Gabriela Hátašová
As the current issue of our journal is about folk toys, we could not possibly miss activities of our most famous cultural institution devoted to the preservation and conservation of historical toys. It came into being when the Homeland Museum was transformed into the Museum of Puppet Cultures and Toys. Housed in the castle of Modrý Kameň in the district of Veľký Krtíš, in 2002 it became part of the Slovak National Museum. There are more than 17,000 artefacts in the collections, of which more than ninety percent had been bequeathed to the museum. The collections can be viewed within two permanent exhibitions. The first one, Toys in Slovakia in the 20th century, introduces the development of toys from mid 19th century till the present day, comprising toys that belonged to children from villages, countryside and towns, as well as modern toys. The second permanent exhibition, The History and Present Day of the Slovak Puppet Theatre Life, documents the history, development and present day of puppetry. Being a reflection of experiences among numerous generations that made and used them, these toys, understood as artefacts, have both cultural and historical values. Through their artistic form they represent the way of life and needs of various strata of our population. For this reason, it is important to preserve these values further, keeping them alive and remembering them.