A history museum that engages kids of all ages with hands-on exhibits and the world’s most comprehensive collection of toys, dolls, games, and video games.
As part of our June 30 expansion, The Strong will create the world’s largest, playable Donkey Kong arcade game. The game will stand nearly 20-feet tall and will be available for guests to play! Thank you
@NintendoAmerica
for providing input on the project.
#DonkeyKong
#Arcade
Congratulations to 2024 World Video Game Hall of Fame inductee Resident Evil! Released in 1996, Resident Evil spawned a billion-dollar media franchise while it helped demonstrate that video games could offer mature entertainment for older teenagers and adults.
The Strong is excited to announce the 2024 World Video Game Hall of Fame finalists! Fans can vote for Asteroids, Elite, Guitar Hero, Metroid, Myst, Neopets, Resident Evil, SimCity, Tokimeki Memorial, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, Ultima, or You Don’t Know Jack.🕹️
Congratulations to the 2022 World Video Game Hall of Fame Inductees—Ms. Pac-Man, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Dance Dance Revolution, and Sid Meier's Civilization!
Meet the class of 2021! The Strong inducts Animal Crossing, Microsoft Flight Simulator, StarCraft, and Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? into the World Video Game Hall of Fame.
#VideoGameHall
The Strong is pleased to announce that it has received substantial support from the federal Shuttered Venue Operators Grant program meant to assist venues closed for part of last year because of COVID-19. Thank you
@SenSchumer
for helping to make this happen!
Have you ever played game from the Super Mario, Halo, or Left 4 Dead franchises? Then you’ve heard the voice of actress
@jentaylortown
! Find out how she got into voice acting for video games during Women in Games: Create! on October 3 & 4. Buy tickets at .
Introducing the 2023 World Video Game Hall of Fame inductees! Congratulations to Computer Space, Barbie Fashion Designer, Wii Sports, and The Last of Us.
#WVGHoF
The He-Man and the Masters of the Universe series ran from 1983 to 1985. In 2021, Masters of the Universe: Revelation premiered on Netflix, only aiding the brand’s popularity. The Strong welcomes Masters of Universe to the National Toy Hall of Fame!
#NTHOF
#toyhall22
#MOTU
Released in 1993, Myst welcomed players to a mesmerizing world of mysterious puzzles. The game went on to become the best-selling computer game during the 1990s.
#videogamehall
Last week, Corey Cooper visited the museum to train our team on the workings of this Family Feud digital sign. Corey programmed the original sign on his Apple ][+ computer around 1982, then wrote the software for this sign on an IBM AT computer in 1988.
Denise Chaudhari was the first woman hired for the then-secret Xbox project, where she designed more than just the original "Duke" controller that launched with the system in 2001. Learn more in Andrew Borman's latest blog.
On May 28, teens ages 13 to 18 are invited to work alongside Elizabeth Del Valle (
@lizyybear
) from
@YouTubeGaming
during
@GooglePlay
’s Change the Game Design Workshop at The Strong. Limited spots available. Register now for this FREE program at .
⚠️NEW EXHIBIT ALERT ⚠️Dive into the stories of the most important video game systems in history—from the Magnavox Odyssey (1972) to the Sony Playstation 5 (2020)—in Console Central. Now open just outside eGameRevolution on the museum’s second floor.
Excitement is in the air as The Strong’s grand opening ribbon cutting ceremony kicks off this morning! The Strong is incredibly grateful to all our generous supporters for making this vision of the museum and Neighborhood of Play a reality.
#grandopening
#museumofplay
Welcome to the World Video Game Hall of Fame, Asteroids! Released in 1979, Asteroids offered players challenging gameplay, glowing graphics, and intense sound effects in an action-packed space setting. The game quickly became Atari’s bestselling coin-operated game.
Won’t you be our neighbor? Museum staff wear their favorite cardigan sweaters to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the debut of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.
Check out Raw Fury’s Townscaper for free! The first 75 people to send an email to townscaper
@museumofplay
.org will receive a free download of Townscaper on Steam while supplies last. Submit a screenshot of your best work. Winner will be notified on Nov 8.
Museum staff recently had the pleasure of hosting Anderson and Mason Lawson, son and grandson of Jerry Lawson, for a tour of the museum’s exhibits and collections. Guests can learn more about video game trailblazer Jerry Lawson in ESL Digital Worlds: High Score.
The future will be powered by PLAY! Thank you to our partners at CJS Architects for providing this new concept illustration for the museum’s expansion. Opening Summer 2021.
#PoweredbyPlayCampaign
No video game platform did more to put gamers “on the go” than Nintendo Game Boy. Inducted to the National Toy Hall of Fame in 2009, the console's simple and efficient design, head-to-head connectivity, and scores of intriguing games helped launch it to success in the 1980s.
#tbt
The Strong’s recent National Archives of Game Show History acquisitions have arrived in Rochester! These will be part of a game show exhibit that is set to open in 2026. Can you name everything pictured here?
#WheelOfFortune
#LetsMakeADeal
#GameShow
Women have created video games for decades, but their contributions have often been overlooked or obscured. Explore the work of 12 female game industry innovators and trailblazers through artifacts in The Strong’s ESL Digital Worlds: High Score exhibit.
#videogames
#womeningames
Save the Games: A Digital Preservation Symposium will bring together international leaders in video game preservation this August. The Strong invites proposals for presentations of about 15–20 mins on preservation topics with a March 1 deadline. Details:
The museum seeks a Curator for Electronic Games to help care for, grow, and interpret the museum’s video game collection as part of its overall effort to preserve the history of the medium. Apply today!
#museumjobs
#videogames
Welcome to the World Video Game Hall of Fame, Myst! Released in 1993, Myst welcomed players to a mesmerizing world of mysterious puzzles and haunting vistas. Myst became the best-selling computer game in the 1990s, selling more than six million copies.
