Margaret Woodbury Strong, a prolific collector of everyday objects, especially dolls and toys, founded The Strong® in 1968 under the name “Margaret Woodbury Strong Museum of Fascination.” Before she died in 1969, she bequeathed her considerable estate to help support the museum, and 13 years later, it opened in a new, then-156,000-square-foot building on 13.5 acres in downtown Rochester.
Initial direction
Nearly all the things Mrs. Strong collected were mass-produced, so initially the museum used them to examine ways in which industrialization changed everyday life. Within a few years, this focus evolved into an examination of the consequences of progress, the rise of the middle class, and expressions of identity.
Expanded programming and amenities
for families
In the mid 1990s, after in-depth market research and strategic analysis, the museum significantly increased programming for families. This led to major growth in attendance, and in 1997, the museum added a new glass atrium entrance housing an operating 1918 carousel and an authentic 1950s diner.
A world-class collection of things for play
In 2002, The Strong acquired the National Toy Hall of Fame from A. C. Gilbert’s Discovery Village in Salem, Oregon. The next year, following additional market studies, extensive scholarly and institutional research, and rigorous programmatic and financial planning, the museum determined to concentrate fully on its core collections. Numbering in the hundreds of thousands, these form one of the world’s largest and most comprehensive assemblages of dolls, toys, games, and other items related to play.
Expanded facilities, new name, and new focus on play
Between 2004 and 2006, the museum nearly doubled its physical footprint to 282,000 square feet, making it one of nation’s largest history museums. The museum’s expanded size, coupled with its high levels of interactivity, also distinguished it as second largest among the country’s children’s museums. The additions included one large and two smaller wings; two new museum shops; a food court with three restaurants; a new state-of-the-art collections storage facility; and a number of dynamic new exhibits, among them Reading Adventureland, Field of Play, and Dancing Wings Butterfly Garden. During this same period, in consequence of its refined mission and expanded scope, the museum changed its name to Strong National Museum of Play.
A national leader in the field of play
In the late 2000s, as interpretive activities and collections continued to grow and evolve, Strong National Museum of Play introduced several nationally-significant initiatives that further positioned the institution as a leader in the field of play. In 2008, the museum began publishing the American Journal of Play, a scholarly quarterly with a global audience. In 2009, the museum launched the International Center for the History of Electronic Games, encompassing one of the most comprehensive public collections of electronic games and related materials anywhere. Also in 2009, the museum renamed its library and archives the Brian Sutton-Smith Library and Archives of Play, after the nation’s most celebrated play scholar, whose personal library and papers are housed here.
The Strong
In 2010 the institution rebranded as The Strong, a highly interactive, collections-based educational institution devoted to the study and exploration of play. It carries out this mission through five programmatic arms called “Play Partners.” These are: the National Museum of Play, the International Center for the History of Electronic Games, the National Toy Hall of Fame, the Brian Sutton-Smith Library and Archives of Play, and the American Journal of Play.
