ROCHESTER, N.Y. (December 16, 2024) – This year during the winter holiday break, visitors at The Strong National Museum of Play will have an opportunity to explore elements of a dairy farm and see what “Winter on the Farm” is like when American Dairy Association North East presents fun and activities for the whole family, starting on December 21.

The “Winter on the Farm” activities in the Adams Atrium invites guests to experience life as a dairy farmer by allowing children to use their imaginations and step into a charming, pop-up dairy farm experience. Young visitors can navigate their way through the farm on play tractors and learn how to care for the cows.

  • Keep Cows Warm: Children can choose a colorful jacket to fasten on to plush calves to keep them warm.
  • Keep Cows Comfortable: Kids can snuggle up with plush calves inside a real hutch from a local dairy farm that has been transformed into a comfy book nook with farm-themed children’s books like Curious Clover, The Confused Cow, Farm Nursery Songs and Tales of the Dairy Godmother.
  • Keep Cows Healthy: Children will have the opportunity to feed the plush cows using real calf bottles and dress up as veterinarians to ensure their cows are healthy.

There will also be a photo opportunity in the atrium — a 16-foot inflatable dairy cow named Bertha. Other interactive areas designed to help children roleplay the part of a dairy farmer include dress up items, tractors for toddlers, and a kitchenette and farm stand.

“Taking care of cows is the most important job on the farm,” says American Dairy Association North East CEO John Chrisman. “Giving kids the opportunity to play dairy farmer, ride a tractor and pretend to care for a calf helps foster the understanding that local dairy foods are sourced responsibly and with care for the animals and the environment.”

In addition to all the festivities in the atrium, The Strong’s Play Lab will feature winter cardboard villages where museumgoers can contribute to the scene through the Holiday Break Week by adding houses, businesses and other buildings, complete with 5,000 dairy-themed stickers.

There will also be occasional samples of lactose-free Cabot Cheese throughout the 16 days of programming on a first come, first served basis.

For one day only on Friday, December 27, New York State Dairy Ambassadors will join in the fun and gather visitors in the Play Lab between 11 a.m.–2 p.m. for hot chocolate with assorted toppings, while supplies last.

“Winter on the Farm” Break Week at The Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester, New York, begins on December 21, 2024, and will remain open until January 5, 2025. For more information, please visit https://www.museumofplay.org/.

About American Dairy Association North East (ADANE)
American Dairy Association North East (ADANE) is the local affiliate of the National Dairy Council® and the regional consolidation of three promotion organizations including the American Dairy Association and Dairy Council, Inc., Mid-Atlantic Dairy Association and Pennsylvania Dairy Promotion Program. Committed to nutrition education and research-based communications, ADANE provides science-based nutrition information to, and in collaboration with, a variety of stakeholders committed to fostering a healthier nation, including health professionals, educators, school nutrition directors, academia, industry, consumers and media. Funded by dairy checkoff dollars from more than 8,300 dairy farm families in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, and northern Virginia, ADANE works closely with Dairy Management Inc.™ to bring a fully integrated promotion program to the North East region. For more information, visit AmericanDairy.com.

About The Strong®
The Strong is a highly interactive, collections-based museum devoted to the history and exploration of play. It is one of the largest history museums in the United States and one of the leading museums serving families. The Strong houses the world’s largest and most comprehensive collection of historical materials related to play generally and video games in particular and is home to the International Center for the History of Electronic Games, the National Toy Hall of Fame, the World Video Game Hall of Fame, the Brian Sutton-Smith Library and Archives of Play, the National Archives of Game Show History, the Woodbury School, and the American Journal of Play. Together, these enable a multifaceted array of research, exhibition, and other interpretive and educational activities that serve a diverse audience of adults, families, children, students, teachers, scholars, collectors, and others around the globe.