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Strong Museum of Play Sets Summer Opening Date for $65M Expansion
The Strong Museum of Play has good news for summer travelers looking for a fun, new, kid-friendly vacation destination. The Strong National Museum of Play, located in Rochester, New York, is set to debut its $65 million expansion to guests Friday, June 30, 2023.
This new expansion adds more than 90,000 square feet of fun, immersive exhibits for children and adults, seemingly cementing The Strong Museum's place on our list of the 100 things to do in New York state with kids before they grow up.
Exhibits being unveiled bounce between classic and modern including a life-size, board game-inspired park and video games that allow guests' avatars to immerse themselves in electronic gameplay
No matter your age, The Strong National Museum of Play's expansion offers an excuse to pack your car and hit the road to one of our favorite upstate destinations for families.
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What Is The Strong Museum of Play?
If you’ve never made a trip to this Rochester gem, now is the perfect time. The Strong National Museum of Play is the only museum dedicated to the history of play. Find all your favorite toys from childhood, plus your parents' favorites, and your children's favorites, all encased in one museum.
New Exhibits Coming to The Strong Museum
ESL Digital Wolds
This immersive video game installation allows visitors to create their very own avatars to use in a pair of games where they try to level up and solve tricky puzzles. Visitors can also learn about the business of the gaming industry from the stories of creation to its artistry. The World Video Game Hall of Fame and the Women in Games exhibits are two must-sees if you’re a huge gamer.
RELATED: The Best Children’s Museums in the US
Step up to the console to play the larger-than-life Donkey Kong coming to The Strong Museum this summer.
Speaking of huge, another promised addition is a towering 20-foot-tall—yet still playable—arcade version of Donkey Kong.
RELATED: Weekend Getaways and Day Trips Guide for Families
The outdoor Hasbro Game Park lets visitors walk through a playful board game-inspired green space.
Hasbro Game Park
Located outdoors, this whimsical green space celebrates the history of classic board games. Wander past larger-than-life game pieces like a fire-breathing dragon from Dungeons and Dragons or a supersized chrome Scottie dog from Monopoly. A 1,000-square-foot interior exhibit, Hasbro Board Game Place, looks at the history and social impact of board games.
RELATED: Best Children's Museums in NYC for Families to Visit
In addition to new exhibit spaces, The Strong Museum's renovation adds a new entrance, gift shop, and more amenities.
The expansion also adds a welcome atrium, gift shop, and parking garage to the Strong Museum of Play and is part of a larger "Neighborhood of Play" initiative in Rochester, which adds residential and retail spaces to the immediate vicinity, plus a new family-friendly hotel.
To purchase tickets and to learn more about The Strong Museum's expansion, visit The Strong National Museum of Play online.
Renderings courtesy of the Strong Museum of Play
Places featured in this article:
The Strong National Museum of Play
