“Ruh-Roh” SCOOBY-DOO!™ and the gang invite families to solve a gem of a mystery when the SCOOBY-DOO!™ Mansion Mayhem exhibit opens Saturday, January 18, 2025 at The Strong National Museum of Play. This immersive experience, in partnership with Warner Bros. Themed Entertainment, allows families to join the members of Mystery Inc. to analyze clues and put their problem-solving skills to the test. Families and young detectives will work through the rooms of the mansion meeting different characters from the iconic […]
Playful Putters: The History of Miniature Golf
Grab a putter and scorecard from the Putt Shack and (putt) put your skills to the test on a nine-hole, indoor minigolf course. Along the way, explore the history of the popular pastime and learn about the ways it has evolved in the United States.
Playful Putters is included with general admission. The exhibit remains on view through September 1, 2025.
Learn about SNAP and other museum admission discounts.
Hole sponsors include:
In honor of Norman Sas of Tudor Games inventor of Electric Football
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Hasbro Board Game Place
Before heading outside to the Hasbro Game Park, learn more about the history and cultural influence of board games in Hasbro Board Game Place.
Challenge friends and family to a 15-foot-high version of Chutes and Ladders and discover the game’s roots in ancient India. Then view unique artifacts and learn about the creators of other iconic games:
Hasbro Board Game Place is made possible by Alan and Vivien Hassenfeld and the Hassenfeld Family Foundation.
ESL Digital Worlds: Level Up
Ready, player! Become part of the game and immerse yourself in video game scenarios at ESL Digital Worlds: Level Up. Grab an RFID bracelet, create an avatar, and earn achievements from The Strong’s periodic table of video game elements. Enter five distinct zones based on the actions of games—Choose, Move, Create, Compete, and Solve—and play through dozens of physical and mental challenges that include:
Also, become your own curator and virtually choose gaming artifacts from “vending machines” throughout the exhibit […]
Hasbro Game Park
Jump into the game at the 17,000-square-foot, outdoor Hasbro Game Park!
Before heading outside, learn more about the history and cultural influence of board games in Hasbro Board Game Place. Play a 15-foot-high version of Chutes and Ladders, and view unique artifacts from Magic: The Gathering, Dungeons & Dragons, Jenga, Scrabble, the Game of Life, and Simon.
Once outside, stroll along a colorful path amid towering Candy Land candy canes, giant Scrabble tiles spelling “PLAY,” and a 14-foot-long Scottie dog from Monopoly. […]
Ralph Wilson Skyline Climb
Are you ready for the challenge?
Jump into the realm of adventure play at The Strong’s high ropes course—Ralph Wilson Skyline Climb. Suspended above the museum’s carousel atrium, adults and kids alike can traverse beams and balance obstacles, maneuver ropes and wobbly bridges, and leap off a zipline platform.
Built by RCI Adventure Products, Ralph Wilson Skyline Climb consists of two courses geared towards different sizes and skill levels—the Low-Rise Course Powered by M&T Bank for guests below 48 inches in height and the High-Rise […]
Dancing Wings Butterfly Garden
A visit to The Strong museum is not complete without a stop in Dancing Wings Butterfly Garden, the only year-round indoor butterfly garden in upstate New York.
Enter the lush rain forest environment and walk among hundreds of brilliantly colored, free-flying tropical and native butterflies that flutter about—and may even land on you! Be sure to visit the chrysalis case and see emerging butterflies.
A paved path leads guests through tropical foliage, a turtle pond, and a cascading waterfall. Take a peek […]
Wegmans Super Kids Market
At The Strong’s Wegmans Super Kids Market exhibit, kids run the store! Cruise the aisles and fill a grocery cart with colorful products that look amazingly real. Visit the toddler organic farm, Market Café, and a variety of other highly interactive store environments that offer dramatic role-playing opportunities and encourage healthy eating habits.
Wegmans Super Kids Market is produced by The Strong.
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Reading Adventureland
The magic of literature comes to life in Reading Adventureland at The Strong museum. The artifact-rich, life-size pop-up book invites guests to laugh, play, learn, and read!
Follow the Yellow Brick Road into five literary landscapes inspired by children’s books.
Each area is a complete and fully-engaging environment in its own right and includes related books that can be read on site or checked out at the museum’s Grada Hopeman Gelser Library self-checkout kiosk, a mini-branch of the Rochester Public Library System.
And […]
Play Pals
Play house, heal a teddy bear, and save the world. Play Pals traces the evolution of dolls, action figures, toy soldiers, and plush animals through three centuries of American history. Encounter rare treasures from The Strong’s collections and role-play, test your reflexes, and create imaginary worlds among hands-on, interactive stations:
Step into a life-size dollhouse complete with kitchen, nursery, garden, and family car (with working ignition, pedals, GPS, and headlights).
Measure, weigh, and test the vital signs of your favorite stuffed animals […]
One History Place
In the One History Place exhibit at The Strong museum, children and families can step into the past and experience a glimpse of life as it was a century ago. Amid artifacts and reproductions, guests explore mini-environments and go hands-on with activities reminiscent of an era of days gone by.
Role-play as a teacher or student in a 19th-century, one-room schoolhouse.
Delight in a game of “dress up” with turn-of-the-century clothes in the attic.
Pump water, churn butter, and invite guests to a tea […]
Imagination Destination
Let your imagination soar! Be an astronaut, rescue pilot, construction worker, actor, and more in The Strong’s original, permanent Imagination Destination exhibit. Role-play in inspiring spaces bursting with physical challenges, such as a rescue helicopter, construction site, rocket ship, and theater.
Jump into the captain’s chair and take command of the bridge on the U.S.S. Strong—a futuristic spaceship replete with lights and sounds reminiscent of favorite science-fiction movies.
Climb into the cockpit of an emergency helicopter with working controls and set off […]