11 Objects That Defined Summer Fun, Decade by Decade | HISTORY By: Lesley Kennedy Arts & Entertainment 11 Objects That Defined Summer Fun, Decade by Decade Every generation has its quintessential summer symbol. LK Lesley Kennedy Published: August 07, 2026Last Updated: August 07, 2026 As technology, neighborhoods and family life have evolved, so have the ways kids spend their long summer days. “Our world has changed significantly,” Lindsey Kurano, curator of electronic games at The Strong National Museum of Play, says. “In a post-COVID world, students and working professionals alike have shifted from in-person connection and community to becoming more digital natives.” Yet many childhood traditions have endured. “Yes, playthings today often incorporate more advanced technologies,” says Michelle Parnett-Dwyer, curator of dolls and toys at The Strong. “But if a caregiver sends their kids outside and says, ‘Find something to do,’ they often gravitate toward many of these objects of the past, or a modern version of them.” From the 1920s to today, these 10 iconic toys and objects trace a century of childhood summers.