Toys and Board games

More than 400 items.
The collection of foreign and Russian toys of the XIX – XX centuries is small (200 units), but quite various in origin, place of manufacture and artistic merits. A typical example of expensive toy for urban children is a doll with a porcelain head and body made of leather, fabric, papier-mache. Since 1880 dolls with children's proportions prevailed in production. Until 1920-ies these toys were produced abundantly. Then they were replaced by dolls made of celluloid, popular in 1930-1950.

Young children like toys of the simplest designs, such as horses on platforms with wheels or rocking horses. Design of these toys has changed little to the present time. Children of noble families liked more complicated mechanical toys with musical arrangements popular in the second half of the XIX century. Often they became family heirlooms and were cherished as a memory from childhood.

Board games and alphabets are invaluable sources for studying the life of the child of the past (about 200 units). This section presents such integral parts of world culture as chess, checkers, bingo, dominoes, cards. The Board game "Halma-Eckha" became popular in the late nineteenth century. Its roots lead to the Far East, to Chinese checkers — the game considered to be of a strategic nature. Board games, often being collective, develop the child's logical thinking, show different ways of training and education.

Computer games appeared in the end of XX century and started to replace and move the Board games into the background. That is why the collection of the Museum is of great interest from the point of view of the history of education and culture.