Rosie the Riveter/WWII Home Front National Historical Park News Release

For Immediate Release: October 30, 2013
Contact: Lucien Sonder, 510-232-5050 x. 6622, lucien_sonder@nps.gov
Event Date: Saturday, November 16, 2013

Historic Toys on Display at Rosie the Riveter Visitor Center
National Park Service exhibit explores imagination and reality for 1940s children

(Richmond, CA) – A temporary exhibit titled “Kids in WWII: Imagination & Reality” has been installed at the Visitor Education Center of Rosie the Riveter/WWII Home Front National Historical Park. The exhibit opening was delayed from October 12th due to the government shutdown. 

The exhibit features objects from the park collection and also on loan from private collectors. Visitors will see vintage children’s toys, uniforms, games, model airplanes, clothes, magazines, and books from the 1940s. The exhibit runs through March 2014. 

Children were deeply affected by and involved in the war effort throughout WWII. From saying goodbye to a father in the military to collecting scrap after school, children felt the impact of the war in daily life. Books, games, and toys of the time period reflected the reality kids had to face, and at the same time, provided an escape into a more secure fantasy world. 

The exhibit will remind some visitors of their own childhood playtime. Others too young to remember the war years will be able to see what their parents and grandparents played with. Visitors will learn how wartime rationing influenced toy materials and production, and how toys were marketed differently to boys and girls. 

The two collectors who have toys on exhibit will also speak at a special program called “Wartime Toys for Girls and Boys” at the visitor center on Saturday, November 16, 2013 at 3 PM. They will discuss how they began collecting toys and other items from the Home Front era. The park’s gift shop is stocked with reproduction toys, books and games for visitors to purchase as holiday gifts.

The Rosie the Riveter Visitor Education Center is open seven days a week between 10 AM and 5 PM and is located at 1414 Harbour Way South, suite 3000, Richmond, CA 94804. For more information and directions to the Visitor Education Center, please call 510-232-5050 x.0 or visit http://www.nps.gov/rori/planyourvisit/directions.htm. There is no charge for admission to the Visitor Education Center. 

If you would like to receive information about upcoming park events, visit www.rosietheirveter.org and sign up for the newsletter. The Rosie the Riveter Trust is the nonprofit association building a community of support for the national park.

-NPS-