“Toys!” Exhibit Closing April 17, Moving to Bashford

April 17 is your last day to see and explore the “Toys! It’s Not All Fun and Games” exhibit. It will be coming down the week of April 18-22 in order to start preparing the gallery for the upcoming “To the Rodeo, Pardner!” exhibit opening June 18. 

Even though the main “Toys!” exhibit will be closing soon, we will be setting up a temporary mini-“Toys!” exhibit in the Bashford House Museum Store.  Come see a small selection of your favorite toys and share a story at our “What’s YOUR Toy Story” kiosk or as part of the accompanying online group. The kiosk lets visitors tell a story about a memorable toy, inspired by various prompts. The stories are gathered in an online group, which can be accessed from the kiosk or online (visitors can sign up for their own account to create stories and listen to others from their own devices—click here to register).

Ask one of the Museum Store clerks, our Story Ambassadors, how you can contribute your story to this project, funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) as part of the American Rescue Plan Act. “What’s YOUR Toy Story” will only be available for a limited time, so make sure to stop by before the end of the year.

“To the Rodeo, Pardner” is a special-temporary exhibit that explores the long history of Prescott’s rodeo starting with the origin of rodeos from their Spanish influence to today’s favorite events like saddle bronc riding. This exhibit will also highlight the story of the rodeo cowboy.

This year marks the 50^th anniversary of the release of the Prescott-set film Junior Bonner. “To the Rodeo, Pardner!” will include the behind-the-scenes story of the making of the movie during the 1971 Fourth of July events. This exhibit is set to close in Summer 2023.