Pushes & Pulls
These toys all move using a simple push or pull. This force comes either from your hand or from a natural force in nature like gravity. The simple act of pushing and pulling a toy can produce a clever and sometimes unexpected movement depending on the mechanism. Children can have fun on rocking horses and pedal cars but can also develop their physical well-being using these toys.
Wheeled toys, for children to push or pull along, have been in existence for thousands of years. There are examples from ancient civilisations made from materials including clay, wood, lead and ivory. Most are in the shape of toy animals. Some of these very early toys have holes to take a string so that they can be pulled, others are simply intended to be pushed.
Horses, with or without carts or carriages, were popular pull along toys in Europe in the Middle Ages. By about 1600, some wheeled horses were large enough for a child to sit on and be pulled along, and these continue to be popular today. From about 1880, larger push-along toy animals, such as sheep and dogs, were designed to help very little children learn to walk. There are push or pull along toys that move in other ways too, such as hens that flap their wings. The Museum has an early example (1912) of a duck whose head bobs up and down when it is pulled. This is because its head is connected to a cam that converts the circular movement of the wheels into an up and down one.
Yo-Yo
The yo-yo is believed to have originated in ancient China. It is a small round object consisting of two equally sized discs connected by an axle. The axle has a short string wound around it.
James Bond Aston Martin
This model car, the Aston Martin DB5, was launched by Corgi just before release of the James Bond film Thunderball in December 1965 and was a big seller.
Clackers
Clackers were also known as Klik-Klaks, Whackers, Bangers and Knockers. They consisted of two hard plastic balls each linked to a ring with a piece of string.
Hot Wheels
In 1968, Elliot and Ruth Handler, the co-founders of Mattel, were inspired by their grandchildren to make a range of toy cars. They took on a team to help with the design process that included Harry Bradley, from General Motors.
Transformers
In 1984, Transformers, with their trademark catch-phrase, 'robots in disguise', were a new and innovative toy made in Japan and marketed world-wide by the American company Hasbro.
