Games, Playthings and Plush

Toys at Public Lands (From page 159)

We also do well with comic books about the Gold Rush and the Oregon Trail, rabbit pelts, and locally made bean bag items created by a group called Cut Ups.”

He adds that the 1.000-square foot-store brought in several new items this year, including a “wider selection of stuffies such as a cougar and horse with little shirts that say ‘Sutter’s Fort’ as attire, and Roy Toy log cabin building toys which are U.S. made with natural wood.”

In Grants Pass, Ore. at the Friends of the Oregon Caves and Chateau, Executive Director Sue Densmore said that the organization is home to “the birth of the View Master. We sell them for $25 a piece, they now have new 3-D reels. We won an award for having the most fun, educational item.” Densmore described the images their View Master shows as depicting “the caves and the historic Chateau. You get three reels that come with the viewer; they’re both historical and have current images.”

This popular item is not affected by supply chain delays, she attested. “We produce them and manage them ourselves so it doesn’t fall into that category.”

While there was nothing new added by the organization this year as the View Master was created in 2015 for the 100th year anniversary of the caves and chateau, an updated reel is planned. “Everyone who purchases a

View Master and reel stays on our master list and will receive an update on when we do a new reel. We are planning to do so within the year,” Densmore said.

At the Robert Ferguson Observatory in Glen Ellen, Calif., Executive Director Stephanie Drammelaere explained that “We are a unique public observatory, not owned by the government or an educational facility. Anyone who is interested can volunteer with us and operate our telescopes – we are a great resource for kids and teens.” Children’s items in the observatory’s 100-square-foot gift shop reflect that inclusive learning mission.

“Although our retail store is very small, we do have kids’ items, they are all astronomy related. We have Tshirts of course, but in the ‘play’ category, the kids really love red flashlights due to the fact that bright light is prohibited here and in general for stargazing. So, a big seller for us is a small red flashlight. Kids love that,” she stressed. Drammelaere added that “Both as educational play and as clothing, we had some popular moon hats. They were super cute, a fleece hat with different phases of the moon on them. If you follow the instructions that come with the hat, and you turn a certain way, you can find out what the phases of the moon are at that given point in time. It was very popular, priced reasonably at $20. We are out of them at the moment.”