A multigenerational exhibition exploring the universal experience of play across cultures, time, and the American West. Drawing on more than 200 objects from the Autry's own collections — from a Mogollon clay cooking jar made around 1500 BC to Mattel's original 1959 Barbie — the exhibition traced the social meanings of toys and the changing nature of childhood from the 19th century through the present. Across 5,300 square feet of interior gallery space, four thematic sections — Go Outside!, Learning to Be a Grown-Up, Make Believe, and Game Changer — transformed the galleries into a series of immersive, whimsically themed environments: an outdoor play space complete with a tree swing, a walk-in playhouse, a performance stage, and a media wall. The exhibition extended beyond the gallery walls into the museum's outdoor spaces, incorporating playground games and activations on the Autry Lawn to create a fully realized experience for visitors of all ages.

Design: Each section was built as an environment that embodied its idea, starting with the titles: Go Outside! appeared as the shadow of a red wagon, Learning to Be a Grown-Up was spelled out in rulers, Make Believe was projected across a wall of televisions playing vintage toy ads, and Game Changer was built from wooden blocks that acted as pixels. Subsection titles were hand-lettered throughout. Go Outside! brought the outdoors in with artificial turf, a ten-foot tree with a swing seat, kites and clouds overhead, and a reading cave with a giant stuffed bear. Learning to Be a Grown-Up took the form of a gallery-sized playhouse with doorways at both adult and child heights. In Make Believe, the competing ads played until a visitor turned a dial and synced every screen to one channel; the wall’s reverse side became a stage with costumes and changeable backdrops. Casework sat low and was built for heavy use, so children could see objects up close while labels stayed at a comfortable reading height for adults.

| AC: Creative & Art Direction; Illustration; Spatial, Graphic, Furniture, Type, & Interactive Design

Team 
| Curation: Carolyn Brucken, Sarah Wilson 
| Media + Technology Development and Fabrication: Anton Lieberman 
| Installation Collaborators: Mac Maker, Cryptic Industries, Brett Hatcher
| Designers: Alan Konishi, Gene Wyrick, Erika Martin-Honles 
| Illustrator: Erika Martin-Honles
| Studio: Autry Museum