3 Best Places To See in Rochester, NY

Strong National Museum of Play is a MUST do if you are in the area with or without kids! Obviously it has countless exhibits that kids can interact with, but within the exhibits is a ton of historical information, displays and activities that will entertain adults as well. Since we were there last they have made quite a few changes including a few more exhibits dedicated to video games. While I totally get it, once my kids found it, they could have spent the entire day there. It was fun for them I guess, but I just sat outside and read a book. We bring our own lunches and snacks so I can't speak to the quality of the food, but what we saw looked pretty good. The day we went was on a day during the holiday week so it was absolutely mobbed. It inspired me to purchase some noise cancelling earbuds. I purchased a basic membership for my family before we went and it saved us from standing in line for an hour, and you get 6 parking days free. It pays for itself even if we go twice a year. There are some add-ons like the ropes course, a little train and carousel. My kids liked the ropes course, but for $7, if they don't like it and are done after a few minutes it's a waste, but I guess it's not a ton of money to see if they are into that kind of thing. Overall, it's a wonderful place to spend a day with the kids. Make sure you wear something comfortable, especially shoes because you will be chasing them around, crawling around and having fun with the kids all day.

Must go-to experience in Rochester! Staff were helpful and kind once we walked in. We traveled to Rochester from Kentucky and had this experience on our trip list! Glad we got to visit it. We got the General Admission and Butterfly Garden pack. My little sister enjoyed the museum and even as a teen, I found it nostalgic and fun. My mom enjoyed seeing us smile and even loved reading the history on everything. My family is also obsessed with pinball and we had no idea there even was a pinball area so that was thrilling! The Butterfly Garden was gorgeously amazing, animals and nature are my absolute favorite so I was excited hearing about it! Though there weren’t many butterflies, but I didn’t get a chance to see the emergence chamber so maybe many were still emerging. We got to see 2 different butterfly species, though some were hiding. There were many Owl Butterflies. There were also animals such as a red-eared slider, The Great Mormon butterfly, Chinese Button Quails, a Green Aracari, goldfish, and a Panther Chameleon.

We were debating whether or not to go as we didn’t have any children with us, but we are so glad we went! We spent over 4 hours there and had so much fun! There is so much to see and do for free once you’re in. There are a small amount of arcade games that you pay for with a 25c token, but between the two of us, we only used $3 worth. We loved looking at the toys and games that we used to have when we were children, lots of which we’d forgotten about. There’s a smallish outdoor area too with some great photo ops and games to play. All in all, it was a great way to spend a few hours - but if you have children, you’ll spend a lot longer than 4 hours there.

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