D&D General New Dungeons & Dragons 50th Anniversary Exhibit at National Museum of Play

The Strong National Museum of Play announced the new exhibit Dungeons & Dragons: 50 Years of Storytelling opening on September 21, 2024. The exhibit will be located on the first floor of the museum and feature a timeline of the game’s development, early artifacts from D&D’s design, and a look at the influence D&D has had on game design and video games. From the announcement:

Celebrate the 50-year history and influence of the iconic roleplaying game Dungeons & Dragons at a new, original exhibit opening September 21 on the museum’s first floor. Learn about the game’s creation and its influence on other games; see rare artifacts and prototypes; and create your own characters, monsters, and more. Begin your adventure by rolling the game’s 20-sided die and then journey through 20 corresponding sections.

• View a timeline of the game’s development and see rare artifacts, including a first-edition Dungeons & Dragons and the first Dragon magazine sent to co-creator Gary Gygax.
• Learn about the role of dungeons and monsters and create your own versions to play with.
• Take a character quiz to determine your character class and explore how characters level and gain skills.
• Discover the important role that dice plays in the game and see some handmade, ceramic dice made for legendary video game designer Richard Garriott.
• Explore the influence of Dungeons & Dragons on video games and play classics such as Gauntlet and Legend of Zelda.
• Dive into the storytelling aspects of Dungeons & Dragons and see related clips from popular film, television, and other games.
• Learn about how dungeon masters bring the game’s adventures to life and put your skills to the test with a 5-minute campaign.

The Strong National Museum of Play was founded in 1968 by Margaret Woodbury Strong to “study and explore play to illuminate the American experience in all its rich diversity and the broader human story”.

The Dungeons & Dragons: 50 Years of Storytelling exhibit will run from September 21, 2024, to January 5, 2025.

 

[Orcusdorkus]

This sounds cool but like most things WOTC has done to celebrate the 50th Anniverary, it feels like something that was tacked on at the end. This would have been great if this was what opened the year of the anniversary.

 

[bedir than]

This sounds cool but like most things WOTC has done to celebrate the 50th Anniverary, it feels like something that was tacked on at the end. This would have been great if this was what opened the year of the anniversary.

I expect the museum had a lot of control about their own timing and display

 

[jerryrice4949]

This sounds cool but like most things WOTC has done to celebrate the 50th Anniverary, it feels like something that was tacked on at the end. This would have been great if this was what opened the year of the anniversary.

I doubt WoTC had much say in if or when the museum decided to do the exhibit.

 

[R_J_K75]

Funny that there's no mention of where it is. It's in Rochester NY. I know this because I recognized the name. I've always meant to check the place out as it's only an hour away from me, I might muster up the courage to go this time. I was just in Rochester Friday before last and went to the House of Guitars, which in and of itself is more a museum than an actual music store.

 

[Dhomal]

I live in the Rochester area, and am 100% planning on checking this out.

I may have to disagree on when the museum started however. I'm only 55 myself, but I Remember when it all started. I'm sure some simple searching could find the correct date, I am guessing mid 80s, Not 1968.

Lastly, and tied into that, apparently on Mondays the museum has a senior admission available thatbis less expensive, for those 55+. Needless to say I will try and go on a Monday!

 

[R_J_K75]

If they are advertising for that position less than a year later, could that be a case of wrongful termination for the designer they laid off?

According to Wikipedia it has been around in one form or another since 1968. Then again, the Wikipedia page redirects to "the Strong", and if I'm not mistaken there is also the Strong Memorial Hospital in the area too, so I'm getting the impression that there may be more than one

 

[Twiggly the Gnome]

I may have to disagree on when the museum started however. I'm only 55 myself, but I Remember when it all started. I'm sure some simple searching could find the correct date, I am guessing mid 80s, Not 1968.

From wiki:

Established in 1969 and initially based on the personal collection of Rochester native Margaret Woodbury Strong, the museum opened to the public in 1982, after several years of planning, cataloguing, and exhibition development for the museum's new building in downtown Rochester.

 

[Audiomancer]

According to Wikipedia it has been around in one form or another since 1968. Then again, the Wikipedia page redirects to "the Strong", and if I'm not mistaken there is also the Strong Memorial Hospital in the area too, so I'm getting the impression that there may be more than one

I was born at Strong Memorial, so… yes.

 

[Abstruse]

I may have to disagree on when the museum started however. I'm only 55 myself, but I Remember when it all started. I'm sure some simple searching could find the correct date, I am guessing mid 80s, Not 1968.

There's the museum as an entity and the museum as a building. Because of a variety of issues, there can be delays between when the organization is founded and when the museum itself opens. For example, needing to set up all the finances for the museum to make sure it can continue to operate via trusts, endowments, and other long-term investments, applying for grants, finding an appropriate location for a building, designing the building and exhibits (keeping in mind future-proofing for new exhibits in the future), getting permits for construction, etc. etc. It can take decades sometimes.