The Strong National Museum of Play at last reveals massive expansion. Take a peek

It’s been said that good things come to those who wait.

Friday at The Strong National Museum of Play provided a textbook example.

A 90,000-square-foot expansion that involved five years of construction, a timeline lengthened by the coronavirus pandemic, and cost $75 million (which grew from an original estimate of $60 million) finally was unveiled.

But first there were a lot of people to thank, from museum staff to donors to developers to government officials.

“I am perhaps the most relieved person in the country. We did it,” an elated president and CEO Steve Dubnik told a standing room-only crowd in the museum’s new welcome atrium before programming that included a dozen or so speeches by politicians who had roles in the massive project, including by securing public funding.

About 45 minutes into the hour-plus presentation featuring New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (whose pre-recorded remarks were played on a big screen), U.S. Rep. Joe Morelle and Monroe County Executive Adam Bello, Rochester Mayor Malik Evans said of his children seated in the audience: “They’re probably wondering, why did my dad have me come and sit through this long press conference to hear all these politicians talk? It’s because I want them to know that they are part of a moment in a place that is nonexistent anywhere else in the world, period. The historic nature of The Strong Museum cannot be understated. There is, like I said, nowhere else like this.”

What's new at The Strong National Museum of Play

Eventually, his kids and others in attendance got their first glimpse of the eye-popping additions, including ESL Digital Worlds: Level Up, which allows guests to become the main character in a life-size video game; a 20-foot-high Donkey Kong arcade game; and a soaring new space for the World Video Game Hall of Fame.

One of the more striking installations in the Hall of Fame is something kids of the 1970s will recognize: a playable Pong game, presented on a gigantic replica of a vintage TV set with rabbit ears.

Evans said he's partial to Street Fighter, which debuted in the late ’80s, because “it’s very apropos to politics.”

Still to come outside near the museum’s new entrance, dubbed the Portal of Play, is a 20-ton granite ball that will float via hydrostatic pressure on a thin film of water. Visitors, even little ones, will be able to spin the orb — which should be in place by the end of July — “with just a quick swipe,” said museum spokesman Shane Rhinewald.

And outside near the museum’s former entrance facing Howell Street is the 17,000-square-foot Hasbro Game Park, a colorful play area including a 10-by-14-foot replica of the Scottie dog token from Monopoly, a five-headed dragon from Dungeons & Dragons that guests can make breath mist and fire with the touch of a button, a rideable Game of Life spinner and a playable Simon game measuring 10 feet in diameter.

In May, Christopher Bensch, the museum’s vice president for collections and chief curator, talked about marketing studies in which prospective visitors living within a five- to six-hour drive said more active space might inspire them to make road trips.

Playing Ouija with Margaret Woodbury Strong

The park was developed with funding from Vivien and Alan Hassenfeld, a colorful character himself whose family founded toy giant Hasbro in 1923.

“Once upon a time, a woman named Margaret Woodbury Strong had a vision,” he said of the eccentric heiress whose vast collection of toys, dolls and miniatures formed the basis for The Strong in 1968, “and here we are today living her dream.”

Friday's final speaker, Hassenfeld drew laughter and applause when he said that on Thursday night, he summoned the spirit of Strong using a Ouija board, and “she wanted me to thank so many of you who are here today.”

He also spoke tenderly about children and families making Hasbro a success. “Therefore, our obligation is to attempt to make it a better world for our greatest natural resource, our children. Whether it be Potato Head, Monopoly, Play-Doh, Twister or Furby, they’re all part of this family. And as you walk through The Strong, you’ll understand that each and every toy has a life.”

He called the museum “an incredible magic kingdom” and added, “It truly is, as it’s been said, the greatest repository of play in the world today. There is no comparison.”

Strong CEO Dubnik pointed out that Friday wasn’t just a big day for the museum — which hopes to boost annual attendance to 1 million from around 600,000 — but for the greater Rochester region, New York state and the Neighborhood of Play, a surrounding residential and retail development that includes the VIDA apartments, Fattey Beer Co., gaming bar and restaurant Nerdvana and a just-opened Hampton Inn and Suites.

All of it, and a new roadway called Adventure Place, sits on top of the filled-in eastern Inner Loop.

“From a sunken highway that ran through the museum’s backyard, with the support of New York state, we’ve created an entire neighborhood that’s now the epicenter for celebrating and studying play,” he said.

Hours and admission

The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily and stays open until 8 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

Admission for nonmembers ages 2 and older ranges from $23 to $37. Previously, it started at $19. Annual memberships start at $199, which also represents an increase. Last fall, the museum said that with the expanded space and offerings, prices were likely to go up.

Discounts are available for veterans, members of the military and college students. Museum admission for SNAP recipients is $5.

For more, go to museumofplay.org.

Reporter Marcia Greenwood covers general assignments. Send story tips to mgreenwo@rocheste.gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @MarciaGreenwood.

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester reveals massive expansion