Moon Marble is a great place when you have lost your marbles and need to knuckle down to work. Moon Marble Company owner Bruce Breslow’s original business plan involved selling traditional toys and games in Bonner Springs, Kansas. He soon realized that those games required hard-to-find marble game pieces. Then, Breslow bought a jar of marbles at the Amana Colonies in Iowa. A few months later, his wife gave him an acetylene torch and some glass rods for Christmas. He read about the process and made his first marble mold from cherry wood. Problem solved.
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Bruce’s Woodworks is the shop’s parent company, but that name didn’t work when people began coming to his marble-making demonstrations. Breslow soon realized that the store needed a name including “marble.” Inspiration struck one night, and the company became Moon Marble. The store opened in 1997.
Related: Add Moon Marble to your fun things to do in Kansas City, Kansas, list.
I like the Moon so much that I made it No. 88 in my book 100 Things to Do in Kansas Before You Die (ad).
Watch a demonstration
The demonstrations are the gift shop’s highlight. Handmade toy marbles demonstrations occur between 10:30 a.m. and 3 p.m., but the unique store does not have a set demonstration schedule. Prominent glassworkers’ art fills one store section, and sometimes a guest artist makes a marble. The glass workers’ demonstrations last about half an hour. Glass artists do eight to 10 during store hours. The process of glass-making fascinates kids of all ages, including this one.
I enjoy taking pictures of colorful objects, and the multitude of colors and varieties of marbles provide numerous photographic delights. Put your hand in the marble man’s mouth — if you dare.
Roxie’s reliable report: Moon Marble is south of the intersection of K-32 and Highway 7, half an hour west of Kansas City. The street is elevated, and the driveway descends to the store. In consequence, the shop is easy to miss. Look for the laughing moon on a blue-gray cement building.
Explore Moon Marble’s bathroom museum
Many people’s first priority is a quick pit stop. At the Moon, you’ll want to linger longer in the Moon Marble Bathroom Museum. It’s stuffed with marble memorabilia. Just remember not to hog the pot.
Related: Bowl Plaza, the public restroom in Lucas, has won international awards. Look for the Haunted Bathroom in Lawrence’s Wonder Fair store.
Wander and shop the store
Once your business is complete, take your time to wander through the toy store. Look for the small Chinese checkers game boards that Civil War soldiers used to occupy their time. They are for sale, but the fascinating displays of antique marble toys are not for sale.
Feel groovy with Moon Marbles UV variety and more
Bins of marbles range from pee-wees to the 50mm (2 inches) “toe breakers.” I bought one and added a tiny pedestal to display it. GrUVy toy marbles glow under ultraviolet (black) light. Play a game of marbles on a battered round table or an oversized game of Go.
Buy a framed print of “Marble Champion (ad).”
Find the Marble Champion
Throughout the store, look for examples from the history of marbles. In one display, note the Saturday Evening Post “Marble Champion” cover featuring a female marble shooter and the later Tulsa World article about her. Ruth Loche was Tulsa’s marble champion for five or six years running. She also appeared in Ripley’s Believe It or Not! A nearby poster explains the game’s rules. Unlike Loche, Breslow’s boyhood friends said he was the worst marble player they knew.
Spooky specimens float in a large jar, spongy toys that inflate from 3 to 8 inches after a few days of immersion. The unusual item makes perfect gag gifts.
The store also features souvenirs and gift items like wooden toys, books, art glass, and board games.
Moon Marble sometimes offers field trips and group tours, but check their website before scheduling, then request a time in advance.
Shop at Moon Marble, where you play for keeps.
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