Get playful at the House of Manannan this winter. Exploring the island’s relationships with toys, Playful Pasts – Our Journey With Toys, will instil a sense of nostalgia with its visitors, reminding them of childhood memories of Saturday afternoons spent in Toymaster or Colebourn’s Computers.
Dolls from the Gibb family of The Grove in Ramsey sit alongside 80’s electro classics such as the Gameboy, the exhibition uncovers a vast history of the island’s relationship with toys and how playtime can make a lasting impression on our lives.
The exhibition features objects from the museum’s collections along with toys loaned from island residents.
There are also some special features throughout the exhibition including a giant Scrabble board.
Anthea Young, Manx National Heritage Education Services Officer and curator of the exhibition adds;
“The exhibition showcases a range of much loved toys, from wealthy children such as the Gibbs of the Grove, through to simple toys made from scrap materials by German ‘enemy aliens’ who were interned on the Island during the First and Second World Wars.
It will not only provide an opportunity to look at the unique collections of toys under our care, but will also be a chance to present toy stories with an island connection directly from our local community.”
Playful Pasts – Our Journey with Toys opens to the public on 2 December at 2pm and will run until Easter 2018 at the House of Manannan, Peel.