An expansion of the play zone at Frederick Douglass Greater Rochester International Airport is complete, and officials hope it helps battle what County Executive Adam Bello calls "the wiggles."
"We are giving kids somewhere to actually be kids while they're waiting for their flight, somewhere to run, to climb, to laugh, to burn off that pent up energy before they're asked to sit down for a long flight ahead of them," Bello said as he stood near the play area in the airport's Concourse A.
The Strong National Museum of Play partnered with the airport for the project, which is also part exhibit. It includes the large-scale toy dump truck, trivia and memory games, and oversized Etch A Sketch that have been in the play zone for a few years. But it has been expanded to 1,000 square feet with new barriers, flight-themed decor, a Twister-inspired floor game, and cases displaying classic toys.
"This space continues to celebrate toys in the museum's National Toy Hall of Fame, which is a globally recognized brand, while also creating new opportunities through artifacts and interactives to connect play with the joy of flight," said Steve Dubnik, the museum's president and CEO.
The play area also includes a new larger-than-life Mr. Potato Head and two new digital games. Paper Race pits players against each other or the clock, and has paper airplane themed controllers. In the other game, SkyCrafter, players personalize their own "flyers" and launch them in a 16-foot by 7-foot overhead "airspace."
