Blog

I gave Droopy his name when he first appeared outside my office window at the National Institute for Play headquarters nearly ten years ago. He’s old for a wild crow. An injured wing made him easy to pick out as a youngster but has not seemed to hinder him since. He’s raised a brood each year with a crow version of aggressive mentoring and attentive tough love. Crows brood cooperatively and for long periods, and so crow young get plenty […]

Continue Reading about Droopy the Crow, the Surprising Bird Brain, and Play Published on:
July 12, 2012

As kids, we would sometimes say, as a mean joke, “He’s so dumb, he forgot how to play!” We thought it was funny then—as 10 year olds. But it’s hardly a laughing matter, then or now. The worry today comes with the knowledge that more and more kids aren’t learning how to appreciate free play—the type without rules or structure.

In the 1990s, researchers began to investigate Nature Deficit Disorder—the pattern of children becoming disconnected from the natural world by indoor […]

Continue Reading about Free Play, Back in the Day Published on:
July 10, 2012

Chuck E. Cheese’s is updating its mascot in an effort to reach a new generation of people who love pizza, video games, and the combination of the two. As a parent whose children have attended many functions at Chuck E. Cheese’s restaurants, I wish them the best of success in their new branding efforts. As a video game historian I can’t resist thinking about the origins of the chain.
As many video game fans know, Nolan Bushnell, who founded Atari, also […]

Continue Reading about Pizza + Video Games = Fun Published on:
July 9, 2012

Looking for a safe place for your savings? With today’s tumultuous stock market (even Mark Zuckerberg is losing money) and bank bailouts of the recent past, it’s no wonder that most of us feel a bit uncertain about the best place to store our money. How about a mechanical bank? For years these cast-iron collectibles proved a suitable spot for stashing cash, not only because they offered lock and key security, but because they made putting money away fun, encouraging […]

Continue Reading about Modern vs. Mechanical: The Best Bank for Your Buck Published on:
July 2, 2012

Have you ever wondered how The Strong uses artifacts not currently on display at the National Museum of Play? Scholars from around the world visit Rochester to study firsthand The Strong’s collections, which are unique not only for their rarities but for their breadth and depth. Museums also borrow The Strong’s artifacts for temporary exhibitions, resulting in travel opportunities not just for the objects but occasionally for the collections manager who so carefully coordinates their excursions (that’s me!). Just such […]

Continue Reading about Have Toys—Will Travel Published on:
June 26, 2012

When I wrote my first blog for The Strong more than a year ago, I talked about nostalgia—so it seems appropriate that I should come full circle and take some time to reflect back on my time at the museum before heading off to a new job in a new city.
I’ve learned a great deal in the last two years. I can safely handle artifacts and identify French fashion doll manufacturers. I know more than I ever thought possible about […]

Continue Reading about Lessons from the Toy Box Published on:
June 19, 2012

To stand at the brink of Niagara Falls—sun shining through the transparent water, the mist rising, the roar underneath, a rainbow overhead—is to experience a beauty so humbling that philosophers and painters describe this dizzying, unsettling moment as “the sublime.” While viewing the Falls, not many can suppress the overpowering thought of how the rushing current would easily sweep them away. Over the years not a few have tested this notion, but only a few have survived. Some have plunged […]

Continue Reading about Skill, Risk, Play, and the Daredevils of Niagara Published on:
June 19, 2012

Father’s Day, being right around the corner, reminded me of some of the most and least paternal characters presented in video games. Whether they’re role models, deadbeats, or something in between, I enjoy interacting with all of the characters that came to mind.
My personal favorite video game father is Ethan Mars from the 2010 blockbuster Heavy Rain. The game centers on Ethan’s desperation to save his son, Shaun, from the Origami Killer. In order to rescue Shaun, Ethan drives against […]

Continue Reading about Video Game Fathers Published on:
June 14, 2012

One-hit wonders. You know them well—the artists whose catchy lyrics and infectious tunes earn them a fleeting moment of mega fame before they plunge back into obscurity. Even so, songs like “Come on Eileen” and “Ice Ice Baby” will live on forever, immortalized in VH1 countdowns and karaoke archives. I can probably do the “Macarena” in my sleep (VH1 considers the 1996 Los Del Rio tune the top one-hit wonder of all time), but I’m also familiar with a different […]

Continue Reading about One-Hit Wonders Published on:
June 12, 2012