Donate an Artifact

Yes. The Strong is actively seeking and acquiring additional examples of play-related materials.

From individual items to comprehensive collections, The Strong seeks a broad range of materials used for play by children and adults. The museum’s definition of play includes adult hobbies and leisure activities as well as the types of play most frequently associated with children. The museum’s collection reflects play from past centuries right through today. Materials of particular interest include toys, games, video games and their platforms, handheld game systems, toys that combine digital and traditional play, dolls, sports equipment, souvenirs, amateur crafts, and holiday decorations.

Artifacts accompanied by stories that show how donors used them are especially important. Personal photographs and videos of people at play can also help the museum document play.

From individual items to comprehensive collections, The Strong is interested in a broad range of play-related materials for its Brian Sutton-Smith Library and Archives of Play. Of primary interest are the records of toy, tabletop game, and electronic game designers, inventors, and companies; marketing, advertising, packaging, and other promotional and informational materials about toys and games; publications of the toy, game, and electronic game industries; personal and professional papers and publications of play scholars; primary and secondary publications that document the history of play; and published and unpublished works written by dedicated collectors of toys and games.

With its emphasis on items used for play, The Strong is less interested in items marketed exclusively to adult collectors, such as limited-edition porcelain dolls and international souvenir dolls. We have extensive collections of stuffed animals, jigsaw puzzles, and pre-1940 dolls, so we’re typically not looking to expand those areas of the collection.

Emailing or phoning one of the above individuals is the best way to offer a donation. Describing what you have and explaining the quantity and condition provides us with crucial information. Attaching photographs can be especially helpful.

The museum considers each potential acquisition carefully. The appropriate curator, librarian, or archivist evaluates each item or collection to make sure it supports the museum’s mission and doesn’t duplicate items already in the museum’s collection. When items or groups of items fit those criteria, the staff member responsible for the initial review presents a written justification for acquisition to The Strong’s Acquisitions Team. If that group agrees, a Deed of Gift form is prepared for the donor.

Items or collections offered to the museum should be complete (not missing significant parts) and in stable condition, but they do not have to be mint-in-box or look the way they did when new. It is not necessary to clean objects prior to offering them to The Strong. Curatorial and conservation staff members examine each artifact to assure that its condition will allow it to be preserved for future exhibition, research, and educational needs.

It’s not necessary to organize a collection prior to offering it to The Strong. Staff from the museum’s Collections Team will organize the materials after they arrive.

It’s not necessary to do cleaning or repair work prior to offering it to The Strong. Staff from the museum’s conservation staff will evaluate what steps are necessary once items are accepted by the museum.

Please make an appointment first with one of our staff members—a curator, librarian, or archivist—before you bring items to the museum. Advance notice allows us to assure that the proper staff person is available. The museum’s security officers and admission desk hosts aren’t allowed to accept donations.

A Deed of Gift is a formal document that transfers legal ownership of the donated item(s) to The Strong. Provisions within the document allow donors to choose how they want their donation acknowledged, to define or assign intellectual property rights, and to specify preferences for research access.

The Internal Revenue Service has determined that The Strong qualifies as a 501(c)(3) organization. In keeping with professional standards and accreditation requirements of the American Alliance of Museums, The Strong does not appraise items offered for donation. Donors are encouraged to seek the advice of counsel before claiming deductions for the purpose of computing income and heritance taxes under state and federal laws.

Only a small percentage of the museum’s collections can be shown in its exhibits and displays at any one time. However, donations are shared with a worldwide audience by way of the museum’s online collections database and the online catalog of The Strong’s Brian Sutton-Smith Library and Archives of Play. Both serve as a resource for curators and outside researchers.

Yes, you are welcome to make an appointment with the museum’s staff to provide you access to items not on display.

The Strong’s conservation staff does not provide repair services for dolls or other objects owned by outside individuals. The American Institute for Conservation (AIC) offers a form on its website to help link members of the public to appropriate conservators.

The Strong doesn’t offer appraisals. The experts at appraisers.org and Appraisers Association of America supply online directories of appraisers. They should be able to direct you to local appraisers or possibly connect you with an expert who could offer input via email if you have images available to share. Alternatively, a quick search on eBay’s current listings or completed listings (in the advanced search option) often proves helpful to gauge an item’s current selling price.

With more than 510,000 items in the museum’s collection, library, and archives, The Strong doesn’t have the staff capacity or digital storage space to duplicate everything it owns for online viewing. That said, the museum is constantly increasing the proportion of its holdings that can be accessible via the internet.

The Strong shares tens of thousands of items with a worldwide audience by way of the its online collections database and the online catalog of The Strong’s Brian Sutton-Smith Library and Archives of Play.

The Strong provides images to individuals and organizations, once they agree to the museum’s image policies and pay the associated fees. For more information, please contact:

For Toys, Dolls, Games, and Video Game Collections
Kristy Hisert
Collections Manager
khisert@museumofplay.org
585-410-6320

For Library and Archival Materials
Beth Merkle
Director of Libraries
bmerkle@museumofplay.org
585-410-6349

Please contact:
Shane Rhinewald
Senior Director of Public Relations
srhinewald@museumofplay.org
585-410-6365

Staff limitations and security concerns do not allow the museum to provide tours of collections storage areas.

The Strong always wants the information it shares to be as accurate as possible. Please contact:

Kristy Hisert
Collections Manager
khisert@museumofplay.org
585-410-6320