Arts & Entertainment

New Toy Exhibits Debut at Mercer

Just in time for Christmas, the new exhibits will delve into the history of old-fashioned toys.

The Mercer Museum will debut two new exhibits that explore the history and fun of old-fashioned toys.

Only seen in a few cities, ToyTime is an interactive exhibit of giant-size folk toys. It comes to the Mercer Museum for a limited engagement. ToyTime opens to the public on Saturday, Dec. 17 and runs through April 1, 2012. 

Presented in conjunction with "ToyTime," "Under the Tree: A Century of Holiday Toys" features a special display of historic trees, toys and games. "Under the Tree" will also open to the public on Dec. 17, 2011 and will close on January 31, 2012.

ToyTime invites children of all ages to “play” with life-size versions of the most popular kinetic folk toys in the world.  The exhibit, made entirely out of wood, features sixteen interactive toy stations including Whimmy Diddle, Jacob’s Ladder, Twirling Acrobat, Pecking Chickens, Lunging Lumberjacks and other tumbling, flipping, dancing and climbing toys.

ToyTime is the brainchild of Tom Wilson, director of exhibits at SciWorks Science Center and Environmental Park in Winston-Salem, NC.  A craftsman and former furniture maker, Mr. Wilson began making folk toys thirty years ago.

Folk toys reflect the traditions and pattern of life of people from different time periods throughout the world.  American folk toys give a glimpse of what it might have been like to live in Colonial America. Many toys recreated in the ToyTime exhibit date back at least several hundred years.  Jacob’s Ladder was a popular toy in Colonial America.

ToyTime is generously sponsored by Bucks County Conference & Visitors Bureau, Bud and Judy Newman and Bucks County Foundation and is provided by Museum Productions, LLC.

Capturing the excitement of Christmas from a child’s point of view, "Under the Tree: A Century of Holiday Toys" will feature an array of trees decorated to the tastes of earlier eras, from 1860 to 1950, together with a wide variety of toys and games like those that delighted children on Christmas mornings past. 

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The display draws from major private collections, and includes some of the most popular playthings of the Victorian Era through the post-World War II period.  Trees will be decorated with period ornaments and quality reproductions that show the evolution of this Christmas tradition. Among the types of toys on display will be tin and cast iron vehicles, various tin wind-ups and banks, circus toys, board games, educational playthings, puzzles and more.

The Mercer Museum will celebrate the opening of ToyTime and Under the Tree with a variety of family-friendly activities.  On December 17, activities include a make-a-ball and cup game craft, Making a Christmas Cake Log House program, and a meet-and-greet with Clockwork Toys collector, Jim Wiley.

On December 18, visitors can meet holiday ornament collector, Leslie May and try their hand at the game, Quoits & Nine Pins.

ToyTime and Under the Tree: A Century of Holiday Toys are included with museum admission. Admission to the Mercer Museum is $10 for adults, $9 for seniors (65+), $6 for youth (6-17) and free for children under age 5 and members.  The Mercer Museum is located at 84 South Pine Street. and members.


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