Winter 2018 • Volume 8 • Issue 2 News and Events for Members, Donors, and Friends P L AY Time Imagination Destination 4 Out of the Vault 4 Celebrating Diversity 5 Royal Ball 6 Exhibit Opens January 20! Page 2 Superheroes Weekend 7 NEW EXHIBIT Attention Members: The Thomas & Friends: Explore the Rails exhibit opens early for members Exhibit Opens only on opening weekend—9 a.m. on Saturday, January 20, and 11 a.m. on January 20! Sunday, January 21! All aboard! Thomas & FriendsTM: Don a conductor’s uniform and him ready to hit the rails. Once the Explore the Rails—an exhibit based on sell tickets to various stops across steam whistle blows, Percy can the Island of Sodor from the beloved the Island. Be sure to follow the chug again! series Thomas the Tank Engine—roars instructions from Sir Topham Hatt into Rochester on January 20, 2018 to keep up with the train’s schedules. Sodor Tot Spot for an exclusive stop at The Strong. NEW EXHIBIT Race to adjust the three clocks to The littlest explorers step into Meet favorite steam engines like reflect whether trains will be early, the rolling hills of Sodor and use Thomas, Percy, and Gordon; explore late, or on-time. eye-hand coordination to open the unique landscape of Sodor, which doors, turn knobs, and slide trains has held a special place in the hearts Around the Island along a track. and imaginations of children for Navigate your own train across generations; and help Thomas and Sodor at a sprawling train table Engine Driver’s Common Room his friends solve a variety of math that includes favorite stops such as Explore a retrospective of Thomas and science-based challenges. Tidmouth Shed, Brendam Docks, the Tank Engine that celebrates the the Rescue Station, and the Quarry. rich history and evolution of the Entering Sodor Create new routes with various track books, television shows, and toys Step through the exhibit portal— pieces and become an engineer by from the 1940s to the present. See complete with a windmill, curving building bridges and buildings. images chronicling each important railway, and puffy clouds—and be Put mathematic skills to the test as era in Thomas’s past; models from transported to the industrial Island you guide a train around a steep previous television series, such as of Sodor. Take pictures with a giant curve by adjusting its speed. At a the original British live-action series; Thomas the Tank Engine model (with nearby wall graphic, learn about the original drawings and manuscripts buffers and coal bin) and then hop famous engines of Sodor (known from creator Rev. W. Awdry; and a aboard to explore the train’s inner affectionally as the “Steam Team”) collection of other memorabilia. workings. Climb into the cab to pull and their different jobs. the brake, whistle, and steam levers. Thomas & Friends: Explore the Rails Outside, step into a scene from the Sodor Steamworks remains on view through May 6, television series and take a picture Help Victor, the Steamworks manager, 2018. For opening weekend activities, with Thomas and Sir Topham Hatt, fix and improve the engines. Use please see page 6. the head of the railway. oversized nuts, bolts, rods, and wrenches to fix the wobbly wheels on Knapford Station the green engine Percy. Learn about Enter the bustling Knapford Station— the parts of an engine and replace Produced by the glass and steel heart of the Percy’s old funnels, lanterns, and Island or Sodor. On the platform, sort buffers. Then work with friends and freight and baggage on to train cars, family to load coal on a conveyer belt including crates, sacks, and livestock. and pump water into Percy and get Local media support from © 2017 Gullane (Thomas) Limited Thomas & Friends™: Explore the Rails was created by Minnesota Children’s Museum, presented by Fisher-Price and sponsored by 3M. 2 P L AY Time • Winter 2018 www.museumofplay.org 3 UPCOMING PROGRAMS & EVENTS PROGRAMS UPCOMING Imagination Destination to Open in March Saturday, March 10 Dive into a world of pretend play in Imagination Destination opening March 10, 2018. Guests can role-play in a variety of imaginative spaces—including a public works area, spaceship, and theater—and enjoy physical challenges that include building, climbing, and crawling. Storytime Club Celebrate the joy of reading. Hear “Imagination Destination gives Out of the Vault and into the Spotlight children’s stories on select Mondays kids the opportunity to role- Art Force Five at 10:30 and 11:30 a.m. Have your play a variety of jobs—from With more than 460,000 items and counting, The Strong is home to the world’s Celebrating Diversity NEW EXHIBIT Storytime Club passport punched home builder to rescue pilot to largest and most comprehensive collection of toys, dolls, board