June 26, 2007
For Immediate Release
Contact: Susan Trien, 585-410-6359, strien@museumofplay.org
Strong National Museum of Play®
Announces Partnership with Berenstain Bear Creators
Strong National Museum of Play® in Rochester, New York—the only museum devoted solely to the study of play as it illuminates American culture—is pleased to announce a partnership with the Berenstain Family, creators of the popular Berenstain Bears children’s book series. Strong will produce two new exhibits in partnership with the Berenstain Family: Child’s Play on the Crabgrass Frontier: The Baby-Boom Cartoons of Stan and Jan Bernstein (a sample of the husband-and-wife team’s early work—before the Bears) and Down a Sunny Dirt Road (an interactive environment based on the Berenstain Bears children’s book series).
“We are absolutely delighted to partner with the Berenstain Family,” says G. Rollie Adams, president and CEO of Strong National Museum of Play. “Their early work is witty and engaging while providing keen observations about American culture during the baby-boom era. And their iconic Bears books, known and beloved by generations, continue to help guide families through the challenges of childhood.”
“When Strong National Museum of Play staff approached our Berenstain family a few years ago, it was soon realized that there was more than one exhibit to be found in the vast collection of art that filled the drawers, boxes, attics, and basements of our Pennsylvania Home | Plan A Visit | Things to Do & See | About Us | School Programs | Just For Kids | About Play | Membership | Press Room | Contact | Employment | Join Our E-mail List © 2007 - Strong National Museum of Play ® - All Rights Reserved and studio,” says Mike Berenstain, co-creator of the Berenstain Bears children’s books series. “The first became the exhibit, Child’s Play on the Crabgrass Frontier: The Baby- Boom cartoons of Stan and Jan Bernstein. The second developed into Down a Sunny Dirt Road, a remarkable 3-D environment, both entertaining and educational, faithfully based on the scenes and structures found on the pages of the Berenstain Bears children’s book series.”
The first of the two exhibits, Child’s Play on the Crabgrass Frontier: The Baby- Boom Cartoons of Stan and Jan Berenstain, will open at Strong National Museum of Play on Friday, July 20. The spirit of the baby boom generation is captured through 86 original cartoons and Collier’s magazine covers from the 1950s and 1960s created early in their careers by husband-and-wife artistic team Jan and Stan Berenstain. Their work takes a humorous poke at the daily troubles and routine triumphs of the typical suburban American family during an era when the baby population exploded, American prosperity soared, and more and more families were escaping cities to live the suburban American dream. A summer picnic, the school play, summer camp, school recess—all were fodder for this couple’s artistic pursuits.
Down a Sunny Dirt Road is scheduled to open at Strong National Museum of Play in spring 2008. Welcome to Bear Country! Families and kids will have as much fun in this exhibit with the Berenstain Bears as they do when they read the wonderfully entertaining adventures of Mama Bear, Papa Bear, Brother Bear, Sister Bear, Honey Bear, and all their friends. A “sunny dirt road” will lead museum guests through familiar environments found on the pages of the popular children’s book series including Main Street, Bear Country School, Farmer Ben’s Farm, Club House in the Woods, and the Family Tree House. Like the books that inspire it, the exhibit will entertain and teach young readers how to understand and navigate their day-to-day world.
About Strong National Museum of Play®
Strong National Museum of Play is the nation’s second largest “children’s” museum and the only museum in the world devoted solely to the study of play as it illuminates American culture. The museum houses the largest collection in the world of toys, dolls, and play-related objects and features whimsical interactive exhibits, the National Toy Hall of Fame®, and Upstate New York’s only live indoor butterfly garden.
About the Berenstain Family
From the beginning, Stan and Jan Berenstain were a team creating magazine covers and cartoons for publications such as Collier's, The Saturday Evening Post, and Good Housekeeping. While still working on the cartoons, Stan and Jan tried their hand at children’s books. Theodor Geisel (a.k.a. Dr. Seuss), then an editor and author at Random House, published their first book and launched their careers. The Berenstain Bears became one of the best selling children’s book series ever, selling over 260 million copies. As the popularity of the Bears grew, Stan and Jan enlisted the help of their youngest son, Mike, who joined the “family business” in the late 80s. This rare father-mother-son partnership worked. Mike learned more and more about illustrating and writing Berenstain Bears books until, to an outsider, his work couldn’t be distinguished from Stan’s and Jan’s. They created dozens of books together until Stan’s death in November of 2005. Jan and Mike carry on with writing and illustrating new Berenstain Bears books.
Strong National Museum of Play®, located in downtown Rochester, New York, is the only museum in the world devoted to the study of play as it illuminates American popular culture.
Hours:
Monday–Thursday, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; Friday, 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.;
Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; Sunday, 12:00 noon to 5:00 p.m.
Admission Fees:
General Admission (does not include Dancing Wings Butterfly Garden™):
Adults $9.00; Seniors $8.00; Children (2–17) $7.00; Children younger than two free; Strong members free.
Admission to Dancing Wings Butterfly Garden™:
General Admission fee plus $3.00 per person for members and nonmembers; Children younger than two free.
Due to limited capacity, entry to Dancing Wings Butterfly Garden™ is by timed tickets only. Advance purchase is recommended. Please call 585-263-2700 to purchase timed tickets.