National Museum of Play Recognition Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. MORELLE. Mr. Speaker, first of all, I thank my good friend, the gentlewoman from New Mexico, who is also playful but serious, for yielding. I thank the gentlewoman from Wyoming for her support of the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to voice my strong support for H.R. 3250, the National Museum of Play Recognition Act. This bipartisan bill will designate the Margaret Woodbury Strong Museum in Rochester, New York, where I am grateful and privileged to represent, as the National Museum of Play.

As has been described by my colleagues, the museum was founded by Margaret Woodbury Strong in 1968. It is the only museum of its kind that exists for the exclusive purpose of exploring the ways in which play encourages learning, creativity, and discovery, and how it illuminates cultural history.

Children are the hope of each and every community across this country. We must continue to inspire future generations to learn, grow, and innovate, and we know the best way to do that is through play.

In 2023, the Strong Museum completed its most recent 90,000-square foot expansion of new exhibit space, bringing the museum total square footage to 282,000 square feet of areas of play.

The museum also features the Toy Hall of Fame. Each year, the Hall of Fame selects inductees like the Fisher-Price Corn Popper, the American Girl dolls, the board game Monopoly, the Atari 2600 game system, Slinky, and last year's new inductee, Cabbage Patch Kids.

I am incredibly proud to have such a noteworthy institution in my district, working to serve the children and families from upstate New York and the entire country.

Mr. Speaker, I extend an invitation to all of my colleagues to come to Rochester and spend time at the National Museum of Play.

I also thank Representative Langworthy for his partnership with this legislation, as well as Chairman Westerman, Ranking Member Grijalva, and the House Committee on Natural Resources for advancing this bill on a bipartisan and unanimous basis.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 3250.

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