Toy Hall of Fame

What's in the National Toy Hall of Fame?
Posted on May 11, 2010 by juliesmusicbrioso

The Strong National Museum of Play, located in Rochester, New York has a terrific website, including their National Toy Hall of Fame: http://www.museumofplay.org/nthof/inductees.php    There are currently 44 toys listed, with information about each toy and why it is included.

In order to be named to the National Toy Hall of Fame, the toy must meet the following 4 criteria:
1.. Icon-status: The toy is widely recognized, respected, and remembered.
2.. Longevity: The toy is more than a passing fad and has enjoyed popularity over multiple generations.
3.. Discovery: The toy fosters learning, creativity, or discovery through play.
4.. Innovation: The toy profoundly changed play or toy design. A toy may be inducted on the basis of this criterion without necessarily having met all of the first three.

There are all kinds of toys that you might expect, from balls and jump ropes to Frisbees and Play-Doh. The one that was most fascinating was the stick. Here is an excerpt of what the Strong Museum had to say about it:

The stick may be the world's oldest toy. Children find sticks an endless source of make-believe fun. Sticks can turn into swords, magic wands, majorette batons, fishing poles, and light sabers. When children pretend with sticks, they cultivate their creativity and develop their imagination. Children build with sticks, bat balls with them, and walk with them. They are the original building blocks for creative play. Sticks also promote free play-the freedom to invent and discover. They encourage playing outside instead of inside. Sticks are all around us; they are natural and free.

What "old school" toys would to your top 5?