Since The Strong established The National Archives of Game Show History, the museum has acquired hundreds of artifacts, like this The Price Is Right game on display now as we celebrate Bob Barker's 100th birthday! Items like it will be featured in a game show exhibit in 2026.
In honor of the 25th anniversary of the National Toy Hall of Fame, The Strong is announcing a 4th inductee. The public will choose the toy from a list of multi-time finalists who have failed to make the cut in previous years. Vote today!
The transformation of downtown Rochester and
@museumofplay
is moving forward in big ways! Today, we broke ground on the second phase of our expansion! Thank you to the elected officials, museum donors, trustees, and special guests that helped us celebrate!
ATTENTION VIDEO GAME ENTHUSIASTS! Did you know that the World Video Game Hall of Fame is right here in Rochester? The Hall of Fame got a new home this summer inside
@ESLFCU
Digital Worlds: High Score, and the views are breathtaking 🤩🎮
#VideoGameHallofFame
#RochesterNY
Listen to a panel discussion celebrating the accomplishments of women in the video game industry, including Centipede co-creator Dona Bailey, on November 15 at The Strong. Purchase tickets at .
Immerse yourself in the pops, thumps, and dings of pinball and play your way through more than 80 years of pinball history in the original Pinball Playfields exhibit at The Strong Museum!
#Pinball
#MuseumOfPlay
#RochesterNY
#Play
#Learn
Tickets are now available for Save the Games: A Digital Preservation Symposium at The Strong Museum on August 21 & 22. Tickets are required for all non-presenters who wish to attend the symposium!
The Strong is pleased to announce that we have acquired source materials from the LGBTQ Game Archive to help better tell the story of video game history. This includes the first known LGBTQ games.
#videogames
The Strong Museum has ranked
#4
in the Best Pop Culture Museum category in the 2023
@USATODAY
10Best Readers' Choice Awards! Thank you to all that have voted.
Congratulations to the 2020 National Toy Hall of Fame inductees—Jenga, Baby Nancy, and Sidewalk Chalk. How do you think these toys stack up?
#toyhall2020
#classictoys
The Strong museum has acquired a compilation of primary sources and files (including articles, websites, blogs, web forums, videos, and images) used in the creation of the LGBTQ Game Archive, established by Adrienne Shaw, PhD, from Temple University.
Curator Shannon Symonds with her favorite artifact from the World Video Game Hall of Fame—a decommissioned server blade from World of Warcraft.
#MuseumSelfieDay
#MuseumSelfie
#WOW
In 1968, Shindana Toys, dedicated to making toys that “reflect Black pride, Black talent, and most of all, Black enterprise,” produced Baby Nancy—now a 2020 National Toy Hall of Fame inductee!
#toyhall2020
The Strong is saddened to learn of the passing of Masayuki Uemura (center). Mr. Uemura was a brilliant visionary who led the creation of the Nintendo Entertainment System and the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. We offer our deepest condolences to his family and friends.
Tetris turns 35 years old today! On June 6, 1984, programmer Alexey Pajitnov created the first playable version of the game in the Soviet Union. The game was part of the inaugural class of The Strong's World Video Game Hall of Fame in 2015.
#ThrowbackToys
#tbt
Visit on April 13 for Deaf Day of Play! The Strong has partnered with Rochester Institute of Technology’s National Technical Institute for the Deaf to provide members of the Deaf community with ASL assistance. Explore ASL interpreted activities throughout the museum!
As we unveil The Strong’s expansion in the new Neighborhood of Play, we thank our project partners for supporting this transformational feat!
@LeChase1944
CJS Architects
@LaBellaAssociat
HB Cornerstone Konar Properties
@Indushg
LeCesse Construction The Pike Company
#RochesterNY
Visit The Strong tomorrow, May 11 to celebrate the 2024 World Video Game Hall of Fame class! Compete in eGames tournaments provided by
@glgaminglounges
, see specialty LEGO displays from Rochester LEGO Group, and meet Mario and Princess Peach!
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 through the history of video games.
Today is
#NationalVideoGamesDay
! 👾 Along with being the home to the World Video Game Hall of Fame, The Strong has one of the largest public collection of video games and related materials in the world. What's your all-time favorite video game?
Designed and fully illustrated in Rochester, NY by freelance creative professional, Jeremy Sniatecki, this “The Golden Girls” lunchbox art was created in a style to reflect the era of 1980s metal lunchboxes. It features characters and scenes from "The Golden Girls" TV series.
Have you heard that part of the Strong’s expansion will be the world’s largest playable Donkey Kong arcade game? The grand opening is only 23 days away!
#moreplayontheway
#RochesterNY
While Harold Graves and William Gruber created the View-Master, black industrial designer Charles Harrison revamped the toy into the lightweight, red plastic viewer we all know and love today. The classic View Master was inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame in 1999.
#bhm23
Adrienne Shaw, founder of the LGBTQ Game Archive, reached out to The Strong to restore an original floppy disk of Caper in the Castro. Distributed freely as charityware to raise money for the AIDS epidemic, it is the earliest known computer game to focus on LGBTQ themes.
#pride
Meet the 2024 World Video Game Hall of Fame finalists – Asteroids, Elite, Guitar Hero, Metroid, Myst, Neopets, Resident Evil, SimCity, Tokimeki Memorial, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, Ultima, and You Don’t Know Jack. Cast your vote at 🎮🕹️
Today is the
#SuperBowl
! Inducted to the
#videogamehall
last year, John Madden Football greatly influenced professional football games. Television broadcasters borrowed its aesthetics to create camera angles similar to the top-down perspective established by the video game.