Escape rooms are a massive commercial industry. In 2024, the Escape Room Industry Report counted approximately 2,000 facilities in the United States alone. They’re also massive physically—these in-person experiences are room-scale. As The Strong begins an initiative to preserve escape room materials, we’re starting small. Many creators have attempted to capture the magic of the escape room in a packaged product. These games show that escape rooms, and games based on them, do not fit neatly into a box.
As I […]
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Chores Are More Fun When They’re Fake
As I begin a new decade of my life, I’ve become more aware of the toys that model real-world “adulting.” Pretend play is a childhood staple, and often it involves kids performing what they see adults do. I’ve also realized, with a bit of my now developed adult cynicism, that it was a lot more fun to pretend to be an adult. The real thing doesn’t always measure up.
Take chores for example. Sweeping up with a fake broom or running […]
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Pee-Wee Herman…the Game Show Star?
By Adam Nedeff, researcher for the National Archives of Game Show History
The two-part documentary Pee-Wee as Himself, now available for streaming on HBO Max, chronicles actor Paul Reubens’ unexpected rise to fame as the character Pee-Wee Herman. As the documentary explains, game shows had a small role in the rise of Reubens and his bizarre alter ego.
Reubens’ earliest shots at the big time came from The Gong Show. He and actress Charlotte McGinnis appeared on the daytime show as […]
What Goes Up: Playing with Elevators
Ding. Ding. Ding. People of a certain age may remember the sound of cranking the elevator on the Fisher-Price parking garage, or the way the stop sign at each floor lowered when the lift reached that level. This ingenious plastic contrivance raised cars up and down the three-level garage, tipping them out when they reached the floor. I still recall not only the auditory experience, but also the tactile hitch as the wheel turned a gear and the momentary stutter […]
Preserving the History of Volition
The Strong is honored to announce the acquisition of a collection of material from pioneering game developer Volition, the developers behind iconic titles such as Descent, Red Faction, and Saints Row. The donation includes design documentation, physical props, concept art, game builds, and some source assets, providing an in-depth look into the studio’s development process.
Hop to It: The Rise of the Rabbits
As spring makes its way to Rochester, days are longer, new birdcalls fill the air, and I’m newly aware of—rabbits. Yes, there’s the Easter Bunny each springtime, but my rabbit radar ranges much more broadly. Since I’m a gardener, rabbits aren’t always my friends. Cute as they may be, rabbits seem somewhat less charming as they mow down seedlings or nip off the fresh and delicious growth on perennials in my flowerbeds. On the other hand, as a curator, the […]
Imaginary Worlds and Real Identities: The Impact of Dolls on Gender and Sexuality
In my first nine months working as the Curatorial Assistant at The Strong, I’ve been immersed in the world of “play” in a way that I haven’t been in a very long time. It’s been refreshing, illuminating, and has caused me to reflect upon my own childhood—how I played as a kid and the ways in which my toys may have shaped my identity as an adult.
I loved playing with dolls, specifically Barbies, Bratz, and American Girl Dolls. Like many […]
Relational Play
Contemporary travel is a special kind of pandemonium, an admixture of excitement, fear, consumerism, and intense security measures. It can be a rather playful experience too, particularly in the U.S. The stops that took me from Pullman, Washington, where currently I live and work, to The Strong National Museum of Play are a case in point. First it was Pullman to Spokane, then it was Spokane to Las Vegas, where I transferred to a flight to Rochester, New York. To […]
A Puzzling Tradition
Do you have traditions that you associate with the holidays? For some folks, that tradition involves seasonal baked goods with flavors and aromas that create a special aura. For others, it’s a beverage, perhaps a glass of eggnog or a mug of hot chocolate. In my family, there’s the annual Christmas jigsaw puzzle.
From my perspective, there are a couple great things about associating jigsaw puzzles with the holidays. For one, it gives me an automatic gift idea for my sister […]