Madison Children's Museum

Tag Archive: rudolph

1. Play, Back in the Day: The Rudolph Story

   December 22, 2014 2:48 pm Leave a Comment

   By Corinne Burgermeister
   Communications Specialist 

   

   Winter window display at Madison Children’s Museum

   Most of us are familiar with the tale of Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer, but how many of you know how his story and connection to Madison Children’s Museum came to be?

   In 1939 Chicago-based department store, Montgomery Ward introduced us to Rudolph, the most famous reindeer of all.

   Each holiday season, Montgomery Ward distributed children’s coloring books to shoppers, but in 1939, they did something different. Copywriter Robert L. May was enlisted to develop an original story—the tale of a bright-nosed reindeer.

   Over two million copies of May’s story were distributed in the first year alone, and it quickly became a holiday favorite for generations of kids.

   In Madison, during that same time period (1929 – 1942), our building at 100 N. Hamilton housed a Montgomery Ward store, where we imagine similar holiday traditions took place.

   As an homage to our building’s past, the “Play, Back in the Day” exhibit takes a look at all things vintage and playful, featuring a “new” toy collection each month.

   December’s collection is all about books.

   Through mid-January, visitors can lounge in vintage chairs and cozy up with a copy of Rudolph, or click through an old-fashioned Viewmaster featuring a Rudolph card.

   The exhibit also includes a vintage radio playing thirties jazz and classic works like Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys and Little House on the Prairie.

   By learning about stories like Rudolph and playing with toys from the past, we hope to create an environment where kids and adults can have a shared experience—allowing them to see play as something universal.

   We are still seeking toy donations! 
   Each month “Play, Back in the Day” will highlight a “new” vintage item, but we need your help! Do you have some awesome vintage toys? Know someone who’d like to loan us their collection? Grandparents, community members and friends are encouraged to share their toy collections and stories with Madison Children’s Museum. Contact Nadia Niggli to learn how to get involved.

2. Exhibit Opening: Play, Back in the Day

   December 16, 2014 4:08 pm Leave a Comment

   By Corinne Burgermeister
   Communications Specialist 

   

   This winter, Madison Children’s Museum is introducing a new way for kids to learn through play with a vintage toys exhibit called, “Play, Back in the Day.”

   Each month through June, a “new” vintage toy collection will be featured for visitors to enjoy while lounging in the Window to the Past space—an area setup to resemble a living room.

   December’s collection is all about books.

   Children can page through a variety of works written in the thirties, including the Rudolph story, early Dr. Seuss, and books from Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House on the Prairie series.

   A collection of Nancy Drew mysteries is also on display in a bookcase, a childhood favorite on loan from MCM Local Treasures Manager, Erin Hoag.

   “Nancy Drew is adventurous and spunky. I loved reading her books, and so did my grandma,” Erin says. “I received these books from her and she received them from her sister, who was much older and purchased them for her on pay days.”

   By showcasing toys from the past kids will recognize play as something that is not only universal, but as something all people have in common.

   “We’re hoping kids and adults will have a shared experience of play and be able to connect in a way that perhaps they hadn’t before,” Erin says.

   Visitors can also explore the vintage living room styled with vintage chairs, a radio playing Louis Armstrong, Bing Crosby and Benny Goodman tunes, and a vintage View-master with Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer card.

   

   

   

   
   

   We are still seeking toy donations! 
   Each month we’ll showcase a “new” vintage item, but we need your help! Do you have some awesome vintage toys? Know someone who’d like to loan us their collection? Grandparents, community members and friends are encouraged to share their toy collections and stories with Madison Children’s Museum. Contact Nadia Niggli to learn how to get involved.