Spring 2018 • Volume 8 • Issue 3 News and Events for Members, Donors, and Friends P L AY Time Exhibit Now Open! Page 2 Rockets, Robots, Princess Neverland Neighborhood Calendar 4 and Ray Guns 5 Palooza 7 Weekend 8 of Play 15 of Events NEW EXHIBIT NEW EXHIBIT Exhibit Now Open! Let your imagination soar! Be an builder by attaching blue or purple Bust a move in the dance studio astronaut, rescue pilot, construction siding to the frame of a house. Or be and practice your footwork while worker, actor, and more in The part of the remodel and demolition listening to classic, country, and Strong’s newest permanent exhibit— team by knocking the existing siding contemporary music. Imagination Destination. Role-play out! After, use an air-powered I’d like to be in inspiring spaces bursting with cannon to shoot shingles to the top Discover an engineer. physical challenges, such as a rescue of the house, climb the ladder, and Step through a giant magnifying I want to helicopter, construction site, rocket complete the roof. Drop used shingles glass and shrink down to the size ship, and theater. down a giant trash shoot into the of a bug in an area specially build houses! I want to waiting dumpster below. designed for toddlers. Crawl through be a doctor. Command a honeycomb maze and meet giant, Assume the captain’s chair and take Then travel down into the sewers to plush bumblebees. Wind through a command of the bridge of the U.S.S. inspect city pipes and use engineering front yard brimming with huge blades Strong—a futuristic spaceship replete skills to repair missing pieces. of grass, droopy sunflowers, and with lights and sounds reminiscent of Crawl through the dark, winding cuddly bunnies. Overhead, dazzling favorite science-fiction movies. Give environment to see live critters and fireflies light the sky. orders to the crew, work the controls, crawlers, including real cockroaches. Explore and set the ship to light speed! Perform Overhead, monitor the flight on the Blast off! Climb up and around a navigational computer and watch Become a Broadway darling! Go rocket ship set among the stars. Work the stars whirl past. backstage and put on a costume in your way through spaces packed with front of a giant mirror. Then deliver physical play opportunities—including Want to save the day? Climb into the an on-stage performance worthy of a ropes maze, tube slide, climbing cockpit of an emergency helicopter a Tony Award in the newly renovated deck, and moon walk area. Be sure to with working controls and set off on theater. Add sounds—such as applause say hi to the NASA space monkeys a search-and-rescue mission. Zip and laughter—and adjust the house around you. down a slide into the ocean below lights and the glittering, to aid those in need—but watch out crystal chandelier Imagination Destination is an original exhibit for sharks! overhead. of The Strong and supported in part by: Role-play as a Construct concession Don a construction vest and stand worker head off to one of two and “sell” hands-on worksites. Gather tickets to your tools and become a fill up the audience seats. 2 P L AY Time • Spring 2018 www.museumofplay.org 3 UPCOMING PROGRAMS & EVENTS PROGRAMS UPCOMING Orchids in Bloom Saturday, March 31–Monday, May 14 Marvel at more than 150 spectacular orchids blooming for a limited time in The Strong’s Dancing Wings Butterfly Garden. Enjoy a rare opportunity to get up close to a variety of orchids from all over the world—including Asia and Central and South America—and take pictures as butterflies rest on the flowers. Garden fees apply. Orchids in Bloom presented in memory of Returns this Summer Carol D. Simmons. Opens June 9 The imaginative universes of science-fiction classics beckon when the Rockets, Robots, and Ray Guns exhibit returns to The Strong NEW EXHIBIT Family Game on Saturday, June 9. Back by popular demand, the exhibit explores the ways that science fiction books, toys, movies, and video games Break Week have captured people’s imaginations and shaped the way they play. Travel to distant futures and faraway galaxies to explore key sci-fi Friday, March 30–Sunday, April 8 themes in zones that couple artifacts from The Strong’s collections with dynamic, hands-on activities. Get creative with playful products courtesy of eeBoo. Be inspired at craft Experience the realms of other-worldly creatures and play a variety and activity stations. Play a memory of games based on monsters and alien life forms, including a giant game with shapes, turn a spinner to version of the classic arcade game Space Invaders. Explore what collect ingredients for a cooking game, the future might hold and learn about humankind’s fascination with apocalyptic events by playing the classic Cold War arcade game assemble a silly face, Missile Command. Launch an air-powered