we began to purge ourselves of 'stuff'.

The following photos show toys starting in 50's moving to 60's and into 70's. See what you remember.

slinky

Tonka trucks made in Minnetonka, MN

Trolls Everywhere

Remember the matchbox car craze?

Nerf Balls

and I saved one of the best nostalgic toys for last. Have you ever heard of the Winky Dink Super Kit?  My husband got real excited when he spied this.

He owned an Official Super Winky Dink Television Game Kit!

FYI:Winky Dink and You was a CBS children's television show that aired from 1953 to 1957, on Saturday mornings at 10:30 a.m. It was hosted by Jack Barry and featured the exploits of a cartoon character named Winky Dink and his dog Woofer.

The show's central gimmick was the use of a "magic drawing screen", which was a large piece of vinyl plastic that stuck to the television screen via static electricity. A kit containing the screen and various Winky Dink crayons could be purchased for 50 cents. At a climactic scene in every Winky Dink short, Winky would arrive upon a scene that contained a connect the dots picture. He would then prompt the children at home to complete the picture, and the finished result would help him continue the story. Examples include drawing a bridge to cross a river, an axe to chop down a tree, or a cage to trap a dangerous lion.

So if you just happen to live in the area the exhibit runs through January 4, 2015.