Every '70s kid remembers Stretch Armstrong, an action figure whose legs and arms could be stretched about four feet. It was fun to see if you and your friends could do the things with it that they did on the TV commercials. Its design is still impressive and fun today.
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Shrinky Dinks are sheets of plastic that you can decorate and then bake in the oven. When baked, they shrink and become hard plastic suitable for decorations or pendants. It's so cool to watch them slowly shrink in the oven!
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In today's regulated and safety-oriented world, Evel Knievel's stunt cycle would be a welcome comeback. You could pose your Evel Knievel action figure on the cycle in some sort of "stunt" pose, crank up the cycle, and then watch as he completed whatever jumps or ramps you had come up with.
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Cute and decorative, pet rocks came with a care manual that was mostly tongue-in-cheek. Pet Rocks were marketed as pets who needed very little care. They would be great for today's hectic schedules!
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Mego brand action figures were super cool because they came in just about any character that you wanted. Superheroes like Batman, Robin, Superman, and Wonder Woman were available. Movies characters from The Wizard of Oz and Planet of the Apes, TV characters from Happy Days and The Waltons, and the band KISS were also produced.
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Before houses had computers, '70s kids could make beautiful graphics with Spirograph, a drawing toy based on gears. Spirograph is relaxing, making its appeal similar to the currently popular coloring books.
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Micronauts were small, robot-like figures with lots of bendable and interchangeable parts. With a space-age design that is still cool looking today, they had names like Time Traveler and Galactic Warrior.
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Forget Bunco night, we need Uno night! This specialty deck card game is fun for all ages, just don't forget to call "uno."
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The best thing about the 1975 Star Trek Phaser Gun is that it makes the cool phaser noise. It also shined a small light and came with insertable disks to make the light the shape of the U.S.S. Enterprise, a Klingon craft, or others.
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Not only are they super fun, kids in the '70s also got great exercise bouncing on Hoppity Hops. These inflated rubber balls had handles to hold onto as you sat and propelled yourself with your legs to bounce along. As well as the standard version you could also get them with a horse head, Donald Duck's head, or Mickey Mouse's head.
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Let's face it, kids love to crash things! The '70s Smash*Up Derby set came with cars that fell apart when they wrecked but were easily put back together. It also had rip cords to power the cars and ramps for stunts.
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One of the best things about being a '70s kid is that you had the original Star Wars action figures. The one of all was the Death Star Space Station Playset. This three level cross-section of the Death Star has a locking elevator and a trash compactor.
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In our organic food and consumption-conscious world, The Sunshine Family dolls are perfect candidates for a comeback. While Ken and Barbie wore glamorous clothes and drove around in convertibles, The Sunshine Family operated a craft shop and rode a family tricycle.
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Fitting over one of your bicycle handlebars, you could twist Raw Power and create a motorcycle revving noise. This would be great today just for sheer shock value at the park.
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Everyone likes to fight their friends with Rock'Em Sock'Em Robots. This 1977 edition was inspired by the Space Age and Star Wars.
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