ROCHESTER, N.Y. — There’s something for everyone inside The Strong National Museum of Play. From a ropes course to arcade games and Sesame Street itself, The Strong Museum has it covered.
However, space is running out and the museum is looking to expand. That could impact the surrounding neighborhood.
"Many days it was too crowded," said President and CEO Steve Dubnik. "It was difficult to welcome more guests."
Dubnik noticed how busy the museum is and he launched an expansion campaign.
The museum is adding 90,000 square feet to its current footprint. It will include a welcome center, plus three new exhibits.
“One will be called High Score and the second be called Level Up," said Dubnik. "And both of those would be located within the ESL Federal Credit Union Digital Worlds Exhibit area. And then the third exhibit, which will be focused on the art of video games."
The expansion takes advantage of the Inner Loop fill-in. It’s something other developers started eyeing up.
"When we worked with developers, they wanted to create a city like Boston or San Francisco," said Dubnik.
The goal is to create a neighborhood of play, where visitors to the museum have everything they need in one area.
"People can come here and stay," Dubnik said. "And when you have a place that's 375,000 square feet, which is what our museum will be when we complete it, it takes many days to see it all, not just a single day," Dubnik said.
It’s been 10 years in the making for the expansion project. When it finishes this spring, the number of museum visitors is expected to jump from 600,000 to 1 million per year, with enough room for all of them to enjoy all things play.