April 20, 2007
For Immediate Release
Contact: Susan Trien, 585-410-6359, strien@museumofplay.org

Prominent Play Scholar Brian Sutton-Smith
Donates Major Archives to
Strong National Museum of Play®

Sutton-Smith Also Named Strong Scholar in Residence

Strong National Museum of Play® in Rochester, New York, announced today that it has received the donation of a major archive of nearly half a century of scholarly play research from Brian Sutton-Smith, regarded as one of the foremost figures in play scholarship.  Sutton-Smith has also been appointed a Scholar in Residence at the museum.  These two developments will enhance Strong’s growing reputation as the nation’s major repository and research facility for play studies.

Sutton-Smith, author of 50 books and more than 350 articles on play, will donate to Strong his personal library of play books and research papers (more than 2,500 books and 50 bins of papers) accumulated over a career of approximately 50 years of studying, writing, and speaking about play.  As Scholar in Residence, he will advise the museum on collecting and help solicit the contribution of papers from other scholars.  In addition, he will lecture occasionally to museum audiences on topics related to play.  He will also join other scholars serving on the Editorial Advisory Board for the museum’s forthcoming new quarterly American Journal of Play.

Says Sutton-Smith, “Strong’s play mission is helping to meet a significant national need for greater awareness of the critical importance of play, and I am delighted that my play books and papers will be a key part of the museum’s library and archives. It is critically important for the public to realize that a child’s success at play is the first, most basic step in creating a person who is publicly emotionally civilized. Strong is becoming a truly important center for research in this vital community matter and I look forward to helping the staff gather the papers of other scholars around the country as we seek to make their contributions also available to other researchers and to the general public.”

Says G. Rollie Adams, the museum’s president and CEO, “Dr. Sutton-Smith is universally regarded as one of the leading voices in play scholarship.  He is both a folklorist and an educational psychologist, and to receive his library and papers as the foundation of a national archive of play studies is truly an honor for Strong National Museum of Play.”

Sutton-Smith will receive a lifetime achievement award for his work in the field of play from The Association for the Study of Play (TASP) during a national interdisciplinary scholarly conference, “Play Matters,” held at Strong National Museum of Play from Thursday, April 26 through Saturday, April 28, 2007.  The conference, cosponsored by TASP and the International Play Association (IPA), will take place at the museum and will be attended by approximately 200 scholars from around the world and across multiple disciplines.  (For the full conference agenda:  www.museumofplay.org/play/TASPprogram.html.)

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.