Often written off as charming novelties of childhood, paper dolls can serve as powerful indicators of the drastic sociopolitical changes occurring in the early 20th century. Like many toys, they reflect the cultural values of their creators and their consumers, providing insight into the lives of women and children during a tumultuous political era. During my time at The Strong National Museum of Play, I was able to examine a wide variety of paper dolls created between 1900 and 1940 […]
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Build, Connect, Play
Recently, I had an opportunity to design a case layout for High Score, one of two new exhibition galleries in ESL Federal Credit Union Digital Worlds at The Strong museum. High Score will allow guests to explore the histories behind the video game industry and how video games have become historical artifacts with their own stories. Guests will be able to enjoy the expansion gallery firsthand in the summer of 2023. Until then, I wanted to share one of the […]
A Vote for Barbie
Dressed in her inaugural gown of red, blue, and silver, Barbie made her political debut with a presidential run in 1992. In 2000, Barbie’s bid for president was part of the White House Project, a non-profit organization seeking to increase female representation in American institutions. In the 2004 presidential race, she donned a red power suit. In 2008, she added another run as presidential candidate to her storied resume. In 2012, Barbie sought to inspire girls. In 2016, […]
Intern Experience: Processing Dime Store and Action Figures
For three months during the summer of 2021, I had the privilege to work as an intern for the Collections team at The Strong museum. My primary project focused on researching and cataloging action and toy figures ranging from the 1970s to the 2000s. At the start of my internship, I also cataloged a collection consisting of 1940s cast iron lead figures from manufacturers such as Barclay, Auburn Rubber Company, and Manoil Mfg, Company. Highlights included The Happy Farm […]
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Quack. Moo. Oink. Play.
All animals are funny, but some animals are funnier than others.
Aside from being a somewhat obvious riff (a polite way of saying “rip-off”) on George Orwell’s famously cynical line from Animal Farm, I do think there’s some truth to this statement.
In recent years, for example, there have been plenty of video games that have used animals as characters. Often, like in Sonic the Hedgehog or Animal Crossing, they’re somewhat anthropomorphized—animal characters doing typical human things like farming or running and […]
Chaos Orb—Magic: The Gathering’s Wild Card
“Charming,” “whimsical,” “masterpiece,” “pretty funny” are just a few of the words used to describe the Magic: The Gathering card, the Chaos Orb. These accolades are for the card’s art, a bulbous, floating spherical monster endlessly drooling lava from its looming maw, as well as for the card’s powerful effect. But to understand the wild, disruptive effect of the card, it is good to know the basics of Magic.
Magic: The Gathering was the first “collectible card game” and […]
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Out with the Old and in with the… Older?
“Everything comes back into style if you wait long enough.”
The first time I heard this phrase was in my early teens from my mother. At the time, I was obsessed with flared jeans, a trend directly inspired by bell bottoms of the 1960s. Upon hearing my mom’s words, I—like most teens—was absolutely certain she had no idea what she was talking about but kept that thought to myself. Now as an adult, I’ve come to that startling realization many of […]
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Liberty’s Lighter Side
When it comes to important symbols of the United States that encapsulate our national aspirations to stand for values such as democracy, freedom, and inclusion, the Statue of Liberty might be at the top of the list. Ever since her inauguration in 1886, she has lifted her torch above New York Harbor, serving as a beacon for countless immigrants. Movingly, Emma Lazarus’s poem “The New Colossus” evokes the sense of welcome that the Statue of Liberty represents and concludes, “Send […]
Jerry Lawson, Video Soft, and the History of the First Black-Owned Video Game Development Company
By 1980, Jerry Lawson was ready for a change. The 40-year-old electrical engineer had spent most of the 1970s working for Fairchild Camera and Instrument Corporation in Silicon Valley. In 1976, he led a team of talented engineers who took an Alpex Computer Corporation prototype and developed it into the Fairchild Channel F, the first home video game console to use interchangeable game cartridges. Although revolutionary in concept, the Channel F was quickly eclipsed by another cartridge-based console […]