Strong - National Museum of Play in Rochester, New York, USA, is a museum founded in 1982 that documents the history of play in American culture. Based on the personal collection of Margaret Woodbury Strong, the museum is a Smithsonian affiliate. It is also home to the National Toy Hall of Fame. The museum was called the Strong Museum until July 14, 2006, when the museum reopened under its new name after renovations that nearly doubled its size. It is now the second largest children's museum in the United States, and the only one dedicated specifically to the study of play. The new 145,000 sq. ft. addition and renovation that includes the butterfly atrium, sculptural entry, and eye atrium is the responsibility of Chaintreuil | Jensen | Stark Architects [1] from Rochester, NY.
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Attractions
Pre-expansion exhibits
- Can You Tell Me How to Get to Sesame Street? fosters learning via characters from the television series.
- Super Kids Market is a simulated Wegman's supermarket.
- Kid to Kid is an exhibit about communication.
- One History Place is a replica of an old house.
- TimeLab shows cultural exhibits of United States History.
- Making Radio Waves is a simulated radio station.
- National Toy Hall of Fame
New exhibits
- Reading Adventureland is the focal point of the new expansion, featuring five storybook-themed play areas.
- Field of Play sparks children's imaginations in a variety of ways.
- Dancing Wings Butterfly Garden (extra admission required), with thousands of butterflies, is the largest indoor butterfly garden in New York.
- Rainbow Reef is a 900-gallon coral reef tank.
- Art of the Garden is a collection of Margaret Woodbury Strong's garden paintings, accompanied by photographs of Ms. Woodbury Strong herself in her garden in nearby Pittsford, New York.
Former exhibits
- Rochester Business Hall of Fame honors men and women who made Rochester into a prosperous city. Now located at the Rochester Museum and Science Center.
- Making Things Happen was about technology.
- Lady Liberty was an exhibit concerning the Statue of Liberty.
Rides
- Strong Express is a small-scale indoor train ride.
- Elaine Wilson Carousel is a 1918 Allan Herschell Company carousel located in the lobby. Fifty cents per ride.
Other
- The Grada Hopeman Gelser Library is located inside the museum and is a branch of the Monroe County Public Library system focusing on children's books and books about the museum's exhibition topics.
Amenities
The expansion adds a food court to the museum, with Pizza Hut Express, Taco Bell Express, and Subway joining the existing "Louie's Sweet Shoppe" ice cream parlor. The museum also houses local chain restaurant Bill Gray's inside an old-fashioned trailer-style diner once known as the Skyliner Diner; the diner building is actually inside the lobby, next to the carousel. There are now two gift shops, with the one nearest the Butterfly Garden focusing on butterfly-related merchandise.
