Chico has a yo-yo museum with a giant working Big-Yo

Chico has the kind of downtown detail that makes a place easier to remember: a National Yo-Yo Museum tucked inside Bird in Hand.

The museum is small in footprint and focused entirely on yo-yos. It has a large public display of yo-yos, memorabilia, contest awards, and pieces of a hobby that is part toy, part sport, part craft, and part performance. A casual visitor can walk through during regular Bird in Hand hours, while guided visits can be arranged.

The star is Big-Yo, a scaled-up wooden yo-yo that weighs 256 pounds. It earned a 1982 Guinness title as the world’s biggest working wooden yo-yo. “Working” is the fun part. With a crane and someone skilled enough to handle it, Big-Yo can actually operate.

That may sound goofy at first, and it is, in the best way. It also fits Chico. The city has Bidwell Park, college-town energy, old neighborhoods, local shops, and a habit of keeping odd little treasures close to downtown. The yo-yo museum gives visitors something light, memorable, and very easy to talk about afterward.