EXPANSION HIGHLIGHTS
For more information: Susan Trien, 585-410-6359, strien@strongmuseum.org
Expansion Overview
There are national museums of art, American history, and natural history. Beginning July 14, the nation can boast the first and only major museum in the world devoted to the study and interpretation of. . .PLAY!
Strong Museum in Rochester, New York (already home to the National Toy Hall of Fame® and the world’s most comprehensive collection of toys, dolls, and other play-related artifacts) has nearly doubled in size to 282,000 square feet and re-opens with a dramatic shift in name and focus as: Strong National Museum of Play®. The $37 million expansion makes Strong the largest cultural attraction in Rochester, the largest regional year-round family attraction, and the second largest “children’s” museum in the nation. Whimsical architectural features of the expansion complement the museum’s playful mission and include an indoor butterfly garden shaped like butterfly wings in flight, a gigantic caterpillar-like structure connecting old and new buildings, and a structure resembling a pile of children’s blocks that houses an exhibit on the importance of play.
Major Components of the Expansion
Reading Adventureland
Strong’s most ambitious exhibit to date—12,000 square feet of pure hands-on fun that invites guests to laugh, play, learn, and READ! Follow the Yellow Brick Road into five literary landscapes inspired by children’s literature:
Mystery Mansion—Decipher codes and scour for clues like Nancy Drew or Encyclopedia Brown as you navigate through secret doors and hidden compartments.
The Wizard’s Workshop—Here, mermaids, unicorns, and dragons dwell—sit between a dragon’s paws and sit for a spell.
Fairy Tale Forest—Cross the Troll Bridge, step into Cinderella’s pumpkin coach, climb a Beanstalk to the Giant’s Castle, and act out favorite fairy tales at the Fairy Tale Cottage.
Adventure Island—Become a game piece on a giant board and spin your way through adventures that will have you exploring a shipwreck, scaling a cliff, and crawling through cave tunnels.
The Upside-Down Nonsense House—A topsy-turvy house filled with ridiculous rhymes, silly food (green eggs and ham, anyone?), wacky weather (cloudy with a chance of meatballs!), tongue twisters, and mirror illusions.
Field of Play
Discover the power of play in human learning and development at a multimedia theater presentation. Then, explore your playful side: walk through a giant kaleidoscope and create and view your own kaleidoscope patterns, use pulleys to power balls through a gigantic overhead ball machine, “drive” a drag racer, try to maintain your equilibrium in a slanted house, lose all sense of proportion in the Exaggerated Perspective Room, climb a rock wall, relax in the Jellyfish Jungle, and so much more.
Dancing Wings Butterfly Garden™
Enjoy tropical weather year-round when you visit this glass-enclosed butterfly garden filled with live foliage, a cascading waterfall, and colorful, free-flying North American and tropical butterflies. (Additional admission charge of $3 for the butterfly garden. Advance purchase of timed tickets is highly recommended.)
Rainbow Reef aquarium
A 900-gallon coral reef tank displays a dazzling array of brilliantly colored fish, corals, anemones, shrimp, crabs, and other invertebrates. Come face-to-face with living creatures of the reef and observe their fascinating behaviors and marvelous survival adaptations.
Nature Play—Art of the Garden
More than a dozen flower- and garden-oriented paintings collected by museum founder Margaret Woodbury Strong plus photos of Strong at “play” in her garden and on the grounds of her Rochester home, illustrate how gardening, nature, and flower arranging are all forms of play.
National Toy Hall of Fame®
Newly revamped and expanded, the prestigious hall annually inducts and showcases classic toys beloved by generations.
Guest Amenities
Food Service: A new food court features Pizza Hut® Express, Taco Bell® Express, Subway™, and Louie’s Sweet Shoppe (an old-fashioned ice cream fountain) while Bill Gray’s Restaurant remains in the vintage Skyliner Diner.
Parking: Parking spaces will nearly double from 275 to more than 500.
Retail: Two new museum shops, including a butterfly-oriented shop, will double current retail capacity and offer even more children’s toys, books, and quality educational items.
Discovery Garden: An outdoor nature garden filled with flowers and plants to attract butterflies, birds, and other wildlife, will include hidden nooks for kids to explore.
Admission Fees as of July 14, 2006
General Museum Admission (does not include admission to Dancing Wings Butterfly Garden™): Adults $9.00; Seniors $8.00; Children (2–17) $7.00; Children younger than two free; Strong members free.
Admission to Dancing Wings Butterfly Garden™:
General Admission fee plus $3.00 per person for members and nonmembers; Children younger than two free. Due to limited capacity, entry to Dancing Wings Butterfly Garden™ is by timed tickets only. Advance purchase is recommended. To assure your admission into the butterfly garden during your visit, please call 585-263-2700 to purchase timed tickets.