View source for The Strong National Museum of Play

{{Short description|Part of The Strong in Rochester, New York, US}}
{{Infobox museum
| name               = The Strong <br>National Museum of Play
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| logo               = The strong museum of play logo.png
| logo_size          = 200
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| image              = External view of Museum of Play.jpg 
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| caption            = The exterior of The Strong, featuring a piece of public art, showcasing four popular [[toy|children's toys]].<br/>From front to back:<br/> [[dominoes]], [[Building blocks (toy)|interlocking bricks]] akin to those manufactured by [[Lego|LEGO]], [[crayon]]s, and [[toy block]]s with the first five letters of the [[English alphabet]]
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| established        = {{start date and age|1969}}
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| location           = [[Rochester, New York|Rochester, NY]], [[United States|USA]]
| type               = [[Children's museum]]
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| collections        = [[Toy]]s, [[video game]]s
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| owner              = [[The Strong]]
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| website            = {{URL|https://www.museumofplay.org/|museumofplay.org}}
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'''The Strong National Museum of Play''' (also known as just '''The Strong Museum''' or simply '''the Strong''') is part of [[The Strong]] in [[Rochester, New York]], [[United States]]. Established in 1969 and initially based on the personal collection of Rochester native [[Margaret Woodbury Strong]], the museum opened to the public in 1982, after several years of planning, cataloguing, and exhibition development for the museum's new building in downtown Rochester.

For at least fifteen years after it opened, the mission of the museum was to interpret the social and cultural history of average Americans between 1830 and 1940, under the direction of H.J. Swinney and William T. Alderson. Mrs. Strong's collections of dolls and toys, American and European decorative arts, prints, paintings, Japanese crafts, and advertising ephemera provided a firm foundation for this mission, and were supplemented with collections purchased and donated to more fully support the museum's early mission. The museum received considerable local and national publicity/support as well as substantial financial support from the National Endowment for the Humanities' Exhibitions and Public Programs division.<ref>{{Cite web |title=A Fascination With The Common Place |url=https://www.americanheritage.com/content/fascination-common-place |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181219000919/https://www.americanheritage.com/content/fascination-common-place |archive-date=2018-12-19 |access-date=2018-12-18 |website=American Heritage}}</ref>

In the 1990s, the museum's Board of Trustees and director changed the museum's mission to collecting, preserving, and interpreting the history of play. Since then, it has refined and increased its collections (hundreds of thousands of items), and expanded thrice, in 1997, 2006, and 2023.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Adams |first=Rollie G. |year=2006 |title=Ready, Set, Go: Finally a Museum of Play |magazine=History News |volume=61 |issue=3 |pages=7–11}}</ref><ref name="ctm">{{Cite magazine |last=Tangorra Matelic |first=Candace |year=2008 |title=Understanding Change and Transformations in History Organizations |magazine=History News |volume=63 |issue=2 |pages=7–14}}</ref><ref name="Greenwood">{{cite news |last1=Greenwood |first1=Marcia |title=The Strong National Museum of Play at last reveals massive expansion. Take a peek |url=https://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/news/2023/07/03/strong-national-museum-of-play-rochester-ny-reveals-massive-expansion-take-a-peek/70374727007/ |access-date=5 August 2023 |work=[[Democrat and Chronicle]] |date=3 July 2023}}</ref>

The museum is now one of six Play Partners of The Strong, which is also home to the [[National Toy Hall of Fame]], the [[International Center for the History of Electronic Games]], the [[World Video Game Hall of Fame]], and the Brian Sutton-Smith Library and Archives of Play, and produces the ''[[American Journal of Play]]''.

==About== 
Originally known as the "Margaret Woodbury Strong Museum" and later simply as the "Strong Museum", it became the "Strong National Museum of Play" in 2006, after completing renovations and an expansion that nearly doubled its size to {{convert|282000|sqft|m2}}.<ref name="ctm" />

The National Museum of Play is the only collections-based museum anywhere devoted solely to the study of play, and although it is a history museum, it has the interactive characteristics of a [[children's museum]], making it the second largest museum of that type in the United States.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Alexander |first1=Edward P. |title=Museums in Motion: An Introduction to the History and Functions of Museums |last2=Alexander |first2=Mary |publisher=AltaMira Press |year=2008 |edition=2 |location=Lanham}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Kotler |first=Neil G. |title=Museum Marketing and Strategy: Designing Missions, Building Audiences, Generating Revenue and Resources |publisher=Jossey-Bass |year=2008 |location=San Francisco, CA}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Brown |first=Stuart |title=Play: How it Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul |publisher=Penguin Group |year=2009 |location=New York}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |last1=Hoffman |first1=Joan |last2=Boettrich |first2=Sara |year=2008 |title=Setting the Stage for Free Play: Museum Environments That Inspire Creativity |magazine=Hand-to-Hand |volume=22 |issue=4 |pages=3–5}}</ref> The museum includes exhibits that interpret the key elements of play, as well as allow guests to explore the worlds of [[Sesame Street]], The [[Berenstain Bears]], Reading Adventureland, and the ''Dancing Wings Butterfly Garden''.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Eberle |first=Scott. G. |year=2008 |title=How a Museum Discovered the Transforming Power of Play |journal=Journal of Museum Education |volume=33 |issue=3 |pages=265–272|doi=10.1080/10598650.2008.11510608 |s2cid=145496987 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Bitter |first=Ann |year=2003 |title=Challenging Transitions: Planning for Change |magazine=Hand-to-Hand |volume=17 |issue=2 |pages=2–8}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Skramstad |first1=Harold |title=A Handbook for Museum Trustees |last2=Skramstad |first2=Susan |publisher=American Association of Museums |year=2003 |location=Washington, D.C.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Weil |first=Stephen E. |title=Making Museums Matter |publisher=Smithsonian Institution Press |year=2002 |location=Washington, D.C.}}</ref>

