Big games, big fun

Well-loved board games and activities come to life in Springfield exhibit

By C ori U rban Special to The Republican

THESE ARE SUPERsized, well-loved games and play activities: Scrabble, Candyland, Jenga, Connect 4 and an 8-foot piano.

You can score some fun with these and others at “Big Games, Big Fun,” open now through Sept. 3 at the Wood Museum of Springfield History.

“We know that people love to participate in fun activities when they visit The (Springfield) Museums. We thought it would be interesting to supersize well-loved games and play activities so they could be experienced in a fresh new way,” said Margaret E. Humberston, curator of library and archives at the Wood Museum.

The exhibit has a large playhouse with two green spaces that dominates the space and sets the scene.

She especially likes the playhouse because it provides opportunities for creative play without a lot of rules. “I was the kind of kid who would rather read or draw or create stories about my toys or dolls,” Humberston said, but “playing a giant game of Scrabble or hopping on a big Candyland board to play the game with your feet and your hands is fun!

For quieter moments guests can put together Milton Bradley puzzles or build with Legos at a table or create a Lego design or mural on a specially designed Lego wall. “That’s fun, and creatively challenging too!” she said.

Pinball machines feature the talents of people from the area like Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, Northampton’s creators of the Ninja Turtles; and Ruth E. Carter, Springfield’s own

Academy Award-winning designer who created the costumes for the Black Panther movies.

“Even if you don’t play games now, like me, you probably played at least a few games when you were a kid. Or you put together puzzles, like our beautifully reproduced Milton Bradley game box puzzles from the early 1900s. Or you played Scrabble or had a doll house you loved or played croquet. Or you spent hours on the floor with your Legos,” Humberston said. “I think everyone can relate to classic toys and games and activities, even if it’s a moment of nostalgia rather than active engagement. If you’re a history buff, you will likely learn a few things about toys and games you might not have known. And honestly, once you see the faces of little kids light up in that play space, that’s a special pleasure that’s hard to resist.”

All of the supersized games are exhibited with rules for how to play them. The giant Scrabble game is wall-mounted and is played with large wood tiles. A group can play an entire game. There is a chalk board to keep score. Many people do walk by and add a word to the board. Springfield has a special place in boardgame history. “Many people are familiar with the name Milton Bradley as a brand for games like Candyland and Connect Four but don’t realize that Milton Bradley was a real person,” Humberston said. He was born in Maine, trained to be a draftsman and came to Springfield as a young man. After he purchased a lithography press in 1860, he invented his first board game which he called the Checkered Game of Life. It sold well in New York City where he test-marketed it.

In Springfield, with the

“I think everyone can relate to classic toys and games and activities, even if it’s a moment of nostalgia rather than active engagement. If you’re a history buff, you will likely learn a few things about toys and games you might not have known. And honestly, once you see the faces of little kids light up in that play space, that’s a special pleasure that’s hard to resist.”

Margaret