NAPA, Calif. — If you are looking for something to do in Napa other than wine tasting, the Toy Museum is just the place.
Before the advent of video games and action figures, kids played with simple wood or mechanical toys like wind up robots and wood figurines. Charles and Maggie Hall have been collecting old toys for as long as they can remember.
The museum collection dates back to the 1860s, all the way up to the 1960s. Toys were simpler back then and that simplicity is exactly what the Halls are trying to preserve. The Toy Museum is essentially Charles’ version of a grown-up toy box.
“You could describe my husband as a big kid,” Maggie said.
A lot of the toys were mass produced with few parts, but others like their 1800s era Noah’s Ark toy were hand-carved with lots of parts.
“We've got an ark, Noah's Ark, with all of his animals there. Well, most of his animals. We have over 100 animals still in the back,” Maggie said.
► See an interactive map of everywhere John has visited on the backroads
► Watch all of the Backroads videos
► Follow John on Facebook
Each display case takes you through different decades of toys made for both boys and girls, like early 1900s washing machine toys.
“So that was a very common thing that a lot of the girl’s toys were around domestic chores,” Charles said.
Flash forward to the post WWII era and you’ll find some rare Japanese-made robot toys like Big Loo, a one-off toy only made only in 1963 because of the complexity of his functions.
“He shoots darts from his chest, shoots water from his stomach, he shoots missiles from his feet, he shoots balls from his leg,” Charles said.
Currently on loan to the museum is a rare collection of Barbie dolls, including some of her friends you might not know about.
“We have Ken of course, but we’ve also got Allen which is kind of a rare,” said Maggie. “He's Midge's boyfriend.”
Just like most toy boxes, they often fill up as time goes on and that’s true for the toy museum too.
“I think we are always looking for something special,” Maggie said.
The Napa Toy Museum is located at 964 Pearl St. It's open Wednesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
MORE FUN AND GAMES ON THE BACKROADS: How to play long lost video games from your childhood