=== Exhibits ===
[[File:Strong Museum 1.jpg|thumb|300px|One area of the museum]]
The museum's exhibits are immersively themed to video games, storybooks, television shows, education, nature, history, comic books, carousel and train rides, and children's lifestyles. eGameRevolution is the first permanent video game exhibit in the US and includes the [[World Video Game Hall of Fame]]. The [[National Toy Hall of Fame]] is at the museum. Dancing Wings Butterfly Garden features thousands of [[butterfly|butterflies]], and is the largest indoor [[Butterfly house|butterfly garden]] in [[New York (state)|New York]]. [[Berenstain Bears|The Berenstain Bears]]: Down a Sunny Dirt Road is an original, permanent exhibit produced in partnership with the [[Stan and Jan Berenstain|Berenstain family]].

In 2019, The Strong Museum received a {{USD|700,000}} grant from the [[National Endowment for the Humanities]] to develop an interactive exhibit space to show the influence of video games on culture, with plans to open in 2022.<ref>{{Cite web |last=McAloon |first=Alissa |date=September 26, 2019 |title=The Strong Museum receives grant to fund exhibit on the cultural impact of video games |url=https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/the-strong-museum-receives-grant-to-fund-exhibit-on-the-cultural-impact-of-video-games |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190926165122/https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/351213/The_Strong_Museum_receives_grant_to_fund_exhibit_on_the_cultural_impact_of_video_games.php |archive-date=September 26, 2019 |access-date=September 26, 2019 |website=[[Gamasutra]]}}</ref> After delays, the expansions were unveiled in July 2023, which included the ESL Digital Worlds exhibit, a new space to house the [[World Video Game Hall of Fame]], and the [[Hasbro]] Game Park, a large [[board game]]-themed outdoor space. The additions added {{convert|90000|sqft|m2}} of space at a final cost of {{USD|75,000,000}}.<ref name="Greenwood" />

==== War Toys: Ukraine ====
On 10 November 2023, the "War Toys: Ukraine" exhibit, highlighting [[Russian war crimes in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine]] and ongoing [[Russo-Ukrainian War]], was opened for the first time in The Strong Museum, as a part of a tour around museums in North America:<ref>{{Cite web |title=War Toys: Ukraine Now Open |url=https://www.museumofplay.org/press-release/war-toys-ukraine-now-open/ |access-date=2024-10-04 |website=The Strong National Museum of Play |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Pelletier |first=Ashley |date=2023-10-27 |title=The Strong National Museum of Play to Debut 'War Toys: Ukraine' Exhibit |url=https://toybook.com/the-strong-national-museum-ukraine-exhibit-news/ |access-date=2024-10-04 |website=The Toy Book |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Michalik |first=Maddie |date=7 November 2023 |title=Feature: New Exhibit at The Strong Captures War in Ukraine from Children’s Perspectives |url=https://www.toyassociation.org/PressRoom2/News/2023_News/feature-new-exhibit-at-the-strong-captures-war-in-ukraine-from-childrens-perspectives.aspx |website=toyassociation.org |quote=Alina’s story is one of 30 narratives that renowned photographer Brian McCarty recreated for “War Toys: Ukraine,” an art exhibit that explores the impact of armed conflict on children, opening at The Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester, New York, the only museum in the U.S. dedicated to the history of play.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Texas |first=Art Museum of South |date=2023-09-05 |title=War Toys: Ukraine |url=https://www.artmuseumofsouthtexas.org/exhibitions/war-toys-ukraine/ |access-date=2024-10-04 |website=Art Museum of South Texas |language=en}}</ref>
{{Quote2|The Strong is honored to be the first museum to host the War Toys: Ukraine exhibition. This exhibit is a call to action, raising awareness about the lasting impact of armed conflict on the youngest among us. It will serve as a testament to the resilience of these children and a reminder that we must stand with them in solidarity.|Steve Dubnik, president & CEO of The Strong|https://www.museumofplay.org/press-release/war-toys-ukraine-now-open/}}
The exhibit remained open at The Strong till March 16, 2024.

==See also==
*[[National Toy Hall of Fame]]
*[[Videotopia]]

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{commons cat}}
* {{official website}}
* [http://www.americanjournalofplay.org/ American Journal of Play official website]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20161106191113/https://www.google.com/culturalinstitute/beta/partner/the-strong The Strong National Museum of Play at Google Cultural Institute]

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{{City of Rochester, NY}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Strong National Museum of Play, The}}
[[Category:Museums established in 1982]]
[[Category:Children's museums in New York (state)]]
[[Category:Museums in Rochester, New York]]
[[Category:Toy museums in the United States]]
[[Category:Smithsonian Institution affiliates]]
[[Category:1982 establishments in New York (state)]]