ROCHESTER, New York – Picture yourself inside a video game, racing cars, evading obstacles, hitting targets.

A new space at the Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester puts you in the middle of the action – throwing balls, creating cities, jumping through hoops.

Is this a museum or an indoor playground?

Well, why can’t it be both?

I was a bit worried last month as I planned a return trip the Strong, which I last visited with my two kids a decade ago. This time, it was just me and my husband, a side trip on our drive farther east.

Was there enough to keep two adult visitors engaged? I needn’t have worried. Turns out there’s no age limit for fun in Rochester.

We spent four hours here, and could have easily spent the whole day.

The museum, on the eastern edge of downtown, opened in the late 1960s primarily as a showcase for the vast collections of dolls and toys amassed by Rochester philanthropist Margaret Woodbury Strong.

In the years since, it has expanded immensely – including a 90,000-square-foot addition that opened earlier this year featuring two new large spaces devoted to video games.

In one, called Level Up, visitors are transported inside the games – to evade lasers, crash cars and maneuver a giant ball through an on-screen obstacle course.

The other area, High Score, recounts the long and complicated history of video games, from Atari to Zelda.

Also new in 2023: The Hasbro Game Park, an outdoor playzone with oversized Monopoly and Scrabble pieces, a fire-breathing dragon from Dungeons and Dragons and a life-sized version of the spinner from the Game of Life that you can take a ride on.

The National Toy Hall of Fame is also headquartered at the Strong Museum. The hall, founded in 1998, has inducted 85 classic playthings in the past 25 years – including Nerf, baseball cards, Cabbage Patch Kids and the Fisher-Price Corn Popper, all added this year.

Visitors with younger children will want to allot plenty of time for areas devoted to Sesame Street, the Berenstain Bears, comic book heroes and Wegmans Super Kids Market, a kids-sized grocery store, where kids can go shopping and scan their own purchases (a favorite with my daughters a decade ago).

There’s a giant climbing structure, the Dancing Wings Butterfly Garden and a historic carousel.

The museum features hundreds of historic dolls and classic games on display, including many original Barbies and the oldest known version of Monopoly, a circular set, handmade in 1933 by Charles Darrow, who first published and marketed the game.

There’s also a fascinating temporary exhibit on Black Dolls, produced by the New York Historical Society, featuring dozens of handmade figures, primarily from 1850 to 1940, explored through the lens of race, gender and history. Among those that made an impression: a doll created in the likeness of abolitionist Frederick Douglass, circa 1840-48; and a series of topsy-turvy dolls, featuring two dolls – one white, one Black – conjoined at the waist. (The exhibit is open through Jan. 7.)

My husband and I, however, spent much of our time in the video game area.

Honestly, I’ve never been a big video game player, but the history here drew me in, from early protests over violent content to the landmark Supreme Court ruling in 2011 that found that video games – like art, film and literature – deserve First Amendment protections.

The museum describes video games as “the most important cultural medium of the 21st century,” and curators make a strong case.

A timeline here recounts the history of the medium, starting with Ralph Baer, who originated the idea of playing video games on a television in 1966 and then developed the first home gaming system, the Magnavox Odyssey, in 1972. The museum features Baer’s desk and tools from his Florida home in honor of his contributions.

There are numerous video games to play here, including Space Invaders, Donkey Kong and a giant version of Pong, the game that launched the revolution.

But to really get in on the action, head to the exhibit space next door.

Upon entering the exhibit, visitors are asked to choose their favorite elements of video games – solve, unlock, learn, collect and demolish, among others.

Shane Rhinewald, the museum’s senior director of public relations, describes the space this way: “The museum’s video game historians and exhibit designers wanted to distill electronic games down to their core elements, so they devised an actual periodic table of video game elements. This helps spark conversation around what defines an action game, or what’s crucial to a puzzle game?”

He continued, “Guests enter the space and become a player inside a video game while learning about the different game genres and their key elements. They pick up an RFID bracelet that tracks their progress, create a personal avatar (which also holds an ‘inventory’ of items collected in the exhibit), and set off to complete certain tasks. Much like a real video game character, they can earn achievements and ‘level up’ through their journey.”

Truthfully, I was pretty bad at many of the adventures in this area – maneuvering a car, jumping through an obstacle course, even throwing balls at targets. But I had lots of fun trying.

The interactivity continued elsewhere in the museum – in the Toy Hall of Fame space, where I sat for a portrait on a giant Etch A Sketch, used my hands to bring Barbie and Mr. Potato Head to life on an interactive screen and asked questions of an outsized Magic 8 Ball.

And outside, in the Hasbro area, I took a dizzy-inducing ride aboard the Game of Life carousel spinner.

Rhinewald said the museum has always encouraged adults-only visits.

“Play is universal, and the Strong encourages play for all ages,” he said. “The museum attracts a good number of adult-only guests—big kids at heart, really!—particularly those interested in video games and pinball machines. Being there without any kids around really takes the pressure off for the adults, so you see their real inner child come out.”

But don’t take his word for it. Come play for yourself.

If you go: The Strong National Museum of Play

Where: One Manhattan Square, Rochester, New York, about four hours east of Cleveland off I-90.

When: Open daily 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and until 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Closed Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Admission: $23 online, $25 in person for ages 2 and up.

In the neighborhood: The recently expanded museum anchors a new development in Rochester dubbed the Neighborhood of Play, built on the footprint of a former highway. The development includes housing, commercial space, several restaurants and the new Hampton Inn & Suites Rochester Downtown.

Where to eat: There are several dining options inside the museum, including a food court and 1950s-era diner, but my husband and I headed across the street to Nerdvana, a restaurant with a gaming theme. Diners are given a choice of Xbox of PlayStation Switch and can play games while they wait for their food. Traditional board games are available, as well. The cocktails and food are also recommended. See nerdvanaroc.com

More information: museumofplay.org, visitrochester.com