"You'll shoot your
eye out, kid!"
A visit to the Daisy Airgun Museum
If you've ever seen the holiday movie "A Christmas Story,"
you probably know all about little Ralphie Parker and the
Red Ryder carbine-action air rifle he wanted for Christmas.
Ralphie was discouraged by his parents,
his teacher and even Santa Claus, who
all told him "You'll shoot your eye out,
kid." What you might not know is that
there is a museum in downtown Rogers,
Arkansas that traces the history of the
Red Ryder air gun and more. It's the
Daisy Airgun Museum, and whether
you like history, old toys or anything
related to guns, you'll love this place.
The museum pays tribute to of one of
the most popular toys of all time, and
features antique guns dating as far back
as the 1600s.
The Daisy Airgun Museum has been in
Rogers since 1958, but their history goes
back more than 130 years! Who knew
air guns had been around that long? The
museum takes you on a trip through
time with a cool collection of antique air
guns, advertising, photos, displays, toys
and collectibles!
You can take a self-led tour of the place, and learn about
each display using a booklet, an electronic wand, or by
scanning the QR codes on the displays with a cellphone.
Travel back in time and learn the great story of Daisy. You'll
discover how inventor Clarence Hamilton asked a windmill
manufacturer, the Plymouth Iron Windmill Company, to help
him produce his new invention: a metal air gun. And where
the gun's name came from: when a board member saw
that first little gun, he exclaimed "Boy,
that's a Daisy!" By 1895, the Daisy had
become so popular that the company
began manufacturing air guns instead
of windmills. They became the Daisy
Manufacturing Company.
You'll learn about the history of air
guns, including the fact that Lewis and
Clark travelled with an air rifle. Also, that
Daisy stopped producing BB guns during
World War II, but made over two billion
BBs that were used to train soldiers.
And of course, there is an entire
display dedicated to "A Christmas
Story," which includes the famous leg
lamp.
You'll have fun looking at the other
toys made by Daisy, including the Buck
Rogers Disintegrator, squirt guns, cork
guns and more.
At the end of the tour, stop in the museum's gift shop and
find equipment, targets, postcards, collector's medallions and
other fun keepsakes. They also sell very limited collector's
edition products. You can even fill a commemorative tin with
BBs from a barrel.
38 • Off icialKidsMag.com APRIL 2019
By Karen Rice
Official Kids Mag
