Margaret Woodbury Strong

Margaret Woodbury Strong (1897-1969) loved to play and found serious fun in collecting artifacts of play. Intelligent, intuitive, and competitive, she played at travel, archery, golf, bowling, gardening, and flower arranging and assembled an extraordinary assortment of objects that illuminate the American experience through the window of play. To share her keen interest, in 1968 she founded a museum that would use her collections to fascinate, educate, and entertain.

An only child of prosperous parents who traveled widely in the United States and around the world, young Margaret developed a lively imagination and an intense curiosity. She recorded her experiences in diaries, scrapbooks, and sketches. She also took up photography, received tutoring in languages, history, music, and art, and collected souvenirs. As this childhood hobby became a grown-up passion, Margaret Woodbury Strong left her mark on history.

Developing her youthful interests, Margaret became a skilled competitor in golf, archery, bowling, flower arranging, and collecting. She recalled later that her collecting began with miniatures, when she was allowed “to carry a small bag to put my dolls and toys in, and to add anything I acquired on the trips.” That small beginning led to an expansive task that dominated her later life. Margaret’s collecting included everything from fine art to the ordinary, all linked by the common themes of play, imagination, “let’s pretend,” and fun.

Entries in Margaret’s early guest books reveal that visitors found her collections as fascinating as she did. One reads, “Thank you for your generosity. God bless you for your plans for a museum one day.” Her dream became reality in 1982, when Strong National Museum of Play® opened its doors to the public as the Margaret Woodbury Strong Museum. Those who remember Margaret say that “fun” was one of her favorite words, and it was evident in her pursuit and original display of her collections. We invite you to share in her fascination with play and the artifacts of play.