Top Spinning Museum

We recently took our two 9 year old grandsons to the Spinning Top & Yo-​Yo Museum. I was totally unfamiliar with it having found it online. I like to research interesting places to take our grandchildren and this museum was that and more. We had no idea what to expect and were delighted by the time spent there. Judith, the curator, is a fascinating woman. Her collection of tops and other toys is beyond imagination. Our grandsons loved playing with the tops but then so did my husband and I. I think what I liked the most was that this museum was unique. I definitely will never look at tops the same way.
We also spent time at the Logic/​Puzzle Museum housed in the same storefront. We were given the opportunity to try our hands at puzzle solving and many of the puzzles brought back childhood memories.
The «gift shop» was filled with a huge assortment of puzzles, tops, books, toys, and other things. I was delighted to even find a book written by friends of ours. The boys each picked something out for themselves and for their siblings. I bought a magic top which claims to spin for up to 7 days. I have no idea how it does that and even if it turns out to be something simple or silly, it has delighted us to no end. It is now on the second day of spinning.
Definitely call ahead to reserve your time there. During the year there are other events and I hope to return to Burlington for some of those.
I recommend this museum to anyone looking for something truly different and FUN!

I took my family to the Top Spinning Museum because it sounded like fun and I’ve been yo-​yoing for many years. I had expected your typical small museum type of experience but that was not the case. Instead of learning about the history of top spinning and yo-​yos we were subjected to one of the worst museum experiences that we have ever endured.
The Top Spinning museum is a single room museum located in the back of a storefront building in Burlington. While every description I read of the museum listed many exhibits for your to see it turns out that there are only 6 – 7 exhibit cases used to display the owner’s personal collection of tops. Very few of the items in the cases have any sort of signage explaining what you are looking at and when they do it is often a note about the personal connection the owner has to the item (e.g. «My first yo-​yo»). In addition to the cases there were a few tables with a small collection of tops that one could play with during the designated play time. The tops provided for people to play with were almost all cheap plastic or wood; no throw tops or yo-​yos at all.
While my family and I mildly enjoyed trying the assorted tops we did not enjoy the museum, mainly due to the way that the ‘tour’ was run. The ‘Top Lady’ who runs the museum seems to think that people come to the place to hear all about her. The introduction to the museum consisted of Judy sharing articles that had been written about her and books that mention her, all delivered between a hacking, phlegmy cough. The tour included nothing about the history of the spin top toys (which have a rich and fascinating history), nor did it include anything about yo-​yo history. Also missing was any sort of discussion on the physics of spinning toys, which again I would consider to be mandatory for a museum like this. It would be like having a cake museum without any discussion about cakes being edible.
Instead the museum was all about Judy; what types of tops she likes, what TV shows she has been on and what it was like being the ‘top expert’ on the set of a movie. Judy was rude to my daughter and wife, short with my son and a pest when I was looking at the exhibits. After an hour and a half my family was ready to leave but we were told that we could not leave until the end of the show. The doors to the museum were literally locked with us inside. We didn’t want to be rude and make a scene but in hindsight I wish we would have insisted and had enough time to salvage our visit to Burlington.
I wish I could say that the show was worth it but again, it was not. All it consisted of was Judy sitting at a stool and showing off more of her favorite tops. She yo-​yoed a bit but could only muster a few tricks and the last half hour of her ‘show’ consisted of her telling us what it was like being on the set of a movie. Nearly three hours after we made the mistake of entering the Top Spinning Museum we were finally able to leave. We high-​tailed it out of there and were all relieved to escape. We were promised that the two and a half hour tour would fly by, but it didn’t. Instead it was a nearly intolerable waste of time and money. I advise you to go to the laundromat in town instead; it will be more interesting, more fun and more educational.

We discovered this place by accident, while out on a day road trip to Burlington Wisconsin. As the museum visit is by reservation only, we just hit the gift shop. It is full of all kinds of toys and puzzles and used books. It is very cluttered, but also very interesting.
We got a few books, including a copy of The Complete Patents of Nikola Tesla (for Christopher of course). I contented myself with a paperback copy of King of the Wind, my favorite childhood book.
Anyhow, we found out that there is an annual yo-​yo conference in Burlington every year. Go figure. Sure wish I had my old Duncan Imperial yo-​yo from when I was a kid. But to be honest, I was never very good with the yo-​yo, and even a worse top spinner. Still, I am glad I grew up in an era where those were the important toys rather than the brain numbing toys kids play with today. (So speaks the old geezer)

My dad enjoys challenging wood and metal puzzles, so this is the place I go to find him something different. It’s a small, cluttered shop and can be a bit overwhelming when you first walk in, especially as the owner is a real talker and insists on demonstrating how each of the toys and puzzles work. Nonetheless, I admire her enthusiasm and love for toys and puzzles of the past. Last year I picked up a few things for my nieces (tops, Jacobs Ladder toys, etc.) and they were a big hit. Great to see them having fun with something that didn’t involve staring at a video screen!
Note that the shop is only open for a few hours per week, so suggest calling ahead to verify times.