“The Strong is already one of the top
attractions in the United States and the
ultimate destination for play,” said Steve
Dubnik, president and CEO. “This is a
once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to build
something that will be transformational
for our members, guests, and our region.”
The existing two floors — more
than a city block long — offer hands-
on, dynamic, interactive exhibit spaces.
It boasts the world’s largest collection of
toys, dolls, and games. Play is really for
all ages and this museum is designed to
appeal to everyone.
Preschoolers can play pretend in a
life-size dollhouse in Play Pals; spend
time in Bear Country in Berenstain
Bears: Down a Sunny Dirt Road and
step into the world’s most famous
neighborhood in Can You Tell Me How
to Get to Sesame Street?
Older children and
adults can leap into the
world of superheroes
in American Comic
Book Heroes: The
Battle of Good vs.
Evil, experience a
classic video game
arcade and discov-
er unique artifacts
in eGameRevolu-
tion and Pinball
Playfields.
The Wegmans Su-
per Kids Market is a peren-
nial favorite. It is designed to encour-
age healthy eating habits. In the toddler
area, little ones can pick, count, sort
and weigh organic veggies, gather eggs,
crawl through a raised hoop house and
sit under the apple tree. All ages can
cruise the aisles with child-sized shop-
ping carts and scan bar-coded products
at working check-out counters. Children
can also produce a commercial or cook-
ing show at the WKID-TV station.
Everyone can enjoy the 1918 made-
in-North Tonawanda Herschell carousel,
the Strong Express Train, the tropical
butterfly garden, the food court, and old-
fashioned diner. Visitors are welcome
to bring their own lunches and there are
designated rooms for them.
The Seneca Park Zoo in Olmsted-
designed Seneca Park is in the midst of a
ten-year, $85 million expansion, renova-
tion, and update to create the best possi-
ble experience for the zoo residents and
visitors. It is small enough to enjoy in a
couple hours but features a good variety
of animals, including some special resi-
dents such as the red panda and the snow
leopards.
During the warmer weather there is
a tram and regular giraffe feeding ses-
sions — a must do if it is available dur-
ing your visit.
On a recent weekday visit there
were no crowds, but many animals were
out enjoying the cold day particularly
the snow leopards, gray wolves, and red
panda. Silver, the snow leopard cub who
was born last year, seemed to enjoy re-
laxing next to the glass and being close
to human visitors, so it was easy to get
good close-ups.
The sea lions enjoy interacting with
young visitors. The zoo is home to four
sea lions, three females and one male. It
also boasts a thriving colony of African
penguins and is one of the top breeders
of African penguins in the country —
with more than 100 penguins hatched,
most of them have been sent to other
zoos and aquariums.
Fun, fascination with learn-
ing added to the mix are the
hallmarks of the Rochester
Museum & Science Center &
Strasenburgh Planetarium.
A fascinating chapter in
Cold War history is now on
display in the planetarium. It is
the optical system of Gambit-1, a
previously classified top secret spy
satellite. The optical system was de-
signed and manufactured in Rochester
in the 1960s. Its mission was to photo-
graph Soviet military and industrial ca-
pabilities from orbit. The satellite flew
38 missions between 1963 and 1967 and
consistently returned high resolution
photos from 130 miles above the earth,
moving over 18,000 miles per hour.
continued on page 63
March 2020 WNY Family 53