The Strong
National Museum of Play
2022
This past year was a time of building and growth—preparing for what will be our biggest
and most exciting year since the museum’s opening in 1982! We grew our annual attendanceback to nearly 500,000 guests after coming through the pandemic; made massive progresson our 90,000-square-foot expansion; added significantly to our collections and archives;
opened new play spaces and an expanded Woodbury School; and continued to emphasize
inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility (IDEA) in all museum activities. As we lookforward to the grand opening of the expanded museum on June 29 & 30, 2023, here aresome of the many projects and programs that helped us get to this point.

MUSEUM EXPANSION AND CAMPAIGN

EXHIBITS AND PROGRAMS• Continued work on our 90,000-square-foot expansion—thecenterpiece of the larger Neighborhood of Play• Opened an expanded and renovated Woodbury School toserve preschool and early-kindergarten students• Secured a $7.5 million grant from the U.S. Economic
Development Administration in support of The Strong’s$60-million campaign• Opened the Play Lab, a maker space where guests canexplore art, creativity, and invention• Announced a $3.25 million campaign commitment from theHassenfeld family to develop the all-new Hasbro Game Parkand Board Game Place exhibits• Received additional capital funding from Empire StateDevelopment, Market New York, the New York State Council
on the Arts, and other government entities• Raised more than $445,000 at the museum’s annual
Play Ball gala—our most successful Play Ball to date!

• Published three online exhibits, including “Jerry Lawson:
The Black Engineer and Entrepreneur Who Changed VideoGames”• Created more than a dozen new programs and collections
displays to celebrate diversity in play
• Integrated with Generation Two (G2), a volunteer-driven
not-for-profit that delivers child-directed play into areaclassrooms

ATTENDANCE AND OUTREACH• Served nearly 500,000 onsite guests—returning to nearly
pre-pandemic attendance numbers• Continued to offer free and reduced admission to tens ofthousands of children and families in need
• Partnered with the Rochester Area Community Foundation
and regional advocacy and educational groups to provide
free museum admission and special programming for thelocal community on Juneteenth• Implemented a new community access program incollaboration with Anthony Jordan Health Center to provide
free museum admission to Jordan Health clients and topromote community wellness

LEARN HOW YOU CAN CONTRIBUTE TO OUR MISSION
Contact Lisa Feinstein at lfeinstein@museumofplay.org

COLLECTIONS AND SCHOLARSHIP• Surpassed more than 525,000 collection items• Focused on adding items that reflect diversity and inclusion,
including representatives of diverse products in the Barbie
doll line• Performed dozens of conservation treatments oncollections and archival materials

TOYS• Inducted Lite-Brite, the top, and Masters of the Universe
into the National Toy Hall of Fame
• Acquired key toys, games, and photographs to enhance therepresentation of diversity in toys and playthrough the years• Published three issues of the American Journal of Play• Celebrated Toy Industry Hall of Fame inductees fromPressman Toy Corporation (Jim Pressman), PlayMonster(Bob Wann), and Playskool Institute (Lucille King)LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES

VIDEO GAMES• Surpassed more than 130,000 volumes in the librarycollection, including more than 68,000 trade catalogs fromthe doll, toy, and game industries• Inducted Dance Dance Revolution, The Legend of Zelda:
Ocarina of Time, Ms. Pac-Man, and Sid Meier’s Civilization
into the World Video Game Hall of Fame

• Added significant materials to the holdings of the National
Archives of Game Show History, including scripts,
production information, photographs, and video interviews
with game show industry figures• Appeared in the History Channel’s “The Toys that Built
America” game and toy episodes• Acquired records of the Doll Collectors of America (DCA)
and several prominent experts in child development, toys,and gaming• Completed transcription of more than 3,300 pages from thediaries of prolific game designer Sid Sackson• Installed Raceway Arcade, an exhibit exploring the historyof racing games• Hosted an onsite and virtual Women in Games: Gaming forAll celebration featuring prominent women in the video
game industry• Acquired Al Alcorn’s Home Pong Chip prototype

LEARN HOW YOU CAN CONTRIBUTE TO OUR MISSION
Contact Lisa Feinstein at lfeinstein@museumofplay.org