games, video once during each visit. Collect five spaceship commander,” says Monday, January 15 games, other electronic games, books, documents, and various historical punches and receive a free Jon-Paul Dyson, vice president materials related to play. Christopher Bensch, who served as primary curator children’s book. Honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and for exhibits. “It brings unique on the museum’s Out of the Vault exhibit now on view in the museum’s central enjoy special theater performances celebrating Mondays, January 8, 22 & 29 areas to life and puts children in gallery, shares his thoughts about the exhibit: black history presented by Bright Star Theatre. Fitness Fun: muscle in for tales about charge of their own worlds.” Learn about world cultures, literature, and the art How did the curatorial team decide which artifacts to display? eating healthy and getting active. of interactive storytelling with traditional stories In the public works area, don a With so many thousands of artifacts to choose from, it was a challenge to select Mondays, February 5, 12 & 26 that were shared for centuries by word of mouth worker’s vest, and inspect the a handful of objects to represent each of eight areas of the museum’s holdings. Build It: dig into construction-themed at 12:30 p.m. At 2:30 p.m. discover how the Civil city pipes. Become a builder The exhibit team needed to identify visually striking artifacts that created both stories about trucks, buildings, Rights Movement impacted sports through the and add bricks to the front of a a sense of range and depth of the collection. We also needed to make sure our and more. experiences of legendary baseball player two-story house. Then climb to star items fit within the spatial constraints of the casework, which was a bit like Jackie Robinson. the roof, use a lift to hoist shingles, Mondays, March 5, 12, 19 & 26 figuring out what should go into a time capsule. The result provides a glimpse of and complete the project. Silly Stories: enjoy books featuring Enjoy a special dance performance by Grupo Cultural Latinos the astonishing riches of The Strong’s behind-the-scenes collection, set against Image tongue twisters and quirky rhymes. En Rochester, an organization that promotes Latin American photographic backdrops that further illustrate the eight primary collection areas— courtesy of Climb up and around a rocket cultural heritage through educational events. Meet members of Bright Star toys, dolls, games, puzzles, video games, arcade games, library, and archives. ship bursting with physical play Alfred University’s Art Force Five—a group who uses the power Theatre opportunities—including a ropes What’s the most unique artifact in the exhibit? of creativity to promote peace—and help create fun crafts with maze, tube slide, moonwalk area, Media support from the team. Take a peek at the group’s mosaics of civil rights and climbing deck. In the toddler One of the most unique items in the exhibit is undoubtedly the handmade leaders and discover inspiring quotes from people who paved area, step into the front yard Monopoly set, dated 1937. Although Parker Brothers began commercially the way for peace. through a giant magnifying glass producing the board game two years earlier, it wasn’t uncommon for families to discover crawl spaces, puzzles, during the Great Depression to construct their own homemade versions of and books. Monopoly that included names of properties from their hometown. A boy named Lester McAllister, Jr. crafted the homemade Monopoly set on display, partly to Assume the captain’s chair and amuse his two younger sisters and perhaps because his family did not have the take command on the bridge financial means to purchase a mass-produced set. His mother helped with the of the U.S.S. Strong. There, pull board’s artwork, and Lester chose the properties—from his home town of Oak levers and controls and give Park, Illinois—to feature in the game. Beyond the Sea orders to your crew. Or become a rescue pilot and climb into the What artifact is your favorite to come out of the vault? Saturday & Sunday, January 6 & 7 cockpit of a rescue helicopter When it comes to a single favorite object, I’m a fan of the Tiger Pull strength- Dive in for a fun-filled weekend featuring with working controls. After, testing machine from the late 1920s. I appreciate envisioning what it would have island-themed activities! Join the Happy Pirates for zoom down the evacuation slide. been like to drop a coin into the slot, muster all your energy, and then yank the interactive performances Saturday and Sunday at tiger’s tail—which triggered a ferocious roar. What a way to show off to your Walk along the stars, put on a 1:30 and 3:30 p.m.