If you’re looking for something to do with the kids this weekend, plan a trip to The Orange County Regional History Center. Since January, The History Center has had two exhibits that people of all ages, but especially kids, would love to see.

“Kid Stuff: Great Toys from Our Childhood” features toys from the past 50 years, including Tinker Toys, Mr. Potato Head, Radio Flyer Wagon, Barbie and G.I. Joe. There are interactive setups where you can play with the toys, and lots of information about how the toys were developed. For instance, did you know this about Pez?

A high-quality breath mint, Pez’s early popularity was largely as a substitute for smoking, so [Eduard] Haas cleverly designed a dispenser to resemble and function like a cigarette lighter.

It wasn’t until Pez came to America that the mints were given new flavors and marketed to kids with the popular cartoon character heads on top.

The other exhibit, “Video Stuff: Electronic Gaming through the Years” takes you through the history of video games. Starting with Pong and winding up at the Wii and XBox 360, you’ll have the chance to learn and play with some of the classics. While my wife and I were there last weekend, we managed to spend over an hour playing with all the games.

If all of this sounds fun, and it should, make it a point to get to The History Center this week. These exhibits wrap up after Sunday.

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