Museum Exhibits

Online

Troubles, Triumphs, and Trivia: 13 Games about Black History

Discover these 13 games that taught Black history through play.

Online

“We Are You”: How Yla Eason’s Olmec Toys Reshaped the Multicultural Toy Market

Explore how Yla Eason, a Black mother and Harvard-trained businesswoman, built a company that challenged the toy industry’s standards for multicultural representation.

Short-Term

100 Years of Madame Alexander

Celebrate the legacy of Madame Beatrice Alexander, who founded the Madame Alexander Doll Company in 1923, at a new display on the museum’s first floor. Learn how Alexander changed the toy and doll industries and grew her company into a leading doll manufacturer. Follow the evolution of the brand from the Great Depression to today and see more than 30 dolls from across the decades, including a cloth Alice in Wonderland doll, a Jacqueline Kennedy doll, pioneering fashion doll Cissy, classic […]

Short-Term

Raceway Arcade

Play your way through the history of electronic driving games and experience America’s long fascination with the need for speed at the original Raceway Arcade.  Start your engine and zip through the evolution of driving games in this highly interactive and artifact-rich exhibit designed for racing enthusiasts of all ages. Produced by The Strong’s International Center for the History of Electronic Games. Playable machines in Raceway Arcade require purchased tokens. Money collected from the sale of tokens helps maintain these original artifacts. Presented in the Fidelis Care Gallery.

Online

That’s Just How We Roll: A History of the International Gay Bowling Organization

Gay and lesbian bowlers seeking fellowship and fun formed the International Gay Bowling Organization in 1980. Decades later, it is the largest LGBTQ+ sports association anywhere.

Online

Jerry Lawson: The Black Engineer and Entrepreneur Who Changed Video Games

Gerald “Jerry” Lawson changed the way we play by leading the creation of the video game cartridge and founding game developer company Video Soft.

Permanent

Play Lab

Invent, construct, and create in The Strong’s 800-square-foot Play Lab on the museum’s first floor (near the Field of Play exhibit). Unlock the educational power of play and enter a playful maker space with daily programming based around monthly themes. Every month be introduced to a new topic of inquiry such as printmaking, sound, and circuitry. Gain scaffolding assistance from museum staff and guest creators. Experiment with related tools and equipment such as looms, saws, and Oculus. Take time to create, […]

Online

Is that a Jumeau?

A century before Mattel’s Barbie graced miniature runways, the dollmaker Jumeau provided girls with stylish play companions that showcased French couture and innovation.

Permanent

Skyline Climb

Are you ready for the challenge? Jump into the realm of adventure play at The Strong’s all-new high ropes course—Skyline Climb. Suspended above the museum’s carousel atrium, adults and kids alike can traverse beams and balance obstacles, maneuver ropes and wobbly bridges, and leap off a zipline platform. Built by RCI Adventure Products, Skyline Climb consists of two courses geared towards different sizes and skill levels—the Low-Rise Course Powered by M&T Bank for guests below 48 inches in height and the High-Rise for guests 48 […]