The Strong is an interactive, collections-based educational institution in Rochester, New York, United States, devoted to the study and exploration of play. It carries out this mission through six programmatic arms called "Play Partners": * National Toy Hall of Fame * World Video Game Hall of Fame * International Center for the History of Electronic Games * The Brian Sutton-Smith Library and Archives of Play * ''

American Journal of Play The ''American Journal of Play'' is a peer-reviewed interdisciplinary academic journal that covers the history, science, and culture of play. The journal includes articles, interviews, and book reviews written for a broad readership of educators, ...

'' * The Woodbury School It also houses the National Museum of Play. Independent and not-for-profit, The Strong houses hundreds of thousands of historical materials related to play. These enable a multifaceted array of research, exhibition, and other interpretive activities that serve a diverse audience of adults, families, children, students, teachers, scholars, collectors, and others around the globe.

History

The Strong was founded by

Margaret Woodbury Strong Margaret Woodbury Strong (1897 – July 16, 1969) was an American collector and philanthropist. Strong was an avid collector, especially of toys and her large collection formed the basis for the Strong National Museum of Play. On her death the next year, the museum inherited her estate and collection of dolls, toys, and other everyday objects. It moved to a new building in downtown Rochester in 1982. Market research in the 1990s led it to pivot toward more family-oriented programming, and in 2002 it acquired the National Toy Hall of Fame, which it renamed the Strong National Museum of Play on 2006. The institution rebranded itself The Strong in 2010, housing The National Museum of Play and four additional Play Partners. The Strong collects and preserves artifacts,

documents A document is a writing, written, drawing, drawn, presented, or memorialized representation of thought, often the manifestation of nonfiction, non-fictional, as well as fictional, content. The word originates from the Latin ''Documentum'', w ...

, and other materials that illuminate the meaning and importance of play. The hundreds of thousands of objects in The Strong’s collections comprise the world’s most comprehensive assemblage of toys,

game A game is a structured form of play (activity), play, usually undertaken for enjoyment, entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator s ...

s, dolls, electronic games, and other items related to play, many of which are on display in approximately 100,000 square feet (26,200m2) of exhibition space.

Current Exhibits

* Play Lab * Skyline Climb * Toy Halls of Fame * Material Girl * Millennial Madness: The Toys That Shaped a Generation * Dancing Wings Butterfly Garden * Women in Games * Wegmans Super Kids Market * Reading Adventureland * Play Pals * Pinball Playfields * Peanuts and Play Display * One History Place * Imagination Destination * Game Time! * Field of Play * eGameRevolution * DanceLab * Elaine Wilson Carousel * Strong Express Train * Can You Tell Me How to Get to Sesame Street? * Build, Drive, Go * The Berenstain Bears: Down a Sunny Dirt Road * Aquariums at Rainbow Reef * American Comic Book Heroes * America at Play * Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences

Former Exhibits

* Kid to Kid * UnEARTHling * Between 2 Worlds * Richard Scarry's Busytown * Psychology: It's More Than You Think! * Contraptions A to Z * Arthur's World * Say Aah! * Altered States * Memory and Mourning * Earth 2U: Exploring Geography * Kaleidoscope * Toys from Mars * Kid Stuff * The Rochester Business Hall of Fame * Making Radio Waves * Geo-Zoooom! * Face to Face: Dealing with Prejudice and Discrimination * The Nobel Prize: Celebrating 100 Years of Creativity and Innovation * Global Shoes * Not Sold in Stores * Sweet Shoppe * Louie's * Alice's Wonderland: A Most Curious Adventure * Making Things Happen * Lady Liberty * The Berenstain Bears: The Art of Stan and Jan Berenstain * Adventures with Clifford the Big Red Dog * Mister Rogers' Neighborhood * Think Tank * Discovery Garden * Things for Play * Art of the Garden * Cyberchase * Bob the Builder: Project: Build It! * Grossology * Curious George: Let's Get Curious! * Make It & Take It * Name the Newcomer Contest * Child's Play * Mr. Potato Head * Videotopia * America's Favorite Doll * Mindbender Mansion * Toys and More * National Geographic MAPS * Five Friends from Japan * Football: The Exhibit * Monopoly * The Wizard of Oz * Design Zone * Doodle 4 Google * Dora & Diego: Let's Explore * LEGO Travel Adventure * Boardwalk Arcade * Atari Design * Little Builders * Animation * LEGO Castle Adventure * Play Pals * Trivial Pursuit: A 50-State Adventure * Cats Versus Dogs * Joey & Johnny, the Ninjas * Racers: The Thrill of Driving Game * Go Greyhound Display * Sid the Science Kid: The Super-Duper Exhibit * Playing with Power * Making Magic * Perfectly Pez * Hot Wheels: Race to Win * Muppets, Fraggles, and Beyond: The Jim Henson Collection * Rockets, Robots, and Ray Guns * The Force at Play * Dinosaurs: The Land of Fire and Ice * Playing with Politics * Big, Scary, and Extinct * Hands-On-Harley-Davidson * Paw Patrol

Woodbury School

Woodbury School at The Strong offers a preschool program for three- and four-year-old children and an early kindergarten program for four- and five-year-old children. Both programs are

Reggio Emilia Reggio nell'Emilia ( egl, Rèz; la, Regium Lepidi), usually referred to as Reggio Emilia, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, and known until 1861 as Reggio di Lombardia, is a city in northern Italy, in the Emilia-Romagna region. It has abou ...

