Toys, an essential role in human development

Set up on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Escuela Provincial de Folklore de Guadalajara, the exhibition aimed to raise awareness of the history of toys, their meaning and purpose, to the show popular of our province through toys, explaining the kinds of games and toys from previous generations, but also to let people see the work in recovering and cataloguing undertaken by our teachers, researching the functions of traditional, popular toys in the province of Guadalajara.

As for the contents of the exhibition, we tried to create a route through the world of traditional toys, their meaning as cultural developers and their educational and play aspects, focussing on handcrafted toys made by adults or children before the onset of industrial production, which saw the demise of the popular toy. Nowadays, toys are mass-produced with programmed obsolescence to guarantee sales

But the exhibition also aimed to make visitors understand the continuity over time of an activity which is essential for educating children, that is to say, play, which also functions the human development of people.

Today more than ever, it is better if children understand the importance of toys and games for the environment, the stimulus they provide both whilst making and developing them as dynamic factors for a sustainable society, a small action which could be a great contribution to reducing the ecological footprint with little effort, which can be resumed like the advert in which a child shouted in joy when he received a present, «A stick, a stick, a stick!».