You’ve no doubt heard of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, the Football Hall of Fame in Canton, and even the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY.  But a Toy Hall of Fame?  It was established in 1998 in Rochester, NY, and is located inside the Strong National Museum of Play.

This year, three more toys have earned their place in history: American Girl dolls, the board game Risk, and… (get ready for it!) a pailful of sand with a shovel!  Some other playthings from past years include wooden ABC blocks, dominos, Hot Wheels, playing cards, a rubber ball, a dollhouse, a teddy bear, jacks, chalk, and a rubber duck.

Discovering this information, the Pioneer reached out to students to discover what were their favorite toys over the years.

Freshman Connor Maxwell stated that when he was a kid, the toy he just had to have was slime.  He stated, “I would always see commercials of different types of it, and for six years it was number one on my Christmas list.”  When he finally received it, he was so excited and pointed out, “I never got bored of it until about eight months after getting it.”  Eventually, he gave it away to his younger cousin.

However, if Connor could induct any toy into the Toy Hall of Fame today, he would nominate “…Legos because of how known they are….”  In fact, Legos received their place of honor in 1998.

“Boots” VanDyke, a junior, described how, when he was a kid, the toy he always wanted was a Ben 10 watch.  Boots stated, “I thought they were cool and would turn me into an alien.”  He did receive it and noted, “It was great because, even though I didn’t become an alien, I did feel like Ben 10.”  He would nominate it into the Hall of Fame, although he doesn’t own his any more.

Two seniors, Jenna Barone and Brooke Massaro, wanted American Girl dolls when they were younger.  When they received theirs, they found them to be fun to play with.  Although Jenna does not own hers anymore, she would definitely nominate it into the Hall of Fame.

Seniors Patrick Heider, Dominic Fallon, Josh Campagna, and Kole Kuczynski all wanted Xboxes for Christmas when they were kids.  Patrick and Dominic wanted one so they could play games with their friends.  Each of them received one, and they all agree that it was super fun.  Both Patrick and Kole still use theirs.  Inducting the Xbox into the Hall of Fame would make sense, most agreed.

English teacher Mrs. Deb Bok stated that when she was a kid, the toy she wanted badly was an Easy-Bake Oven, because she thought that it would be so fun to play with.  However, when Mrs. Bok received it, the oven was very disappointing.

She stated, “It was terrible.  The stuff tasted awful.”  She also described how messy it was.  Mrs. Bok does not still own the toy oven but, if she were to nominate any toy into the Hall of Fame, it would be a shovel.  Mrs. Bok said this because she believes “there is nothing like digging a hole in your backyard with your brother!”

Many students from Mr. Adair’s sixth period English class were surprised when they heard that a Toy Hall of Fame exists.  Although it may be shocking news, the monument to toys is a reality.  If you would like to learn more about the Hall of Fame, you can visit the website at https://www.museumofplay.org/exhibits/toy-hall-of-fame/.