Rochester — Your favorite board games have come to life in a fenced-in, flower-filled courtyard at the Strong National Museum of Play.
There’s a giant game of Simon and a copse of candy cane trees, a life-sized Monopoly car token and wall-sized Scrabble tiles that spell “Play”. There is a sprawling Candy Land path to peruse and Jenga block and Trivial Pursuit wedge benches to rest on.
The scaled-up, explorable games are part of the Hasbro Game Park, the Rochester museum’s new 17,000-square-foot outdoor exhibit. It was part of Strong’s $75 million expansion — a project that included a new parking garage and the world’s largest playable Donkey Kong arcade game.
But does the park live up to the hype? My friend and I brought our daughters to Strong on a weekend in early July to find out. Here’s how it went:
We stepped out of the sweltering, swampy Rochester heat and into Strong’s new welcome atrium, grateful for the air conditioning. The big atrium gave off airport vibes but was airy and easy to navigate, thanks to friendly museum staffers.
The Hasbro Game Park is the final exhibit on the first level — as far from the museum’s single entrance as you can get. So, with plenty of fascinating ground to cover, we ventured past the old-school carousel and looming rope courses to make our way to the outdoor park.
The problem? There are SO many eye-snagging, fun exhibits to explore between Strong’s entrance and the Hasbro Game Park.
Neither of our girls had been to the museum before and were eager to try everything. My 4-year-old and my friend’s 17-month-old were enchanted by everything from the Mr. Potato Head assembly table and pint-sized Wegmans Super Kids Market to the Sesame Street taxi and toddler-sized Reading Adventureland chess set.
By the time we finished marveling at butterflies in the magical Dancing Wings Butterfly Garden, the kids were hungry…and tired.
We stopped for lunch in Puppy’s Game Cafe, where we bought pretzel snack cups and underwhelming flatbread pizzas. The cafe had plenty of seating and complimentary board games like Don’t Break the Ice, which (more prepared) groups played while eating lunches they’d brought from home.
With full bellies, we finally headed outside to our intended destination: the Hasbro Game Park.
The park looked like a massive, freshly unboxed board game — all eye-popping primary colors and shiny new tokens.
We were greeted by a giant Mr. Potato Head statue and a crew of museum staffers unloading a wagon full of bubble wands. My daughter charged down the rainbow path, chasing after a man in a crown who she insisted was the king of Candy Land.
As my kid scrambled over the Jenga blocks spilled across the right side of the exhibit, I marveled at the soft blue turf under our feet — a necessary cushion for the young explorers likely to tumble while roaming around the courtyard.
Both girls enjoyed riding on the Game of Life carousel spinner, a wheelchair-accessible ride, and walking through the green, playhouse-sized Monopoly house. If they weren’t so tired and hot, we are convinced the kids would’ve spent more time climbing on the Jenga blocks.
After taking photos behind the Get Out of Jail Free bars and the shiny Monopoly car, we headed to the park’s biggest attraction: Tiamat, a five-headed, fire-breathing dragon from Dungeons & Dragons.
My daughter has been obsessed with dragons since she graduated from baby to toddler and was in awe of the 18-foot-high statue. She pressed the crystal, laughing delightedly when smoke puffed from a roaring dragon’s mouth.
“It was a little scary,” my girl said, “but not for me because I’m brave.”
With a group of teenage museumgoers happily playing a group game of Simon, we headed back into the pleasantly cool museum and made the trek back to Strong’s atrium. Our girls were tired and ready to nap.
Was the Habsro Game Park worth the hype? Absolutely…but let me make a suggestion.
Strong has received plenty of recognition — including being named one of the top 10 best children’s museums in the nation by USA Today’s 10 Best.
It would take days to truly explore the beloved museum’s engaging collections. So if you’re headed to Strong and eager to see the outdoor exhibit, make the Hasbro Game Park your first stop during your trip to the museum — particularly on hot summer days. That will give your kids plenty of time to peruse the life-sized board game rather than heading into the sweltering outdoors when they’re already worn out.
My 4-year-old’s hot takes? It would be nice if the candy cane forest grew, she said, and the Monopoly car raced.
As Strong knows, all things — including growing candy — are possible…at least in our imaginations.
The Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and until 8 p.m. on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. During inclement weather, the Hasbro Game Park may be temporarily closed. To buy tickets or learn more, visit the museum’s website.
