Click and hold to move model
 

The improbable view to which I am witness, bears proof that man's compulsion to dream is the driving factor in new discoveries.

Space Rocket Apollo 11

  • Toy Nomura
  • Lent by Mrs. W. G. McConnell
  • About 1969, 20th century
  • 11.8 x 14.4 x 35.5 cm
  • EX2004-02.027-03
  • McCord Museum

"We have walked on the Moon!" This toy rocket symbolizes the landmark event of space exploration. It is a reproduction of the Apollo 11 piloted by Commander Neil Armstrong, the first human being to step on to the Moon, in 1969. During the Cold War (1947 to 1990), the United States and the USSR were rivals in "the space race", in order to assert their supremacy in technology.

WHAT

Manufactured by the Japanese company Toy Nomura, this is a toy version of the Apollo 11 rocket.

WHERE

This type of toy, like many others manufactured at the time by Japanese companies, was mainly aimed at the American market.

WHEN

Dating from 1969, this toy came on the market when the flight of the Apollo 11, the first conquest of space, had generated great public enthusiasm, largely because of the televised images of the mission.

WHO

The Toy Nomura Company, which no longer exists, produced a large number of toys relating to space and science fiction: ray guns, space stations etc.

Video

Launch of Space Shuttle Endeavour for the STS-118 mission on August 8, 2007 with Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut Dave Williams.