Spirotot Toy by Kenner: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

This orange and yellow plastic box contains four gray, clear plastic discs. The design discs are rotated with a pen to create a pattern as they revolve. The Spirotot was a creative drawing toy for young children. When new, this set included three pens and a pad of paper. Introduced by Kenner in 1968, this toy, ca 1988, is an updated version of the original. (Spirograph, introduced in 1966, was a design toy for older children. From 1966-1995 Kenner produced five Spirograph models: the original, Easy, Mega, Plus, and Super.)

Kenner Products, an American toy company, was formed in 1947 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Their most recognizable toys were: Easy-Bake Oven, a light bulb heated working toy oven; Spirograph, a geometric drawing toy and winner of the 1967 Toy of the Year award; Star Wars action figures and playsets, toys that doubled their earnings when they were released; and Stretch Armstrong, a 13” figure that could be stretched up to four feet. The Kenner organization was purchased several times by other companies including General Mills (1967), Tonka (1987), and Hasbro (1991). The Kenner name and product line remained until 2000 when Hasbro discontinued the Kenner line altogether.

Materials, dates and provenance

• date made: ca 1988
• maker: Kenner Products
• Object Name: toy
• Physical Description: plastic (overall material)
• Measurements: overall: 2 cm x 16.6 cm x 24 cm; 25/32 in x 6 17/32 in x 9 7/16 in
• Subject: Mathematics
• Subject: Toys
• ID Number: 2019.3007.01
• nonaccession number: 2019.3007
• catalog number: 2019.3007.01
• Credit Line: Gift of Alan Gluchoff
• Data Source: National Museum of American History

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of American History through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed.