Learn about the pivotal role that Black designers have played in diversifying toy aisles in Black Doll Designers, open on the museum’s first floor (near The Strong Express Train).
Explore the history of toy companies founded to promote representation—such as B. Wright Toy Company, Olmec Toys, and Shindana Toys—and view key doll examples, such as:
Photovoz: Picturing Play
Through June 30
What do playful spaces look like across the City of Rochester? See the power and exuberance of play through images captured by 12 Rochester residents in Photovoz: Picturing Play, a new photo display on the museum’s first floor.
Playgrounds take many shapes. Through photovoice—a research method that provides people with cameras to capture what’s going on in their neighborhood—local parents and community elders photographed the abundance of play in Rochester.
Photovoz: Picturing Play, launched in 2019 as a collaboration between […]
Capturing Play
From the Collection of Photojournalist Martha Cooper
February 10 through June 30
See a selection of toy cameras and figures collected by documentary photographer Martha Cooper in a new display just outside the Field of Play exhibit on the museum’s first floor. Learn about Cooper’s life and career in photography, which has included snapping pictures of urban play for more than 50 years. Then view a sampling of the more than 450 items The Strong acquired from Cooper, including a:
The display remains […]
Console Central
Dive into the stories of the most important video game systems in history—from the Magnavox Odyssey (1972) to the Sony Playstation 5 (2020)—in Console Central, now open just outside eGameRevolution on the museum’s second floor.
Console Central is produced by The Strong’s International Center for the History of Electronic Games.
Hasbro Board Game Place
Before heading outside to the Hasbro Game Park, learn more about the history and cultural influence of board games in Hasbro Board Game Place.
Challenge friends and family to a 15-foot-high version of Chutes and Ladders and discover the game’s roots in ancient India. Then view unique artifacts and learn about the creators of other iconic games:
Hasbro Board Game Place is made possible by Alan and Vivien Hassenfeld and the Hassenfeld Family Foundation.
Re-Play: 50 Years of Hip-Hop Fun Exhibit
Celebrate the history of hip hop—born in New York City in the 1970s—and how it inspired joy, play, and fun while creating a new art form. The exhibit, opening August 11 on the museum’s second floor, explores the wide-ranging cultural influence of this creative art form. View related artifacts from The Strong’s collections—such as the dual Technic turntables that DJs used to spin the genre’s first beats in the 1970s to rapping Mickey Mouse dolls and DJ Barbie Mini Boomboxes […]
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Play Happened Here
People have played on this spot for centuries. Through its outdoor exhibit Play Happened Here, The Strong celebrates the individuals who have lived here and the ways that play has enriched lives, built communities, and made life a whole lot more fun. The exhibit is in the Riedman Commons on Adventure Place. Guests can scan a QR code on each of five panels to explore in multiple languages and hear audio through the Bloomberg Connects app.
Pixel Landing
Come face-to-face with icons from the video game world in the Pixel Landing, at the top of the staircase in The Strong’s new wing. View statues and artistic renderings of favorite gaming characters, such as Link (from the Zelda franchise), Sonic the Hedgehog, Lara Croft (from the Tomb Raider series), Crash Bandicoot, Master Chief (from the Halo series), and Chung Li (from Street Fighter).
Then, grab the joystick of the world’s largest, playable Donkey Kong arcade machine—standing nearly 20-feet tall and […]
ESL Digital Worlds: High Score
Learn about the history and cultural importance of electronic games in ESL Digital Worlds: High Score and see how this medium has changed the way that people play and connect. At a new rotunda honoring The Strong’s World Video Game Hall of Fame, learn about some of the most influential games of all-time and play versions of them on massive, overhead screens. Explore thematic sections throughout the exhibit to learn about the art, business, play, society, story, and technology aspects […]