Details: Hits: 467

Toys and Games Exhibit

Toys and Games

A Preview of the Exhibit at the GHS Building

Opening June 29, 2014

Electric Locomotive and Switch Tender on display

This 2014 exhibit features toys and games played with by Greensboro children from the late 1800s to 1960. Everyone is invited to come play with many of the games and toys as well as to view some old favorites.

A Variety of Tin and Wind-Up Toys on display

A Few of the Games in the Exhibit

Board games have been found in ancient Egyptian tombs and other sites in the Middle East, the ancestors of today's Backgammon and Checkers games. Cribbage and Dominoes were played in the 1600s and jigsaw puzzles were marketed commercially in the 1700s. The first American board game, The Traveller's Tour Through The United States, was published in 1822.

Greensboro children in the 1800s might have played checkers, cribbage and dominoes, as well as made jigsaw puzzles and played cards. These can all be tried at the Historical Society exhibit.

Antique Chinese Checkers board on display

Other Antique Games on display

A Few of the Toys in the Exhibit

The origin of the word 'toy' is unknown, but may have first been used in the 14th century. Toy animals, soldiers and dolls, as well as child-size representations of tools used by adults are frequently found at archaeological sites throughout the world.

Greensboro children in the 1800s enjoyed playing with dolls, toy trains, horse-drawn vehicles, and Noah's Ark - complete with pairs of animals and figures of Noah and his wife.

Some very old toys that can be played with at the exhibit include marbles and jacks - also known as knucklebones, and pick-up sticks or jackstraws. Modern versions of a number of toys can be played with at the Historical Society exhibit.

Erector Set on display