Museums

The Lost Art of Shoebox Dioramas

Jeanna G6 Comments

I recently bought a pair of running shoes, and I kept them in their shoebox in my car for when I go to the gym. My dogs like to go for rides whenever possible, and the last time they jumped into the car, they both managed to trample the shoebox. My immediate thought was, “Darn it! I could’ve used that for something.” But then, when I was carrying the empty box to the recycling bin, I asked myself, “What would I use this for?” And then the answer came to me: A shoebox diorama! Growing up, at least once a year in elementary school, we had to make some kind of shoebox diorama. One year it was a farm yard, another was a scene from the Jurassic period, then outer space, symbols from one of the 50 states, and then the Wild West. I’m sure it’s no mystery what happened to these 3-D assignments that required more than just a swipe and tap of a finger.

My daughter has an app in which she designs rooms in houses, stores, restaurants, and other hangouts in a virtual world. When I was a kid, I built a dollhouse, painted the walls, and filled it with upcycled furniture, before upcycling was a trend. (Remember those little round pieces of plastic with three legs that kept the pizza box lids from sticking to the cheese? They made perfect end tables for my Barbies.) My brother builds pirate ships out of Legos, and my dad built one in a bottle out of wood, wire, and glue. All of these are dioramas, and perfect for hobbyists. Even so, I think building a shoebox diorama is an elementary school rite of passage that every child should experience.

When I walked back inside after recycling my shoebox, I saw my daughter was watching “Night at the Museum.” It occurred to me that the natural history museum is filled with giant dioramas.

The app my daughter uses is very cool, and she’s definitely learning and using her imagination, bu maybe we can think inside the box, instead. We can visit a museum, maybe one that exhibits interior design marvels. Or, we could go on a Parade of Homes to see how our contemporaries are decorating their spaces. And then, after some research, we design our dream space… inside a shoebox. I wonder, will she think my idea is a shoe-in, or will she tell me to put a lid on it?

Toy Boom

Jeanna G3 Comments

My daughter and I took a trip to the NC Museum of History in downtown Raleigh yesterday afternoon. One of their many fascinating exhibits teaches about the “Toy Boom.” Going back in time to consider the impact of play is right up my alley!

Before arriving, I hadn’t realized that the toys on exhibit were from the 1950s & 60s. Some I recognized from my dad’s stories, like an Erector Set. Some were still popular when I was child in the 80s, like G.I. Joe, View-Masters, and Gumby, and some of the toys are still hits with kids in 2021: Slinky, Twister, Mr. Potato Head, Candy Land, Barbie, Frisbee, Legos, Etch A Sketch, and Silly Putty. I was excited to find Mouse Trap, considering Santa dropped one down our chimney this past Christmas. Related to Christmas, a virtual Sears Christmas catalog was on display. My pen would run out ink before I could circle every toy I wanted.

My daughter and I learned a few things within the toy exhibit. I was relieved to see her confusion over the toys that promoted gender roles in society. For example, there were two separate “What Shall I Be?” board games about what career to pursue; the one for boys had pictures of astronauts, football players, and doctors, and the one for girls had pictures of flight attendants, socialites, and nurses. It was a nice segue to the exhibit downstairs about the suffragists.

What I learned was that some of the toys were developed and promoted with ulterior motives in mind. My takeaway was that our government recognized the benefits of learning through play; toys make learning more fun, and some of these new toys could eventually help to support our race for space and wartime efforts.

The exhibit also exposed the impact of commercial advertising once televisions replaced radios as a form of entertainment. The baby boom, economic prosperity, and an influx of televisions combined to make a great recipe for consumerism. Nowadays, kids eyes are still glued to screens: TVs, tablets, and smartphones. They see the advertisements, but it seems harder to peel them away long enough to actually play. My hope is that we adults remember how much fun we had with our toys, and spend more time sharing that love with our kids.