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I first became interested in the increase of plastic in children’s toys through my own daughter’s toys, especially since my undergrad degree was in Environment and Health, with a fourth year focus on Bisphenol A (also known as BPA) in baby bottles. Throughout my Masters studies, I focused on the central question of why we keep what we do, how we make those decisions, and the ways in which we’ve come to value or devalue certain things. I was struck […]

Continue Reading about Postwar Plastic Playthings: Affordability, Resources and Military Surplus Published on:
March 31, 2017

We have all heard the saying that a dog is man’s (and woman’s too) best friend. We love dogs so much that they even have their own special day—National Puppy Day! Canine companionship has been around for eons and extends from pets to working dogs. Whether they are snuggle buddies, sled pullers, or law enforcement assistants, dogs play a significant role in our society and in our hearts. So it should be no surprise that their popularity also carries over […]

Continue Reading about Playing with Puppies Published on:
March 22, 2017

I receive a lot of strange looks whenever I tell people that I look forward to the end of summer. Perhaps your face has morphed into such an expression after reading that. But there is logic behind my claim.
It seems to me that the opportunity for play during the autumn and winter months is a bit underrated when compared to the long, bright summer days here in the Northeast. Don’t get me wrong, I agree that the transition to shorter, […]

Continue Reading about Play for All Seasons Published on:
March 10, 2017

I’ve admired The Strong’s vintage Drive-Mobile arcade game since the first time I stood in front of it with Martin Reinhardt, the museum’s arcade game conservation technician. It was exciting to see how the first arcade driving game—a popular and enduring genre—actually worked. Martin opened the back of the game for me and demonstrated the mutoscope drum design in action. Early mutoscope machines contained a revolving flipbook on a spindle to create the illusion of a moving image when a […]

Continue Reading about Rolling Out the First Driving Game Published on:
March 3, 2017

When I was an undergraduate, I was obsessed with the television program E! True Hollywood Story. Each week, I took a salacious rollercoaster ride through the ups and downs of a celebrity’s life. Right before each commercial break, the narrator assured me that either the star was about to be saved from his downward spiral or that her glory days were going to come to a screeching halt. I loved the drama and the “truth is stranger than fiction” element […]

Continue Reading about “True Hollywood” Toy Stories: Tales of the Games and Toys We Love Published on:
February 24, 2017

For many decades, women have played key roles in the design, production, manufacture, marketing, and writing of video games, and yet their history in the gaming industry is too little preserved and too often underappreciated. The Strong’s Women in Games initiative will document and celebrate these crucial contributions through a concerted effort to collect, preserve, and interpret artifacts and archival material related to women in gaming. The Strong will feature many of these materials in an onsite and online exhibit […]

Continue Reading about The Strong Launches Women in Games Initiative Published on:
February 14, 2017

While pursuing my undergraduate degree, I worked as a DJ for the college radio station. One spring semester, I had a timeslot of 2 to 4 p.m. on Friday afternoons. I remember the sun often shining, and everyone being in a good mood as they prepared for the weekend. That’s when I started a tradition of always ending my slot with the theme to the television show Fraggle Rock. The lyrics begin with “Dance your cares away, worries for another […]

Continue Reading about “Down at Fraggle Rock!” Published on:
February 10, 2017

My favorite artifact in America at Play, an exhibit that opened on The Strong’s second floor in December 2016, isn’t the oldest, the biggest, or the showiest. But it’s one that transports me to another place and time. Which artifact has such magical powers? It’s the Remco Movieland Drive-In Theater play set from 1959. Today, drive-in movie theaters are almost unheard of, but the few that remain are considered a treasure. However, they weren’t always rare and exceptional.
In the 1960s, […]

Continue Reading about Fun at the Drive-In Published on:
February 2, 2017

Here’s a fun experiment: suggest playing a game of Monopoly and predict the responses you’ll receive. More often than not, you’ll be hit with an audible groan and the familiar refrain of “Has anyone ever actually finished a game of Monopoly?” Admittedly, I used to be anti-Monopoly myself. (During high school, my friend Meg and I maintained an in-progress game of Monopoly in her mom’s basement for more than two years before finally giving up.) Then, while processing the Philip […]

Continue Reading about But We Play It Like This: House Rules for Games Published on:
January 23, 2017