-inspired, and therefore responsive to the children's interests. This curriculum approach encourages teachers and students to work together to plan curriculum and create projects. Guided by teachers who facilitate their explorations, children delve deeply into topics that fascinate them and stimulate their learning.

The International Center for the History of Electronic Games

The International Center for the History of Electronic Games collects, studies, and interprets video games, other electronic games, and related materials and the ways in which electronic games are changing how people play, learn, and connect with each other, including across boundaries of geography and culture.

National Toy Hall of Fame

The National Toy Hall of Fame recognizes toys that have demonstrated popularity over multiple generations and thereby gained national significance in the world of play and imagination. Each year it inducts honorees and showcases both new and historic versions of the classic objects of play.

World Video Game Hall of Fame

On June 4, 2015, The Strong opened the doors to its World Video Game Hall of Fame. Its curator is Jon-Paul C. Dyson, who is The Strong's Vice President for Exhibit Research and Development and the Director of the International Center for the History of Electronic Games. The First Class of the World Video Game Hall of Fame consists of six games: '' Tetris'', '' Super Mario Bros.'', ''

Pac-Man originally called ''Puck Man'' in Japan, is a 1980 maze action video game developed and released by Namco for arcades. In North America, the game was released by Midway Manufacturing as part of its licensing agreement with Namco America. Th ...

'', '' Doom'', '' World of Warcraft'' and '' Pong''. The Second Class consists of an additional six games: '' Space Invaders'', ''

Grand Theft Auto III ''Grand Theft Auto III'' is a 2001 action-adventure game developed by DMA Design and published by Rockstar Games. It is the third main entry in the ''Grand Theft Auto'' series, following 1999's ''Grand Theft Auto 2'', and the fifth instalment o ...

'', '' The Oregon Trail'', ''

Sonic the Hedgehog is a Japanese video game series and media franchise created by Sega. The franchise follows Sonic, an anthropomorphic blue hedgehog who battles the evil Doctor Eggman, a mad scientist. The main ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' games are platformers mo ...

'', '' The Legend of Zelda'' and '' The Sims''. The Third Class includes '' Donkey Kong, Halo: Combat Evolved, Pokémon Red'' and ''Green'' ''and

Street Fighter II is a fighting game developed by Capcom and originally released for arcades in 1991. It is the second installment in the ''Street Fighter'' series and the sequel to 1987's ''Street Fighter''. It is Capcom's fourteenth game to use the CP Syst ...

.'' The Fourth Class includes ''

Final Fantasy VII is a 1997 role-playing video game developed by Square for the PlayStation console. It is the seventh main installment in the ''Final Fantasy'' series. Published in Japan by Square, it was released in other regions by Sony Computer Entertai ...

'', '' John Madden Football'', ''

Spacewar! ''Spacewar!'' is a space combat video game developed in 1962 by Steve Russell in collaboration with Martin Graetz, Wayne Wiitanen, Bob Saunders, Steve Piner, and others. It was written for the newly installed DEC PDP-1 minicomputer at the Mas ...

'' and '' Tomb Raider''. Games become eligible for the World Video Game Hall of Fame by meeting four basic criteria. They must be iconic, have longevity, reach across international boundaries, and exert influence on the design and development of other games, other forms of entertainment, or popular culture and society.

Brian Sutton-Smith Library and Archives of Play

The Brian Sutton-Smith Library and Archives of Play is a multidisciplinary research repository devoted to the intellectual, social, and cultural history of play. In addition to housing the personal library and papers of eminent play scholar Brian Sutton-Smith, it holds a spectrum of primary and secondary resources, including scholarly works, popular and children’s books, professional journals, other periodicals, trade catalogs, comics, manuscripts, game design materials, personal papers, and business records.

''American Journal of Play''

The ''

'' is a peer-reviewed, interdisciplinary periodical for the discussion of the history, science and culture of play. It includes articles, interviews, and book reviews for a broad readership, including educators, scholars and designers.

References

External links

The Strong National Museum of Play''American Journal of Play''The International Center for the History of Electronic GamesBrian Sutton-Smith Library and Archives of PlayNational Toy Hall of Fame
* Karp, Walter
"A Fascination With The Common Place"
'' American Heritage'', August/September 1986 (37:5) {{DEFAULTSORT:Strong, The Organizations based in Rochester, New York