My, how times have changed!

Remember how it was way-back-when kids made their own play toys and their own rules?

How long has it been since kids shot marbles, played pickup sticks, and made mud pies and paper airplane?

Do kids still catch lizards, lightning bugs and doodle bugs, and chew billy goat grass?

If Barbara Tatom, director of the Pioneer Museum of Alabama, had to say, she would say “probably too long for many to remember.”

The Pioneer Museum of Alabama is designed for looking back, remembering and learning for all ages.

Knowing that, the museum gift shop now carries a variety of old-time toys for different ages including those who want to step back in time and yo-yo.

Keith Roling, who is on the museum’s board of directors, said, too, that the old-time toys have a special and well-deserved place at the museum.

Roling said he played marbles, made bows and arrows and yo-yoed and played flies, hops and skinners with rubber baseballs.

“And it was all fun!”

Tatom said the kids’ corner at the Pioneer Museum of Alabama offers opportunities for playing and learning and, never has learning been so much fun.

The Pioneer Museum of Alabama is located on U.S. Highway 231 in Troy and is open Thursday through Saturday from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. Admission is charged.