Skateboard

Category

Museums & Galleries Item

Item no

20759

Title

Skateboard

Description

A blue plastic skateboard with four red rubber wheels. The white coloured text 'Roller Derby XK' is printed along the top of the skateboard. A red and white coloured sticker is stuck to the underside of the board giving safety information.

Artist / maker

Unknown

Date

1978

Size

11.5 x 61.5cm

Type

Toy

Location

Museum of Childhood

Accession number

MC1049.2001

The modern skateboard originated in California in the late 1970s when surfers found a new way to surf the pavements instead of the waves. Though there is some debate about the true origins of the skateboard. By the middle of the 1980s, skateboards were mass produced and sold throughout the United States and United Kingdom.
The skateboard shown here was given to Kenneth Borthwick, Provost of Edinburgh, when he officially opened a new skateboard centre at Eldorado Stadiuim on 28 January 1978. A helmet, knee and elbow pads were also included. The Provost presented them to the Museum of Childhood as items representing present day childhood.

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Toys > Outdoor games > Skateboards