Museums in a Box – Teacher’s Notes
Toys from the Past
Contents











Whipping Top
Yo-yo
Cup and Ball
Ladybird Book
Jack-in-a-Box
Card Game
Clown Hoop-la Game
Small Doll
Walking Wooden Man
Dominoes
Wind-up Tank
Museums in a Box – Teacher’s Notes
Toys from the Past
Cup & ball
One of the earliest and favourite games played by children is
the cup and ball toy. This toy was popular with adults and
children alike.
The aim of the cup and ball game is to swing the wooden ball
into the cup at the end of the stick.
Whipping top
This is a traditional wooden spinning top. The whip was used
to keep the top spinning for longer.
Yo-yo
One of the oldest known toys, it is likely that the yo-yo was
created independently in several different areas. Stone
yo-yos more than 3,000 years old have been found in
Greece and evidence shows that yo-yos may also have
been present in ancient Chinese culture. In the 1800s, the
toy became popular with children in Victorian England.
Small Doll
Dolls have always been popular toys for girls. Before
plastic, dolls heads (and sometimes the whole doll) were
made from porcelain. Porcelain is very delicate and is
easily broken.
Wind-up Tank
Before battery power, toy vehicles could be made to
move independently by a wind-up mechanism such as
the one which makes this tank move.
Ladybird Book
This is a classic ladybird book first published in 1958. Ladybird
books are a feature of many people’s childhood – learning to
read. The first ladybird book was published in 1915. Until the 1980s
ladybird books came in this standard size and form.
Museums in a Box – Teacher’s Notes
Toys from the Past
Jack-in-a-Box
Wind the handle and the “jack” will jump out at you. This toy is
more modern than many others in this box as its face is made
from a more modern material. The “box” the “jack” hides in is
made of metal.
Card Game
Card games were a popular form of family entertainment
before television was mainstream.
Clown Hoop-la Game
This is a homemade version of the popular fairground game
“hoopla”. Children would aim to get the hoop over the pin.
This pin is decorated to look like a clown.
Walking Wooden Man
This is another homemade toy. It is made out of wood and has
been painted. Its arms and legs move and it has a rod for a
handle to help you walk him along, similar to a puppet.
Dominoes
This is a box of dominos. Dominos have been
played for centuries. The oldest known domino set
was found in the tomb of the ancient Egyptian
pharaoh, Tutankhamen.