People at Play Archive

“Where there are kids, there is play.” Iona Opie
“The setting of boundaries is always a political act.” Edward J. Blakely and Mary Gail Snyder
“We begin with the child when he is three years old. As soon as he begins to think he gets a little flag put in his hand.”  Dr Robert LEY, leader of Nazi Labor Front.
As an urban game designer, and an immigrant to the US, I find it particularly interesting to understand the relationship between cultures and […]

Continue Reading about The Battle over Street Play in New York City (1910-1930) Published on:
August 11, 2022

When the film adaptation of Kevin Kwan’s hit book Crazy Rich Asians came out in 2018, I knew I’d have to watch it on the big screen. (A charming romantic comedy starring several of my favorite actors in beautiful Singapore? Yes, please!) Of course, I loved the movie, and—no spoilers—I was totally awestruck by the third act’s mahjong scene. The airy, bright mahjong parlor where the film’s protagonist, Rachel, meets her boyfriend’s imposing mother is peaceful and quiet, with only […]

Continue Reading about Chow, Pong, and Kong: Mahjong! Published on:
August 4, 2022

A less than enthusiastic student during my grade school career, there were very few days I actually looked forward to. The most anticipated being—of course—the last day of school.  But somewhere in between, there was parachute day in gym class, StarLab day (a giant inflatable planetarium that traveled to area schools, allowing students to crawl through a short, dark tunnel to reach a twinkling sky within), and the occasional field trip. But the thing I looked forward most wasn’t just […]

Continue Reading about A Pinch of Creativity Published on:
July 14, 2022

The Strong is home to thousands of video game related objects. Among them is a large collection of Japanese games, sourced from France in a purchase the museum made in 2013. That encompasses more than 6,000 Japanese video games, mostly in excellent and complete condition. When I knew I was joining the museum in December 2021, I felt particularly eager to see what Japanese exclusive games we had, especially for older systems such as the Super Famicom.
The collection didn’t disappoint—at […]

Continue Reading about Japanese Games at The Strong,Part I Published on:
July 7, 2022

When The Strong created the International Center for the History of electronic Games (ICHEG) in 2009, we recognized the important role that coin-operated games played in the evolution of video games. Indeed, the first commercial video game, Nutting Associates’ Computer Space(1971), and the first hit video game, Atari’s Pong (1972), arrived in coin-operated arcade cabinets. The Strong acquired these significant titles as part of a collection of more than 100 arcade games in 2009. More than a decade later, this […]

Continue Reading about The Strong’s Comprehensive Collection Chronicles More than a Century of Coin-Operated Games Published on:
June 23, 2022

The artist and photographer Taryn Simon once opened an exhibit with a now-widespread observation: “Archives exist because there’s something that can’t necessarily be articulated. Something is said in the gaps between all the information.” Simon gets at something important here, I think. We tend to think of the gaps in archives as, at best, markers of where we need to “fill in” the historical record in the pursuit of some absolute, final body of total knowledge. But gaps can also […]

Continue Reading about Looking for Labor, Listening to the Archive Published on:
June 2, 2022

The Strong recently acquired a few anthropomorphized fashion dolls. A dog with a human-like body and an extensive wardrobe is really something to behold. As much as I admired these dolls, I could not help but to ask why did these show-up in the toy aisle and were they successful?
Giving human characteristics to animals has existed for centuries. Ancient gods were frequently presented as hybridized human-like animals. In the 18th and 19th centuries, as naturalists discovered and classified new species […]

Continue Reading about Pampered Pooches: Anthropomorphized Dolls Published on:
May 26, 2022

The video game company Her Interactive adopted the slogan “For Girls Who Aren’t Afraid of a Mouse.” The firm’s fan letters and focus group collections informed my research on how video games are a technological construction of human expression. Her Interactive was a company focused on creating games based on the reception they received from their audience—girl gamers. They wanted to make video games based on the Nancy Drew series of novels more story driven so that girls would be […]

Continue Reading about Heroines Just as Interesting as Heroes Published on:
May 19, 2022

As a child, I used to frequent The Strong museum and its many exhibits. I recall having no small amount of fun. Since then, the museum has changed quite a bit. The most iconic exhibits like Sesame Street and Reading Adventureland are still here, but some that I remember have been replaced over the years with other exhibits. However, there’s still a lot to love about the museum and everything therein. 
A favorite part of The Strong from my childhood was […]

Continue Reading about The Strong Museum: Past & Present Published on:
May 12, 2022