As spring makes its way to Rochester, days are longer, new birdcalls fill the air, and I’m newly aware of—rabbits. Yes, there’s the Easter Bunny each springtime, but my rabbit radar ranges much more broadly. Since I’m a gardener, rabbits aren’t always my friends. Cute as they may be, rabbits seem somewhat less charming as they mow down seedlings or nip off the fresh and delicious growth on perennials in my flowerbeds. On the other hand, as a curator, the […]
Search by Category
Imaginary Worlds and Real Identities: The Impact of Dolls on Gender and Sexuality
In my first nine months working as the Curatorial Assistant at The Strong, I’ve been immersed in the world of “play” in a way that I haven’t been in a very long time. It’s been refreshing, illuminating, and has caused me to reflect upon my own childhood—how I played as a kid and the ways in which my toys may have shaped my identity as an adult.
I loved playing with dolls, specifically Barbies, Bratz, and American Girl Dolls. Like many […]
Relational Play
Contemporary travel is a special kind of pandemonium, an admixture of excitement, fear, consumerism, and intense security measures. It can be a rather playful experience too, particularly in the U.S. The stops that took me from Pullman, Washington, where currently I live and work, to The Strong National Museum of Play are a case in point. First it was Pullman to Spokane, then it was Spokane to Las Vegas, where I transferred to a flight to Rochester, New York. To […]
A Puzzling Tradition
Do you have traditions that you associate with the holidays? For some folks, that tradition involves seasonal baked goods with flavors and aromas that create a special aura. For others, it’s a beverage, perhaps a glass of eggnog or a mug of hot chocolate. In my family, there’s the annual Christmas jigsaw puzzle.
From my perspective, there are a couple great things about associating jigsaw puzzles with the holidays. For one, it gives me an automatic gift idea for my sister […]
Teaching Dungeons & Dragons: Continuing the Years of Storytelling
It is always an exciting thing to have your personal hobbies suddenly become relevant to your work. But imagine my shock when I got asked by multiple teams here at The Strong Museum to run Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) games so that my colleagues could get familiar with the game in preparation for working on our Dungeons & Dragons: 50 Years of Storytelling exhibit!
While I have run multiple tabletop role-play games (TTRPG) for friends, I had only recently started dipping […]
Continue Reading about Teaching Dungeons & Dragons: Continuing the Years of Storytelling
Bill Cullen: The Man Who Hosted 29 Game Shows
By Adam Nedeff, researcher for the National Archives of Game Show History
The most prolific name in the history of game shows was a man who once admitted to TV Guide, “I’m certainly not the man who appeals to women ages 18-35.”
Bill Cullen was right about that. He appealed to everybody. For 40 years, he appeared on one game show or another; often one game show and another. His gigs overlapped and he had no qualms about taking on whatever work […]
Continue Reading about Bill Cullen: The Man Who Hosted 29 Game Shows
Hush Harbors: Life in the Toy Box
“You are a toy!” Could the oft-recited line from the 1995 feature film Toy Story—a beloved classic—hide a more profound meaning? The film’s portrayal of toys, which are sentient in their private world but lifeless in the presence of humans, can be interpreted as a commentary on the performative aspects of existence under oppressive systems. Moreover, it sketches a rough outline of a protective practice deployed by African Americans for centuries.
The central theme of Toy Story revolves around the life […]
Japanese Games at the Strong, Part III (PC-FX)
Released in 1994, the PC-FX was a 32-bit home video game console developed by NEC and Hudson Soft. The PC-FX was preceded by the TurboDuo (PC Engine Duo in Japan) and the PC Engine SuperGrafx (never released outside of Japan), and both were 16-bit fourth generation systems. The PC-FX’s computer tower-esque aesthetic of its console and its liberal use of full motion video in its games made it stand out among the fifth-generation video game consoles. Ultimately, however, its high […]
Continue Reading about Japanese Games at the Strong, Part III (PC-FX)
How *That* Microphone Became a Game Show Staple
By Adam Nedeff, researcher for the National Archives of Game Show History
It seems strange that game shows have a signature microphone. If you watch a comedy sketch spoofing game shows, then the host character is usually holding a long, pencil-thin microphone. Watch reruns of classic game shows, or even the game shows of today, and you’ll see that same long, thin microphone. What happened? Why did the game show genre develop an affinity for such a specific microphone design?
The early […]
Continue Reading about How *That* Microphone Became a Game Show Staple