History Museum Opens Nostalgic Toy Exhibit [VIDEO]

ST. CLOUD -- You can take a walk down memory lane at a new exhibit in St. Cloud. The Stearns History Museum is bringing back childhood with their new Just for Fun: Toys We Loved exhibit.

The toys on display date from the 1880s all the way to today. Collections Curator Eric Cheever says it’s impressive that some of these toys are still around.

The thing that's pretty remarkable is these toys have all survived. I mean in talking to people, I don't know of anyone who said oh yeah I kept my toys in great shape. It's usually no I used to have that, but I destroyed it.

The exhibit features a variety of toys including dolls, trains, trucks, board games, and figurines. Some other unique toys in the exhibit were made during World War II when steel was all going to the war effort.

Cheever says the evolution of toys is reflective of changes in society.

Early dolls, you know, taught girls, theoretically, about mothering and parenting, and as time went on, say the Barbie doll in the late 1950s, totally changed the concept of what a doll is and does.

There is also an interactive station where you can play with some of the rotating board games on display.

The exhibit opened at the beginning of May and will be on-going. Admission to the museum is $7 for adults, $3 for kids, and free for members.