MINT Museum of Toys Halloween Party

Thanks to SeeDifferent.SG, we were invited to a private Halloween Party at MINT Museum of Toys.  Our visit to the MINT Museum of Toys was a perfect complement to our earlier visit to the Singapore Toys, Games and Comic Convention (STGCC). From these visits, we were able to see toys of different periods (vintage toys in MINT Museum of Toys versus modern ones in STGCC) from all around the world.

The “MINT” in MINT Museum of Toys stands for Moment of Imagination and Nostalgia with Toys. The museum is the world’s first purpose-built museum for toys. Its unique collection of vintage toys originates from over 25 countries such as Germany, Japan, United States and even Bulgaria.

Over 50,000 pieces of vintage toys and childhood memorabilia dating from the mid-19th century to mid-20th century, is exhibited over 4 levels of the museum:

The toys at Level 5: Outerspace, reflect early 20th century society’s perception of technology and space travel in the future – deadly ray guns, flying suits, scary robots and aliens.

At Level 4: Characters, you will find familiar cartoon characters e.g. Tintin, Batman, Popeye, Flintstone, Astroboy that most of us grew up with (at least for those born in the 1980s).

Did you notice (from the above picture) a Popeye head with a string hanging out from his mouth?

That is a string holder.  Back in the 1940s, before adhesive tape was introduced into everyday life use, strings are used for a variety of purposes e.g. tying up parcels, hang laundry, secure things.  Thus to avoid the strings from tangling up in a mess, string holders were introduced in offices, kitchens etc.  These string holders also come in a lot of designs to reflect the trend of those period e.g. Mickey Mouse, Popeye.

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At Level 3: Childhood Favourites, you will find popular icons such as Mickey Mouse (where you will also see its transformation along the years) and Darkie (the very beginning of Darlie – the icon used in Darlie toothpaste).

At Level 2: Collectables, you will find politically incorrect toys e.g. a boy holding a submachine gun (aptly named: Shooting Boy) and other war toys e.g. machine gunners.  You will also see the very origins of the Matchbox die-cast toy vehicles (so-named because they were packaged in a matchbox back in the 1950s).

Also check out the estimated price of a futuristic toy car: US$5,000!  Don’t play play! 

Of course, how can there be a Halloween Party without food and fun activities.  The MINT Museum of Toys and SeeDifferent.SG had arranged for fortune-telling, live band performances, caricature drawing and food (buffet feast of yummy spaghetti, parmesan chicken as well as brownies, prawn salads for dessert).

Check out the decor and dessert feast at Asia’s very first toy-themed cafe – Mint Cafe, located just at the basement of the museum.

We have blogged about only a handful of toys in the MINT Museum’s 50,000-toy collection.  There are some other interesting toys e.g. Astroboy’s sister, earliest form of remote-controlled car (which isn’t that remote).  So if you are interested in visiting the MINT Museum of Toys, check out Mint Museum of Toys website for more information.

Admission Charges are $15 and $7.50 for adults and child/senior citizens respectively.  The nearest MRT station is City Hall (about 10 minutes walk)

This Mint Museum of Toys Halloween Party experience was sponsored by the Mint Museum of Toys and facilitated by SeeDifferent.SG. Special thanks to Riley for the invite.

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