October 18, 2006
For Immediate Release
Contact: Susan Trien, 585-410-6359, strien@museumofplay.org

Toy Tips Institute Forms Partnership with
Strong National Museum of Play® in Rochester, NY

ROCHESTER, New York—Strong National Museum of Play® is pleased to announce that Marianne Szymanski, founder and president of Toy Tips Inc. and publisher of Toy Tips and Parenting Hints Magazine and toytips.com, has established an ongoing plan to donate examples of “Toy Tips Trusted®” (“TTT”) toys to the museum. To date, the donation has included more than 150 such toys, ranging from basic playthings for toddlers to the latest and most sophisticated electronic learning toys, as well as examples of classic toys such as hand puppets. Beginning on Friday, November 3, 2006, a representative sample of the Toy Tips Collection will be on display at Strong.

According to Christopher Bensch, Strong’s vice president for collections, this collection fits well with the collecting goals and mission of Strong, which is the only museum in the world devoted to the study of play: “By establishing The Marianne Szymanski Toy Tips Institute Collection, Szymanski has provided a significant addition to Strong’s existing collection of toys, with a particular emphasis on extending the depth of the museum’s toy holdings from the last fifteen years. As it grows, The Marianne Szymanski Toy Tips Institute Collection will assist the museum in preserving the history of toys, toy making, toy marketing, and toy use in America.”

For the past fifteen years, the Toy Tips Institute has addressed a public need by supplying ratings to guide adults in choosing toys. Says Szymanski, “I created the Toy Tips Institute to provide parents, grandparents, caregivers, educators, and consumers with an unbiased voice in reviewing toys to determine which have the best potential to foster a child’s intellectual, emotional, and social development. We are absolutely delighted to partner with Strong—a major national museum that recognizes and values the importance of toys and play in child learning and development.”

Since 1991, the Toy Tips Institute has tested over 35,000 toys and juvenile products. The institute’s mission is to provide independent and truthful information based on academic research conducted by a team of psychologists, occupational therapists, educators, and child-care and health experts. In the course of promoting toys with the greatest developmental value, Szymanski has appeared on Oprah, The Today Show, and Good Morning America. Szymanski is also the author, with Ellen Neuborne, of Toy Tips: A Parent’s Essential Guide to Smart Toy Choices (Wiley/Jossey Bass).

More than 3,000 “TTT” toy and product reviews are available free online via the Toy Tips website at www.toytips.com. In October 2006, the premiere issue of Toy Tips and Parenting Hints Magazine made its debut. The magazine is a quarterly glossy publication on select newsstands, including Barnes and Noble, Borders, Target, Wal-Mart, Wegmans, Albertsons, and Kroger stores. Digital sample pages are available at toytips.com.

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.