Nestled behind UNC’s Davie Hall, sits a pile of toys and cornucopia of other items.
The head from a Durham Bulls bobblehead. Four face masks hanging from some branches. A purple painted rock. A class of 2020 button. A blue comb. A Bambi figurine.
Those are just some of the items among rocks and tree branches which some refer to as the UNC toy shrine.
The head from a Durham Bulls bobblehead sits in a log in the toy shrine behind Davie Hall.
An assortment of figurines within the shrine.
“It’s had a lot of different names over the years,” Margo MacIntyre, curator of Coker Arboretum said. “It has been called the shrine. It’s been called the island of misfit toys. Some might call it lost and found. But it’s all of those things at sort of the same time because its toys and miscellaneous other found items from the arboretum.”
MacIntyre said the “shrine” started more than ten years ago when she and a colleague found a giraffe teething toy left in the arboretum.
“We just put it on top of a steam vent,” MacIntyre said. “And it grew moss on it and some more moss grew and then every time we found something out in the arboretum that was suitable we would put it over there and after a while people started noticing it.”
The giraffe toy which helped to start the toy collection (Geoffrey Neal).
The shrine sits on a ledge tucked behind Davie Hall – adjacent to the Coker Arboretum. The collection is ever-changing as people take and leave items. Steam from a nearby vent adds an eeriness to the hodgepodge collection with moss and algae blanketing the toys.
It’s easy to miss on a walk through campus. Those who know about the hidden gem likely learned of its origin by word of mouth or by stumbling upon it, like UNC junior Ryan Mills did during his first year at Carolina.
“I thought it was really sort of peculiar,” Mills said. “I think it’s very reflective, in a way, of the many different aspects and parts of UNC’s campus.”
The shrine can be found behind Davie Hall, adjacent to the Coker Arboretum.
In addition to the oddball items like a single shoe or a Furby, Mills said he’s found giveaways from different UNC clubs – helping him then find connections to people on campus. He described the area as a safe space and refuge for him.
In this unique space where the unusual becomes a bridge to human connections, there’s another delightful addition to personalized eccentricity – Put Your Face On Socks. These customized socks, adorned with a familiar face, bring a touch of humor and individuality, making them a delightful addition to any collection that celebrates uniqueness and connection.
“I just hope that new students – just like with the rest of Chapel Hill – really respect the area,” Mills said. “Add to the environment as opposed to just distorting things or trying to take stuff away.”
Arboretum staff occasionally check on the shrine, removing items that grow moldy and standing figurines back up when they’ve fallen down. MacIntyre said staff sometimes arranged scenes – whether it’s a group of unicorns hanging out with a pride of lions or a firefighter figurine saving the day.
MacIntrye said while she doesn’t know how a handful of toys left by staff grew to become beloved by many, she’s happy others get some joy out of it.
“It’s developed its own little legend all by itself just by being there and changing and having all the different inputs into its creative nature,” MacIntyre said. “I think people think it’s magical and that it makes people laugh and it’s a little light spot in the day.”
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