A Little Journey Back to the 80s

As a kid who didn’t grow up with access to cable television, you can imagine that I also rarely indulged in playing video games. And while I’ve never quite understood how men in their 20’s and 30’s can still obsess over what seems like such child’s play, I do appreciate the classic characters of arcade favorites like Donkey Kong and Ms. Pac-Man.

The Museum of Moving Image, located in Astoria, uses the arcade games of yesteryear – from Frogger to Space Invaders to the really vintage Asteroids – as the backdrop for its current “Behind the Screen” exhibit. The exhibit features more than a thousand film and television artifacts, computer-based interactive experiences, commissioned installations, audio-visual materials, and demonstrations of professional equipment and techniques. Visitors can play fourteen classic video games in their original arcade versions and learn about the processes involved in producing, marketing and exhibiting the moving image.

Unfortunately, the museum’s hours are best suited for those who have summer Fridays (ahh, those were the days) or who “work from home”.

Museum hours are Tuesday-Friday, 10:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. and admission is a suggested $7 donation for adults.

This exhibit feels like a live episode of VH1's "I Love the 80s".