ART OF PLAY

Kinetic Toys of the World

Dec 20, 07 | Sep 14, 08

ART OF PLAY—Kinetic Toys of the World drew on the Museum’s permanent collection of kites and toys from around the world, and featured objects that move when manipulated. There were kites, pull and push-toys, antique mechanical banks, puppets and a group of hand-held wood toys from Central and Eastern Europe including pecking chickens, dancing bears and other gamboling animals.

Kites from India, Japan, Thailand, Korea, China, France and Taiwan in shapes as diverse as dragons, butterflies, centipedes and cicadas floated above the Main Gallery, as well as a Chinese Festival Parade Lion.  A menagerie of push, pull, rolling and whirling toys included penguin, turtle and pigeon push-toys, alligator pull-toys, horses, a rooster and a fish on wheels and a bird whirligig racing at top speed on the end of its pole. Stuffed bears, bears on hand-held mechanical toys and a bear jumping jack represented the ursine world.  Also on view were trains, cars, bicycles and airplanes.

ART OF PLAY was sponsored by Supervisor Pam Slater-Price and the San Diego County Board of Supervisors.