paper rocket through targets. craft a spaceship out of cardboard, View toy versions of ray guns, blasters, phasers, heat rays, and other and more. futuristic energy weapons, including Buck Rogers’ blaster, the first toy Princess Palooza ray gun ever created. Marvel at a wide-range of toy robots—including Big Loo, a talking, mechanical robot developed by Louis Marx and Saturday & Sunday, April 21 & 22 Company for Christmas season 1963—and make your own robot from a variety of materials. Join beloved princesses as they celebrate Earth Day. Help Snow White Story Quest! uncover which critters left their tracks in the forest, create a rock troll with Learn more about special opening weekend activities on page 7. the Snow Princess, and partner with Cinderella to build a bird feeder. Practice The exhibit is produced by The Strong’s International Center for the Interactive recycling skills with the Scottish Princess, paint a masterpiece with Rapunzel, History of Electronic Games in partnership with Rochester Institute of and create an Earth Day crown with Sleeping Beauty. Join Belle in a giant Technology. The exhibit remains on view through September 3, 2018. Performance game of tic-tac-toe with recycled materials, explore animal life cycles with the Frog Princess, and more. Saturday, April 28, 11 a.m. Jigsaw Puzzles: Putting it All Together Exhibit Enjoy an interactive performance of Story Quest! by College of Opens June 23 Then join in the fun and try your hand how changing technologies—such Brockport students. Journey through at completing an interactive puzzle. as steel-cut dies—made puzzles a magical forest and meet the Storytime Club Explore the evolution of jigsaw easier and cheaper to mass produce, whimsical animals that call it their puzzles and learn how they have “The Strong’s jigsaw puzzle leading to a popularity boom in the home. Watch as the animals go on Celebrate the joy of reading. Hear children’s been made through the years collection is one of the deepest and 1930s. Check out “weekly puzzles” an adventure that helps them learn stories on select Mondays at 10:30 and 11:30 a.m. at Jigsaw Puzzles: Putting it All most comprehensive in the world,” that sold at newsstands across the true meaning of friendship. Have your Storytime Club passport punched Together, an original exhibit opening says Curator Nic Ricketts. “We were America for as little as 10 cents. The performance is created in once during each visit. Collect five punches in the museum’s Central Gallery. See fortunate a few years ago to acquire and receive a free children’s book. dozens of puzzle and supplement our holdings with Also, examine the impact of pop collaboration with Renaissance examples—from an extensive collection from Anne D. culture on puzzle making and see Academy Charter School of the Mondays, April 9, 16, 23 & 30 one of the first Williams, one of the foremost puzzle Pokémon, Spongebob Square Pants, Arts and SUNY Brockport’s Arts Things That Go: fly, ride, and zoom through tales puzzles ever experts, and now we’re drawing on and Star Wars examples (including for Children program students. about transportation. made (from those resources to tell the story of 3-dimensional ones). Trace the role of Mondays, May 7, 14 & 21 the late 1700s) this beloved plaything.” puzzles as an advertising tool used to Everyday Heroes: discover stories about friendly neighbors and community helpers. to modern help boost sales for everything from examples View early wooden puzzles from the alcoholic beverages to fast food. Monday, June 4 featuring 18th and 19th centuries depicting Summertime Fun: spring into summer with stories about sunshine, nature, and pop-culture maps of Europe and America, Jigsaw Puzzles: Putting it All outdoor activities. Meet Spikes from the Rochester Red Wings from 10:30 a.m. icons—and which wealthy families used as Together remains on view through to 12:30 p.m. the tools teaching tools. See a foot-powered October 12, 2018. used to jigsaw to learn how the individual, create intricate pieces were cut. Explore Media support from 4 P L AY Time • Spring 2018 them. www.museumofplay.org 5 UPCOMING PROGRAMS & EVENTS PROGRAMS UPCOMING All Aboard! Trains The Strong Partners with Rochester Twilight Weekend Criterium for Big Wheel Race Saturday & Sunday, April 28 & 29 The Strong invites its members, guests, and neighbors to cheer on professional cyclists Meet with conductors from from across the globe at the annual Rochester the New York Museum of Twilight Criterium taking place in downtown Transportation and learn about Rochester on May 19. Racing begins at local trolley history. Marvel at approximately 6:25 p.m. New this year, The unique model railroad displays Strong is partnering with the Criterium to from Genesee & Ontario Model hold a free Big Wheel race for kids.