This must-see exhibit has been wildly popular and brings to life this pivotal American year through photographs, artifacts, vintage pop culture items and interactive experiences.   The next traveling exhibit to open at History Colorado is Toys of the ‘50s, ‘60s and ‘70s opening on June 13.  Think Gumby, Barbie, Slinky, Mr. Potato Head, Wham-O, Spirograph, Hot Wheels and more.  The names of popular toys from these decades capture the craziness, joy and sheer fun of being a kid.  Beneath those nutty names are rich veins of nostalgia, memory and history of the kids who played with these toys, the adults who bought them, the child-rearing experts who judged them and the people who invented them.

Extended hours for The 1968 Exhibit include:

• Thursday, May 7 from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
• Friday, May 8 from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
• Saturday, May 9 from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
• The History Colorado Center will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., seven days a week today through May 6.

Organized chronologically by the months of the year, the 5,000-square-foot exhibit will transport visitors back to 1968. The experience begins in January with a Huey helicopter that has “landed” in a living room. The sights and sounds of this media-saturated age fill the exhibit and stories from the people who were there are shared throughout. Three interactive “lounges” focus on music, design, movies and television. “It was quite a year for indelible television,” says William Convery, Director of Exhibits and the Colorado State Historian at History Colorado. “We all have our own great memories bundled in with classic TV shows and characters. Objects from ‘Star Trek,’ ‘Mission: Impossible,’ ‘Laugh-In’ and ‘The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour’ provide another personal connection to this evocative year and exhibition.” 

A centerpiece of 1968 is a reassembled Huey helicopter, the mainstay workforce in the Vietnam War. It carried soldiers into battle, returned the wounded, hauled supplies and picked up body bags. Vietnam was said to be the first living room war because we could see it happing on TV sets in American living rooms.  The Huey is a symbol of that wrenching conflict and is literally staged in a living room.  One of its massive rotors looms overhead like a chandelier

All 1968 Exhibit programs happen at the History Colorado Center.  Tickets for the exhibit are available online at www.HistoryColoradoCenter.org .  History Colorado will also have extended evening hours, open until 9 p.m. every third Tuesday (February 17, March 17 and April 21.

History Colorado, a Smithsonian Affiliate, inspires generations to find wonder and meaning in our past and to engage in building a better Colorado. Find us on Facebook.com/HistoryColorado and on Twitter@HistoryColorado. For more information visit www.HistoryColorado.org, call 303-HISTORY (447-8679) or visit us at the History Colorado Center at 1200 Broadway, Denver, CO 80203.

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History Colorado's mission is to inspire generations to find wonder and meaning in our past and to engage in creating a better Colorado. We serve as the state's memory, preserving the places, stories, and material culture of Colorado through our museums, educational programs, historic preservation grants, research library, collections, and outreach to Colorado communities. Find History Colorado on all major social media platforms. Visit HistoryColorado.org or call (303) HISTORY for more information.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Deborah Radman
deborah.radman@state.co.us
303-866-3670 (direct)