It finally happened.
After years of being nominated but never inducted, He-Man raised the Power Sword to enter the National Toy Hall of Fame as the 2022 inductees were honored this morning during a special ceremony at The Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester, New York.
Mattel’s Masters of the Universe caps its 40th anniversary year by joining the Hall of Fame alongside Hasbro’s Lite-Brite and the classic Spinning Top. See all the inductees below alongside a few words from curators at The Strong.
Masters of the Universe
“Part of the appeal of Masters of the Universe toys grew out of their being well-suited to the way kids play,” says The Strong Curator Michelle Parnett-Dwyer. “The team at Mattel understood that kids spend lots of time in fantasy play and like the opportunity to project themselves into the role of the hero. Masters of the Universe characters had the strength, weapons, and power to defeat the villain—and give kids confidence. He-Man, after all, regularly asserted ‘I have the power!’”
Lite-Brite
“Whatever their shape or size, Lite-Brite play sets have encouraged kids to color and draw with light, applying 20th-century technology to ancient mosaic techniques,” says The Strong Curator Nicolas Ricketts says, “In 1968 promotional materials, Hasbro declared Lite-Brite a ‘magic light box,’ and that magic continues more than 50 years later.”
Top
“The top is one of the oldest toys and an integral part of many cultures, where it developed independently as a plaything,” says The Strong’s Chief Curator Christopher Bensch. “With more than 5,000 years of history behind it, it’s about time that the top spun its way into the National Toy Hall of Fame!”
This year’s inductees faced off against a host of worthy toys and games, including Breyer Horses, Catan, NERF, piñata, Phase 10, Pound Puppies, Rack-O, and Spirograph.
Masters of the Universe, Lite-Brite, and Top join the following 77 toys in the National Toy Hall of Fame: alphabet blocks, American Girl Doll, Atari 2600 Game System, baby doll, Baby Nancy, ball, Barbie, bicycle, Big Wheel, blanket, bubbles, Candy Land, cardboard box, checkers, chess, Clue, coloring book, Crayola Crayons, dollhouse, dominoes, Duncan Yo-Yo, Dungeons & Dragons, Easy-Bake Oven, Erector Set, Etch A Sketch, Fisher-Price Little People, Frisbee, G.I. Joe, The Game of Life, Hot Wheels, Hula Hoop, jack-in-the-box, jacks, Jenga, jigsaw puzzle, jump rope, kite, LEGO, Lincoln Logs, Lionel Trains, little green army men, Magic 8 Ball, Magic: The Gathering, marbles, Matchbox Cars, Monopoly, Mr. Potato Head, Nintendo Game Boy, paper airplane, pinball, Play-Doh, playing cards, puppet, Radio Flyer Wagon, Raggedy Ann and Andy, Risk, rocking horse, roller skates, rubber duck, Rubik’s Cube, sand, Scrabble, sidewalk chalk, Silly Putty, skateboard, Slinky, Star Wars action figures, stick, Super Soaker, swing, teddy bear, Tinkertoy, Tonka Trucks, Twister, Uno, View-Master, and Wiffle Ball.
