April 20, 2007
For more information
Contact: Susan Trien, 585-410-6359, strien@museumofplay.org

Biography of Brian Sutton-Smith
Scholar in Residence at
Strong National Museum of Play®

In April 2007, Brian Sutton-Smith donated four decades of his library and research archives to Strong National Museum of Play®. The museum plans to catalog the donated documents and make them accessible to play scholars and other interested individuals.  Sutton-Smith has also been named Scholar in Residence at Strong and will advise the museum on collecting and help solicit the contribution of papers from other scholars.

Brian Sutton-Smith Biographical Highlights:

Brian Sutton-Smith was born in Wellington, New Zealand in 1924.   He attended Wellington Teacher’s college and Victoria University of Wellington and received his Ph.D. in 1954 from the University of New Zealand.  Following completion of his Ph.D., Sutton-Smith traveled to the United States on a grant from the Fullbright Program, where he embarked on an academic career with a focus on children’s and adult games; children’s play, drama, films, and narratives; and children’s gender issues and sibling position.

Sutton-Smith has been director of programs in developmental psychology and human development, first at Bowling Green University in Ohio, then at Teacher’s College, Columbia University, New York, and finally at the University of Pennsylvania.  He was a Professor of Psychology at Bowling Green State University, a Professor of Education at Teacher’s College, and a Professor of Folklore at the University of Pennsylvania. 

Sutton-Smith’s interest in play has always been interdisciplinary and has included research in play history and cross-cultural studies of play, as well as research in psychology, education, and folklore.  He has maintained that the interpretation of play must involve all its forms, from child’s play to gambling, sports, festivals, and imagination and nonsense.

Sutton-Smith has published more than 300 scholarly articles and has authored, coauthored, or edited approximately 50 books.  As a founder of the Children’s Folklore Society, he received a lifetime achievementaward from the American Folklore Society. For his research on toys, he received awards from the Brio® and Lego® toy companies of Sweden and Denmark, respectively, and from The International Toy Research Association, of which he was also one of the founders.

He has lectured on play research throughout the world and has participated in making television films on toys and plays in Great Britain, Canada, and the U.S.  He has also been a consultant for Captain Kangaroo, Nickelodeon, and Murdoch children’s television.

His play research has included work on play with disturbed children; film making with disadvantaged children; play dramatizations with elementary school-aged children; historical differences in gender play; age differences in children’s story making; and Headstart projects.

Sutton-Smith’s publications include: The Ambiguity of Play (1997); Children’s Folklore Source Book (1995); Play and Intervention (1994); Toys and Culture (1986); A History of Children’s Play (1981); the Folkstories of Children (1981); The Folkgames of Children (1972); Play and Learning (1979); Child’s Play (1971); and The Study of Games (1971).

Strong National Museum of Play®, located in downtown Rochester, New York, is the only museum in the world devoted to the study of play as it illuminates American popular culture.

Hours:
Monday–Thursday, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; Friday, 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.;
Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; Sunday, 12:00 noon to 5:00 p.m.
Admission Fees:
General Admission (does not include Dancing Wings Butterfly Garden™):
Adults $9.00; Seniors $8.00; Children (2–17) $7.00; Children younger than two free; Strong members free.
Admission to Dancing Wings Butterfly Garden™:
General Admission fee plus $3.00 per person for members and nonmembers; Children younger than two free.
Due to limited capacity, entry to Dancing Wings Butterfly Garden™ is by timed tickets only. Advance purchase is recommended. Please call 585-263-2700 to purchase timed tickets.