3-D (Toy, overall): 62.5 × 32.4 × 36.8cm (2 ft. 5/8 in. × 1 ft. 3/4 in. × 1 ft. 2 1/2 in.)
Type:
MEMORABILIA-Popular Culture
Country of Origin:
Taiwan (Distributed in USA)
Summary:
This toddler’s ride-on toy illustrates the ways that excitement about the Space Shuttle Program extended to the vibrant Vietnamese-American community in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. This toy was procured from Taiwan in the early 1980s for sale in a Vietnamese-American Asian/international grocery store, Super Cao Nguyen market, run by the donor’s family in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma since 1979. This specific new-in-box example was discovered when the donor searched through the still-operational store’s stock for items to use in celebrating the store’s 40th anniversary in 2019.
The Luong family donated the toy to the National Air and Space Museum in 2021.