Online Exhibits

Short-Term

Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood: A Grr-ific Exhibit

Opens January 29, 2022 Hello, neighbor! Jump into the imaginative world of Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, based on the award-winning PBS KIDS television series, and join Daniel and his pals to learn singable strategies for […]

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 […]

Online

Video Game History Timeline

Explore the history of video games, understand how the industry began and evolved, and discover the impact that electronic games have had on how people play, learn, and connect with each other. See […]

Permanent

Toy Halls of Fame

Experience the cutting-edge Toy Halls of Fame exhibit and go hands-on with iconic toys beloved by generations—and the people who changed how we play. Displays featuring The Strong’s National Toy Hall of Fame […]

Online

Ten Sports Video Games that Changed the Digital Playing Field

Sports video games empower us to play as our favorite athletes, compete against our friends, and defeat our opponents with gravity-defying dunks, 90-yard touchdown sprints, and other fantastic feats most of us can […]

Online

Five Board Games that Changed Play

Over the last 200 years, board games have brought us together with delightful new forms of play that entertain, educate, and (occasionally) exasperate us.

Online

Beyond the Oregon Trail: Six PC Franchises that Helped Us Learn

Whether blasting through math equations or enabling a hunt for crooks across the globe, these six game franchises combined education and entertainment to make learning subjects like algebra and geography fun.

Online

Ten Iconic Balls that Made Play Shake, Bounce, and Roll

Imagine play without the ball. It’s impossible.

Online

Making Monopoly: A History of the Origins of America’s Favorite Board Game

Everyone knows the goal of Monopoly. Dominate industry, control property, maximize profit, and drive competitors to bankruptcy. But few realize that Monopoly evolved from an earlier ANTI-capitalist game.

Online

A Brief History of Women in Gaming: The 1980s

From the assembly line to the marketing department, women have shaped the game industry through hard work, creative coding, artistic imagination, and business savvy.

Online

Margaret Woodbury Strong and the Making of The Strong National Museum of Play

Margaret’s passions for collecting and play laid the groundwork for what would become the world’s largest and most comprehensive collection of historical materials related to play.

Online

World of War Games: A History of Wargaming

Beginning in the late 1990s, the Cyprus-based Wargaming Group Limited established itself as a developer of military strategy games.

Online

Composing Classics: A History of Video Game Music

Music sets the tone for video games.

Online

Early Home Video Game History: Making Television Play

Video games first entered the home in the early 1970s as inventors, programmers, and designers developed new ways to play with a television.

Online

A History of Shindana Toys: Dolls and Games with a Difference

The history of Shindana—Swahili for “compete”—is a story of empowerment, civil rights, and community uplift.

Online

Aliens and Monsters: Playing with Creatures from the Deep

Imagination transports us to fabulous realms where aliens and monsters live to guide us or threaten us.

Online

Playing with Politics

Satirists, toymakers, game designers—propagandists of all stripes—reveled in playing with politics and with politicians’ images.

Online

American Board and Card Game History

This exhibit represents some of the most popular games and historically significant moments in American game history.

Online

The Oregon Trail, MECC, and the Rise of Computer Learning

Starting in the 1970s, the Minnesota Educational Computing Consortium (MECC) led the world in giving computer access to large numbers of schoolchildren.

Online

How We Ride: A History of Play on Two Wheels

Drawing from artifacts in the collections of The Strong, this exhibit tours bicycling history.

Online

The Heart of the Matter: A History of Valentine Cards

This exhibit explores how these greetings playfully mixed flirtation and romance with humor that has ranged from whimsical to biting.

Online

Pinball in America

This timeline explores key moments in pinball history.

Short-Term

Very Eric Carle: A Very Hungry, Quiet, Lonely, Clumsy, Busy Exhibit

Step into the pages of beloved author and illustrator Eric Carle’s Very series of picture books—including the iconic Very Hungry Caterpillar. Meet five special insects and take a journey of discovery with recuring […]

Short-Term

Material Girl

Inside the Closet of America’s Favorite Doll Examples from the 1960s, such as Twist ‘n Turn Barbie, Sophisticated Lady, and Little Bow Pink, that showcase Barbie’s early style and elegance Versions from the 1970s, from […]

Short-Term

Millennial Madness: The Toys that Shaped a Generation

Travel back to the 1990s—the era of grunge and the rising Internet— to explore the toys, dolls, and video games that shaped a generation at Millennial Madness, a new display featured in The […]

Permanent

Dancing Wings Butterfly Garden

A visit to The Strong museum is not complete without a stop in Dancing Wings Butterfly Garden, the only year-round indoor butterfly garden in upstate New York. Enter the lush rain forest environment and […]

