Strong National Museum of Play

Strong, hard to get it all in one shot! This is the back, seen from Monroe Ave. 8-2008 Reading Adventureland with Flat Stanley Carousel Ride for Flat Stanley

Location

1 Manhattan Square Dr, Rochester, NY 14607

Hours (as of August 2009)

Monday – Thursday: 10:00AM to 5:00PM

Friday & Saturday: 10:00AM to 8:00PM

Sunday: Noon to 5:00PM

(Closed on Thanksgiving and Christmas Days)

Phone

585 263 2700

Accessible

Yes

Website

http://www.MuseumOfPlay.org/

Wikipedia

Wikipedia Article

Strong National Museum of Play located in Rochester, documents the history of play in American culture and provides an exciting, hand-on, welcoming pace to play, learn, and dream; a place to pretend, wonder, and explore, a place to discover the past and imagine the futur; and a place to rekindle memories and make new ones.¹

"Established in 1969 and based initially on the personal collection of Margaret Woodbury Strong, the museum opened to the public in 1982. Since then it has refined and increased its collections, which number more than 500,000 items, and expanded twice, in 1997 and 2006. The museum is home to the National Toy Hall of Fame, the National Center for the History of Electronic Games, and the Brian Sutton-Smith Library and Archives of Play and produces the American Journal of Play.

Known originally 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 282,000 square feet. It is the only collections-based museum anywhere devoted solely to the study of play." ²

Major Attraction for Kids

Although it is a history museum, Strong is a well-developed children’s museum, making it the second largest museum of that type in the United States. The museum includes exhibits that interpret the key elements of play, as well as allowing kids to explore the worlds of Sesame Street, the Berenstain Bears, Reading Adventureland, and the Dancing Wings Butterfly Garden The museum is home to the Rainbow Reef salt water aquarium. The final stop before leaving is usually the Elaine Wilson Carousel, built by Allan-Herschel Company of Tonawanda, NY in 1918.

Membership to the museum provides free admission for a year and access to a number of affiliated museums around the northeast.

See also information about their associated National Center for the History of Electronic Games.

Awards

Voted "Best Kids Entertainment" in City Newspaper's 'Best Of' Awards in 2008 and 2009.³⁴

Strong National Museum of Play

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