2023
Year in Review
In 2023, The Strong National Museum of Play opened a transformative,
90,000-square-foot expansion—part of the all-new Neighborhood of Play in Rochester, NY. The
expansion includes three major exhibits dedicated to electronic games—ESL Digital Worlds: High Score
and Level Up, and Age of Empires—along with the outdoor Hasbro Game Park and many other newexperiences and programs. Here are some highlights from this monumental year for The Strong!

ROCHESTER REGION:

373,808

NEW YORK STATE(other than Rochester)

129,737
NATIONAL &INTERNATIONAL

143,546

Achieved thehighest museumattendance ever—Completed Powered by Play:A Campaign for The Strong –raising $75 million

Served morethan 80,000
guests throughcommunity outreachnearlyfor the expansion project. programs.
650,000
Raised more thanguests–$460,000 at the annualon pace to meet themuseum’s goal ofnearly one million
guests by 2026.
Issues3
publishedof theAmerican
Journalof Play.

Play Ball fundraising gala—a new record!
Served more than 100 preschool and pre-K
students in The Strong’s recently renovatedand expanded onsite Woodbury School.
Nearly 9,000 students were welcomed for school lessons, field trips, andtheme days.

OPENED TRAVELING
EXHIBITS includingBlack Dolls andWar Toys: Ukraine.

Generation Two grew from11 to 22 area classrooms,

3Online exhibits werelaunched, including two inhonor of Black History Month.

bringing regular one-on-one play
to more than 500 students.

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

2023 Year in Review
THURSDAY,NOV

16

Hosted“Gaming for All:A Women in Games
Celebration”
to recognize the contributions
6 to 9 p.m.of under-represented groups
to the video game industry.

Generated morethan 5 billion media
impressions including
broadcast segments on ABC’s
Good Morning America andCBS Saturday Morning.

Added hundredsof items to the museum’s
National Archives of GameShow HistoryandStrong
openedaJoin TheNational
Museum of Play anddisplay celebrating
the late
Rochester Instituteof Technology (RIT) for a
Bob Barker’s
100thbirthday.
specialeveningof big-kid fun to celebrate andshare the contributions of women, people ofcolor, differently-abled people, the LGBTQIA+
Joinedcommunity, and other under-represented
groups to the world of video games!
At 6:15 p.m., gather in The Strong’s 300-person

A Paychex
free artsTheater& culture
app. presentations andfor micro

Honored Toy Industry Hall ofFame inductees: Rose O’Neill(Kewpie Dolls), David Ring(Larami Corporation), John
Lloyd Wright (Lincoln Logs),
Ronnen Harary, Anton Rabieand Ben Varadi (Spin Master),Mary Couzin (ChiTAG & Peopleof Play), John McLoughlin(McLoughlin Brothers)

a panel discussion with trailblazers from thevideo game industry. Then, explore the entire
museum including the new ESL Digital Worlds,
Age of Empires, and World Video Game HallNATIONAL TOY HALL OFof Fame exhibits.

FAME INDUCTEES:

Welcomed
more than
500 students

Cabbage Patch Kids, Fisher-Price Corn
Popper, baseball cards, and NERF
ExploreThe Strong’s all new
EJNOY Complimentary
ESL Digital Worlds
Complimentary‘gamer’snacks
exhibits,THE
the new
MUSEUM“gamer” snacks
and nonalcoholic
home of ourand beverages
AFTERbeverages
Women in Gamesexhibit

WORLD VIDEO GAMEHALL OF FAME INDUCTEES:
Barbie Fashion Designer, Computerfrom the Rochester City School
Space, The Last of Us, and Wii Sports
District to “Get in the Game!”:Access toa free educational event
A chance
to at
Exclusive offering of
Playable games
sneak peekthe museum’s
created byThe
Strong’s
meet
local
game
playable video games
sponsored by Take-Twointeractive
Live
video
under-represented
90,000squaredevelopers and try
created and/or inspired
includingGrewlibraryandarchiveholdings
togame-themed
Interactive that introduced by people ofexhibits,
groupsexpansion
outfoot
theirgames
color,
freegame playmusic from Glitch
presented bykids to careers in the video the LGBTQIA+
Grew the museum collections
toROC Game Dev
community, and othergame
industry.Seating
more thanunderrepresentedTickets

20$

is limited.
Tickets are
nonrefundable.

235,618 items.
535,000 objects.

groupsLEARN HOW YOU CAN CONTRIBUTE TO OUR MISSION Contact Lisa Feinstein at lfeinstein@museumofplay.org
GET YOURTICKETS!