Short-Term

Women in Games

Discover the untold stories of women in the video game industry in the Women in Games exhibit at The Strong museum. Learn about trailblazing women and explore their accomplishments in diverse areas of […]

Permanent

Wegmans Super Kids Market

At The Strong’s Wegmans Super Kids Market exhibit, kids run the store! Cruise the aisles and fill a grocery cart with colorful products that look amazingly real. Visit the toddler organic farm, Market […]

Permanent

Reading Adventureland

The magic of literature comes to life in Reading Adventureland at The Strong museum. The artifact-rich, life-size pop-up book invites guests to laugh, play, learn, and read! Follow the Yellow Brick Road into five […]

Permanent

Play Pals

Play house, heal a teddy bear, and save the world. Play Pals traces the evolution of dolls, action figures, toy soldiers, and plush animals through three centuries of American history. Encounter rare treasures […]

Permanent

Pinball Playfields

Immerse yourself in the pops, thumps, and dings of pinball and play your way through more than 80 years of pinball history at the original Pinball Playfields exhibit at The Strong museum. Trace […]

Permanent

Peanuts and Play Display

Marvel at artifacts featuring author and illustrator Charles M. Schulz’s iconic characters near the entrance to The Strong’s Field of Play exhibit. Snap a photo of a six-foot-tall statue of Snoopy and his best […]

Permanent

One History Place

In the One History Place exhibit at The Strong museum, children and families can step into the past and experience a glimpse of life as it was a century ago. Amid artifacts and […]

Permanent

Imagination Destination

Let your imagination soar! Be an astronaut, rescue pilot, construction worker, actor, and more in The Strong’s original, permanent Imagination Destination exhibit. Role-play in inspiring spaces bursting with physical challenges, such as a […]

Permanent

Game Time!

Your turn! Move like a piece on a giant game board through three centuries of American games, puzzles, and public amusements at Game Time! located on The Strong’s second floor. Feast your eyes […]

Permanent

Field of Play

In The Strong’s Field of Play exhibit senses are delighted by interactive and creative-play activities, and hundreds of fascinating artifacts that illustrate the six major elements of play: anticipation, surprise, pleasure, understanding, strength, […]

Permanent

eGameRevolution

From the dawn of Pong to today’s hot gamer trends, at eGameRevolution—an original, highly interactive exhibit produced by The Strong’s International Center for the History of Electronic Games (ICHEG)—every generation can play its way […]

Permanent

DanceLab

Dance to music through the decades and cast colorful, moving shadow patterns in DanceLab at The Strong museum. Move your feet to a variety of classic tunes and contemporary hits: Jump and jive to […]

Permanent

Carousel and Train

Elaine Wilson Carousel (Reopening November 26, 2021) Take a spin on the lovingly restored Elaine Wilson Carousel featuring leaping horses, ponies, a chariot, and whirling tub. Manufactured in 1918 by the Allan Herschell Company […]

Permanent

Can You Tell Me How To Get To Sesame Street?

Step into the world’s most famous neighborhood at The Strong museum. Travel through five delightful decades of the iconic Sesame Street children’s television series. Dozens of interactive components invite families to explore concepts about letters, […]

Permanent

Build, Drive, Go

Put imagination into motion and zoom, sail, or fly into the Build, Drive, Go exhibit to explore the history of vehicles of all sorts—from trucks and trains to planes and boats—through three centuries […]

Permanent

The Berenstain Bears: Down a Sunny Dirt Road

Spend the day in Bear Country at The Strong museum. Start your journey by giving big bear hugs to life-size sculptures of Mama, Papa, Brother, and Sister Bear (don’t forget your camera!). Then, walk down […]

Permanent

Aquariums at Rainbow Reef

Dive into The Strong’s Rainbow Reef exhibit and discover delightful activities inspired by the museum’s underwater residents. Step up to a larger-than-life digital aquarium. Design and draw shapes on a fish coloring sheet. Then, […]

Permanent

American Comic Book Heroes

Grab a cape and leap into the world of superheroes with the American Comic Book Heroes: The Battle of Good vs. Evil exhibit at The Strong museum. Explore seven decades of amazing characters who have […]

Permanent

America at Play

Dive into the past and explore more than 300 years of play and pastimes in America at Play—a permanent exhibit at The Strong. Through a blend of rare artifacts and hands-on activities, learn […]

Permanent

Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences

Learn about luminaries in the video game industry and their award-winning creations at The Strong® museum in an exhibit that recognizes outstanding achievements within interactive entertainment and showcases recipients of both the Academy […]