I came to The Strong Museum to study Carmen Sandiego, the shadowy villain who stars in one of the most successful educational game series in video game history, but I left knowing a lot more about the early days of the educational game industry.
I am a Latinx literature scholar and lifelong gamer, whose research has been focused primarily on AfroLatinx literature and culture (my first book came out in June 2024). My research on Miles Morales and the Latino legacy of […]
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Game Shows Have Scripts?
By Adam Nedeff, researcher for the National Archives of Game Show History
The National Archives of Game Show History has been fortunate to have many eager contributors donate their prized possessions to be preserved. Among the many treasures that have been donated: set pieces, handheld props, question cards, photographs and slides, tickets, and scripts.
“Wait a minute, scripts? Game shows have scripts?” you might be asking.
Game shows do have scripts, but not in the sense you’re thinking. It’s important for everyone […]
Collection of Grandmother Stover’s Miniatures
The Strong recently acquired a collection of more than 350 Grandmother Stover’s miniatures, party favors, and trinkets. The objects in the collection date from the 1950s to the late 1970s and demonstrate American trends in play, gender roles, advertising, and gift giving occasions.
Advertising executive John Stover founded Grandmother Stover’s during World War II. The company’s origin story was frequently printed with slight variations, but the central element was that Stover became interested in miniatures when he attempted to furnish a […]
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Role-Playing with Sound: A Sonic History of Tabletop Role-Playing Games
A crack of thunder. The rattling of chains. Roars of monsters in the depths. A song to guide your way. These words stoke our imaginations and illustrate how stories are told via the evocation of sound. When people imagine playing a tabletop role-playing game (TTRPG) such as Dungeons & Dragons, they envision people in costume rolling dice, moving small, hand-painted figurines, and navigating sprawling maps of the dungeons that are being delved.
In addition to these material components, however, at the […]
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Pinball at The Strong Museum
Why pinball? This is the question that people repeatedly ask me when I state that my dissertation investigates pinball’s history. When I explain that I am a PhD candidate in NYU’s Martin Scorsese Department of Cinema Studies, people become even more confused. What does pinball have to do with cinema? And is it worthy of a book length treatment? I answer those questions by replying that pinball is one of the most controversial American games, hence my title for my […]
Reviving the Family Feud Sign
Among the treasures in The Strong Museum’s National Archives of Game Show History is the original flip-dot display used on Family Feud when it made its debut in 1976. So what’s the story behind the sign?
It all starts with Mark Goodson and Bill Todman, the undisputed kings of TV game shows. Their success started in 1946 with programs including What’s My Line? and their influence continues on television today. One of their shows, Match Game, enjoyed a successful run from […]
Why Celebrities Like Game Shows
By Adam Nedeff, researcher for the National Archives of Game Show History
“What’s in it for THEM?”
Have you ever watched Password, The $100,000 Pyramid, Match Game, or any other celebrity game shows and wondered why the celebrities are there? They can’t win the car, the cash, nor the washer/dryer combo, and with the workload involved for the TV shows on which they’re already appearing regularly as cast members, being on a game show is costing them a precious day off. A […]
What’s In A Name….Well, A Lot Actually, Especially When It Comes to Conservation, Preservation, and Restoration
Collections care terms can be utterly confusing, even among trained museum professionals. A term a registrar may use could be completely different from a director or an art preparator, and may not ultimately have detrimental outcomes for the misused term. But misusing the terms conservation, preservation, or restoration could leave your collections items or personal artifacts in the wrong hands for care.
What is Conservation?
Conservation encompasses all the actions taken toward the long-term care of cultural heritage. Activities include examination, […]
Household Cryptids: Infiltrators or Celebrated Guests?
Let’s talk about cryptids. According to the Cambridge Dictionary, a cryptid is “a creature that is found in stories and that some people believe exists or say they have seen, but that has never been proven to exist.” What are you thinking of? Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, the Jersey Devil? These big names are the celebrities of cryptids, but I think there is a subset of cryptids lurking right within our own homes. Though we’d probably never define them […]
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