KIDS | The Hess Toy Truck Mobile Museum

By Rebecca Rafferty @rsrafferty

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Things are going to get a little meta this weekend, when a toy museum that looks like the toy it's dedicated to rolls up to Rochester's toy museum. Got that? The Hess Toy Truck Mobile Museum will visit The Strong museum (One Manhattan Square) on Saturday, November 1, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. What better place to hold the official launch of its seven-week tour on the East Coast?

The 40-foot mobile museum celebrates 50 years of the iconic Hess Toy Truck, which was among the first toys to boast working lights and realistic sounds — inspiring peace-craving, weary parents everywhere to "lose" the batteries.

Guests can explore the mobile museum, which features the entire collection of holiday Hess Toy Trucks and other memorabilia from the past five decades, and get a preview of the 2014 truck and the special-release Collector's Edition, which includes a replica of the 1964 Tanker Trailer. The event also features outdoor activities for kids including a photo-op; a Kids' Zone; a prize wheel; and a bank of toy truck computer games.

Historic examples of Hess Toy Trucks will be featured in a special first-floor display open at The Strong through January 4, 2015. The Hess Toy Truck Mobile Museum does not require admission. The upcoming first-floor Hess Toy Trucks display is included with general museum admission fees ($13.50; free to members and kids under age two). For more information, call 263-2700, or visit museumofplay.org.