Lite Brite® is a toy that combines a light box, plastic pegs, and a pegboard to create colorful designs. It was introduced by Hasbro in 1967 and is still available today with some modern updates. The toy is enjoyed by children and adults but can be challenging for parents due to lost pegs and replacing bulbs. Despite this, it remains a relatively safe toy.
Combine a light box with colorful plastic pegs and a pegboard and the result is Lite Brite®, a creative toy first introduced by toy company Hasbro in 1967. For a post-BaBoom generation of kids, Lite Brite® it has been a welcome addition to other electrified toys such as the Easy Bake Oven® and vibrating foosball tables. Lite Brite® also had the added appeal of working best in the dark, an interesting place for young children to explore. The stencils included in the set took away much of the guesswork for younger artists, while the open pegboard and wide spectrum of colorful tacks appealed to older children and even adults.
A Lite Brite® lightbox was usually powered by a single high-wattage incandescent bulb judiciously placed out of reach of young hands. Various stencils contained in the Lite Brite® kit could be attached to the pegboard, which encouraged children to place the appropriate colored pegs around the outline of their favorite animals, flowers or other imaginative designs. Once all the pegs have been firmly in place, the finished project can be enjoyed by all, especially in a completely dark room.
While a Lite Brite® set provided hours of entertainment for children, it could also be a little challenging for parents at times. Lost pegs were often discovered by vacuum cleaners afterwards, and replacing the bulbs contained within the display box often became a parental responsibility. The small, colorful pegs appealed to even very young children, which sometimes led to accidental but non-toxic ingestions. However, as long as older children remained diligent in picking up stray pegs and turning off the light box, Lite Brite® was a relatively safe toy.
Hasbro still makes Lite Brite® sets, although they’ve made a few changes along the way. Modern sets might have pegboards on the top and sides of a cube, for example, and the color spectrum has been broadened to include more pastels and fluorescents. There is also a Lite Brite® set that combines traditional peg lighting with elements of Spin Art®: a blank piece of paper is attached to a rotating table and the young artist applies various fluorescent paints to create abstract designs. Future generations may still be able to enjoy the simple fun of creating colorful pictures with the help of a Lite Brite® set.
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