National Toy Hall of Fame Inducts The Stick: Is There a Better Toy?

The stick has been added to the National Toy Hall of Fame. It joins the 2005 inductee, cardboard box as free “toys” that incite a child’s imagination.

“It’s very open-ended, all-natural, the perfect price - there aren’t any rules or instructions for its use,” said Christopher Bensch, the museum’s curator of collections. “It can be a Wild West horse, a medieval knight’s sword, a boat on a stream or a slingshot with a rubber band. … No snowman is complete without a couple of stick arms, and every campfire needs a stick for toasting marshmallows.”

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I have to agree that the stick belongs among the list of 41 toys in the National Toy Hall of Fame. I’ve seen the actual exhibit when it was located in Salem, OR at the A.C. Gilbert House Children’s Museum. When we lived in Salem, the kids and I frequented the play museum along with its famous toys. I always get such a sense of nostalgia while walking through the aisles.

This years inductees also included the skate board and baby doll, the actual doll added was the American Girl Bitty Baby.

According to my kids, the stick is a great toy because:

“I like to play with the dog chasing sticks and hit the trees with them.” -Kyler, age 8

“You can hit Pinatas with them and poke at snakes.”- Kenzie, age 6

“I can play golf or baseball.” - Kaylee, age 8

“Make trees or a princess wand.” - Kelsey, age 3

Just this weekend we used sticks to roast marshmallows for our s’mores and played stick ball. I don’t think there is a better toy, except maybe the cardboard box which becomes a cave, a doll house, or a sled.

The photo is my child with her stick. We were at the Beach and it was a writing utensil, a ball chaser, a wand, a wave crasher and a foreign object poker. (Photo was taken well before this Toy Hall of Fame induction, I recalled the image while searching online for stick images.)

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