Life must be lived as play...

Week Eleven:Museum of Play

Originally established in Rochester in 1982, the Strong National Museum of Play reopened its doors in the summer of 2006 after an extensive renovation and expansion. Since reopening, the museum has experienced tremendous success and has been roundly praised by all visitors (I’m sure some people have been disappointed but I haven’t heard from them). Described as “the only museum in the world devoted to PLAY,” the Strong Museum contains many permanent and limited run exhibits based on the study, development and history of play. Most of these exhibits are hands-on demonstrations meant to encourage visitors to play and learn like children in an imaginative and vibrantly colored setting (of course, many of these guests are in fact children). The rest of the displays are fully intended for adults, consisting of endless rows of toys and collectables from decades past divided among category, decade or age range.

I was immediately interested in visiting the Strong Museum when I first learned of its existence - around the time of the grand reopening in 2006. Since that time I’ve known a handful of people who have visited the museum, all with rave reviews. However, despite all the hype born from extensive advertising and unanimously positive word of mouth, I never took the opportunity to make my own visit. Once again we are faced with one of the recurring themes here at 52to30 - my general laziness. Why spend a boring winter afternoon exploring a fascinating museum when it’s much easier to stay in my pajamas all day, drinking coffee and watching Canadian, five-pin bowling? (Note: This is actually a regular occurrence on Sundays once football season is over.) Therefore, in accordance with our purpose on this grand adventure, I’m using 52to30 as an excuse to accomplish something I’ve never taken the energy to undergo on my own.

Since my incredible girlfriend Jackie is a teacher (unlike myself, unfortunately) and has off for various government holidays, I like to take those days off from work so we can spend our time off together. With President’s Day occurring this past Monday I decided to use this free time to my advantage and plan a nice little day trip to the Strong Museum. Being heavy into the home buying process for some time now, vacations have been few and far between. Instead we survive as weekend warriors, using any extended time off to live it up the best we can. This long weekend was no exception.

Jackie and I decided to hit the road early, so after fueling up (gas in my truck and Denny’s Grand Slams in our bellies) we were on our way. We made good time to Rochester arriving a little over an hour later and conveniently found some free, overflow parking - apparently this wasn’t such an original idea after all. Walking in the main entrance, the first thing you see (besides the gift shop of course) is a big-city style diner car. The backdrop for this functional diner is the façade of a brick building, the windows of which are realistically decorated to simulate the businesses and homes imaginatively existing within.

Now I wouldn’t normally go into so much detail about these surroundings but I think it’s a big part of what makes this place so successful. (Plus, it’s worth noting - I love set ups like this!) It has a feeling I can only liken to Disney World, where the environment is so thoughtfully designed you can’t help but believe you’re inside a completely different world. The sort of attention to detail that really grabs your imagination to the point where you realistically envision the lives going on inside. Forgive me if I sound like I’m rambling here but I think that’s what makes the Strong Museum such an incredible place – the detail, focus and creativity that captures your mind and inspires the sort of excited energy children have on Christmas Eve. I love that feeling, but I digress.

After purchasing our tickets, including an additional charge for the Butterfly Garden, Jackie and I proceeded into the museum where we first stopped at the salt-water fish tanks just past the ticket counter. A diverse selection of colorful sea life abounded in the three tanks including clown fish, anemones, eels and a stingray. From these stunning displays we continued into the “Field of Play” which felt like we were stepping into the playroom from the Richard Pryor movie The Toy. This area includes scattered displays of historical to modern toys demonstrating the similarities and importance of play through various eras. However, the highlights of this area were definitely the perspective room, the overhead ball machine and the slanted house. I’ll refrain from going into too much detail, because we could be here all day, but these exhibits were tons of fun.

We then continued our journey, walking through a doorway into an incredible recreation of the Sesame Street set. This exhibit is just mind blowing! Jackie and I had so much fun checking everything out and posing for pictures on the steps, with Big Bird and next to Oscar’s can (unfortunately he wasn’t there). For anyone raised on Sesame Street, like I know many of you were, the Strong Museum is worth the trip for this display alone.

After walking through this area several times, we continued through the Adventures of Mr. Potato Head and an exhilarating cup-stacking competition between several young prodigies before arriving in Reading Adventureland. Here we explored Mystery Mansion (creating sound effects and using secret passageways), Fairy Tale Forest (all your favorites were there) and a pirate ship (no need for further explanation – pirates rule). We rounded out the bottom floor with a stroll through Bear Country with the Berenstain Bears – still a favorite read in the waiting room at the dentist.

Eventually Jackie and myself made our way to the second level of the Strong Museum, which opens with the National Toy Hall of Fame. Among the honorees in this hallowed hall are Lego’s, Silly Putty, Atari and, of course, 2008 inductee, the stick (I was apprehensive at first too but they make a convincing argument). Beyond the Hall of Fame was one of my favorite parts of the museum due to the nostalgia factor – Toys by Decade. We had so much fun going through this section, repeatedly exclaiming, “I totally had that!” at every G.I. Joe, Ninja Turtle or, in Jackie’s case, My Little Pony. Chronologically ordered and historically accurate, this section was definitely a good time!

The final stop of our day at the Strong Museum was a walk through the Butterfly Garden. Just being in this room during February in Western New York was refreshing as it was 85 degrees with 75% humidity. Add to that the beautifully landscaped greenery, ponds with turtles and koi and hundreds of multicolored butterflies fluttering everywhere - it was a very relaxing experience. Unfortunately this area is limited to twenty-minute intervals to avoid overcrowding. Therefore, unable to enjoy a cozy afternoon nap, we absorbed the scenery for our allotted time before moving along.

Jackie and I walked out of the Strong National Museum of Play totally satisfied - a great experience with tons of fun at a decent price. Plus, after an uneventful ride home we enjoyed some dinner and an average weeknight together. I’d call that a successful day trip. If you can’t tell already, I highly recommend a trip to the Strong Museum at your earliest possible convenience. Obviously it’s great if you have kids but I’m glad we could enjoy it by ourselves. Quite frankly, the hundreds of kids were the only drawback of the entire experience. And that pretty much sums up the paradox of me turning thirty - stuck somewhere between immature, hyper child and jaded old man. I’m a work in progress.