Hardcore gamers with a sense of history or just people with a love of history are in for a treat! The Arcade Age exhibit at the Cradle of Aviation Museum in Garden City is open until April 1st, which features over 60 playable classic arcade cabinets and 20 classic consoles.
“The Arcade Age explores the short history of video arcade games through exhibits and gameplay, just as they were intended to be experienced – in an arcade,” says the museum website.
So it’s like a hands-on history lesson, with extra lives.
“The exhibit tells the story of video arcade games; from the pioneers in the early 40s and 50s to the golden age in the late 70s and early 80s to its crash, revival, and ultimate decline in the 90s,” a description of the exhibit describes.
The exhibit tells the story of the people who “explored groundbreaking technologies, the games that sprung from their ingenuity, and a culture that was shaped by their developments.”
There is even a game console with the side cut off and closed up with plexi-glass so visitors can see how the games were put together and what makes these gizmos tick.
The exhibit also talks about the first video game ever invented right here on Long Island at Brookhaven National Lab called “Tennis for Two.” The game’s creator, William Higinbotham, was a nuclear physicist who built the pioneering system to entertain visitors to the Lab on October 18, 1958.
Higinbotham, who realized how static and non-interactive most science exhibits were at that time, wrote of his game, “it might liven up the place to have a game that people could play, and which would convey the message that our scientific endeavors have relevance for society.”
Hundreds of visitors lined up for a chance to play the electronic tennis game at BNL.
Classic games like Ms. Pac-Man, Galaga, Space Invaders, Centipede, and Donkey Kong are all at the Cradle of Aviation Museum’s Arcade Age exhibit and best yet, they are set to free play.
So get your game on like Donkey Kong!
Photo: Cradle of Aviation Museum Website.