Achievement unlocked as The Strong National Museum of Play levels up with buff gamer expansion

Rochester’s Museum of Play has always been one of the best children’s museums in the country, and now The Strong increased its gamer generation appeal with a massive exhibit ESL Digital Worlds. You can’t miss the world’s largest playable Donkey Kong console; its humungous scale makes everyone feel like a kid again (and also might make good practice for that new Donkey Kong roller coaster coming to Epic Universe.) To the left and right of the colossal video game are entrances to two different spaces — Level Up and High Score.

Now with a 90,000-square-foot expansion, The Strong includes two additional floors — more than a city block long — of dynamic, interactive play spaces devoted to video games. And the fun spills outside with a new outdoor Hasbro-themed board game park. That’s not all, by filling in part of its “Inner Loop” highway, Rochester created an entire neighborhood of play that includes Nerdvana (a video game-themed restaurant & bar), shops, residences, and a family-friendly hotel next door to The Strong.

Level Up allows visitors to pick up an RFID wristband, create a digital avatar, and insert themselves into the video game realm. Once inside guests can move through five distinct zones based on typical video game actions — Choose, Move, Create, Compete, and Solve — while playing dozens of puzzles, games, and challenges including a big boss battle (seriously, it’s a biiiiiiggggg boss).

In High Score, families enter through the World Video Game Hall of Fame archway and can play versions of some of the most influential games on massive, overhead screens. There’s also a digital timeline of fascinating video game history and a salute to trailblazers in the industry. Of course, it wouldn’t be The Strong Museum without tons of hands-on attractions that bring guests into the game.

Outside, kids can spin, skip, and jump through the Hasbro Game Park. This larger-than-life board will make you feel like a game piece moving along a Candyland-inspired path. Along the way you’ll come face-to-face with a 15-foot tall fire-breathing dragon from Dungeons & Dragons, giant Scrabble tiles spelling “Play”, a 14-foot tall Scottie dog game piece, a Monopoly race car to climb in, a playable Simon memory game, and a wheelchair-accessible carousel spinner from the Game of Life.

Back inside, parents can grab a coffee and snack in Puppy’s Game Cafe and learn about the history and importance of board games in Hasbro Board Game Place. There’s a 15-foot-tall version of Chutes and Ladders as well as displays from other iconic Hasbro games such as Monopoly, Candyland, Magic: The Gathering, Dungeons & Dragons, Jenga, Scrabble, the Game of Life, Simon, and more.

For 16 years, I lived two miles down the road from The Strong’s immersive playground. Friday nights were Daddy/Daughter time where I’d explore Sesame Street, Dancing Wings Butterfly Garden, the National Toy Hall of Fame, Reading Adventureland, Pinball Playfields, and more with my girls.

For those familiar with The Strong, all your favorite spaces are still there, and this massive expansion to The Strong and the surrounding neighborhood will ensure family play nights for generations to come. For more information, head to MuseumOfPlay.org.