Here’s a surprise: blogging can become a kind of high-order play. I rediscover this every time readers send me witty ripostes; I learn a lot from these comebacks too.
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Your New Best Friend–A Robot!
Do you ever wish you had a magic robot to clean your house for you? Do your homework? Or just be around to talk with? You may not be the only one. In some ways, advancing technology makes our lives more convenient or efficient. In other ways, it keeps us connected through social media and networking. But what if you could be friends with technology? Technology like a robot?
The idea of robot companionship is nothing new. In the early 1960s, […]
To a Galaxy Far, Far Away
The wait is finally over. After three years of patient anticipation since the film was announced, Star Wars: The Force Awakens is finally upon us. Expectations were high, and fans who felt disappointed with the last trilogy were afraid that they will be disappointed again. You see, for many Star Wars fans, it is more than a movie—it is way of life, a philosophy, nearly a religion. Although that sounds like hyperbole, the movies had profound effects on our childhood […]
The Big Book of Christmas Past
One of the best aspects of working at The Strong is the endless opportunity for nostalgia. Last year, I wrote about my family’s tradition of treating Black Friday shopping like a game. Shortly after writing that post, I was reminded of another cherished holiday tradition when staff at the Brian Sutton-Smith Library and Archives of Play included a post about the J. C. Penney holiday catalog on their Tumblr page. Throughout my childhood, the J. C. Penney Big Book was […]
Atari Packaging Design Collection Documents the Art of Selling Video Games
The Strong has acquired a collection of more than 2,000 drawings, photographs, mock-ups, proofs, and other materials related to the design and production of Atari home and handheld game packaging and user manuals from 1976–1984. The Cort and Barbara Allen Atari Packaging Design Collection, 1976–1984, documents how the company’s artists, designers, and writers developed and created the distinctive packages and manuals for some of the earliest and most popular home video game titles of the later 20th century.
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Venturing into Barbie’s World
By Emily Aguilo-Perez, 2015 Strong Research Fellow
In August 2015, I received a research fellowship from The Strong that provided funds for me to come to the museum to study artifacts and printed materials from its vast collection. My dissertation work focuses on studying interactions with Barbie among Puerto Rican females, making The Strong the ideal destination to build my understanding of Barbie dolls and other Barbie items. Beyond my scholarly work, I have a long personal history with Barbie. For […]
Seeing Is Believing: Play Twister!
When Twister’s three developers brought the concept to game publisher Milton Bradley in 1966, the firm agreed, initially, to manufacture the game. All it took was a demonstration of the play and they were persuaded. Twister’s play was simple and innovative. It had few rules, and never before had a boxed game’s players served as the playing pieces. But the public, at first, seemed tentative about the game. We know, today, that every game of Twister can cause peals of […]
Puppets Stage a Big Showing in the National Toy Hall of Fame
Maybe you read a blog I wrote about four years ago proclaiming (politely, of course) that the puppet belonged in the National Toy Hall of Fame. That year, 2011, the dollhouse and Hot Wheels cars took their places among the classic toys in the hall—which may suggest that my talents at prognostication are somewhat wanting. On November 5, 2015, though, The Strong announced that the puppet, along with the game Twister and the Super Soaker, was inducted into the hall […]
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Super Soaker Joins National Toy Hall of Fame
The National Toy Hall of Fame is awash in good news these days. On November 5, 2015, The Strong announced that Super Soaker—along with puppets and the game Twister—joined the 56 classic toys in the hall of fame. Kids had water toys before the Super Soaker debuted in 1990, but the drenching machine altered the ways they played outdoors.
The Daisy Manufacturing Company, maker of the air-powered BB gun, advertised the first water pistol in 1916. Called the New Daisy […]
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