I recently visited the Toytopia exhibit at the Washington State History Museum in Tacoma. I’d spied the flyer for the exhibit and thought it looked fun; the Mr. Potato Head and Rubik’s Cube on the promotional material inspired nostalgia for some of my long forgotten childhood play items.
On the flip side, it also made me feel ancient. Toys I grew up playing with were going to be on display in a museum. I mean, isn’t that a huge red flag that I’m old now?
Thanks to my local library, I was able to snag a free pass to the museum, so my husband and I went, not sure what to expect.
What I wasn’t prepared for was how, well, young the exhibit made me feel. I wasn’t expecting there to be so many toys to actually play with, from a big lite brite, to classic arcade games like Ms. Pac-Man, Legos and an Etch-A-Sketch or two. Also, there’s a huge dollhouse that made me squee with delight as I walked through it.
Oh, and did I mention the Zoltar fortune-telling machine and giant keyboard you can play with your feet? Both are replicas of items from the 80s classic movie Big and I only wish I was talented enough to tap out Heart and Soul a la Tom Hanks and Robert Loggia.
If you’re in the area, I highly recommend taking in the exhibit, it’s lighthearted fun sure to make you reminisce. According to the history museum’s website, the exhibit runs through June 10.
Amanda Bretz 