This week the International Center for the History of Electronic Games (ICHEG).has finished installing the desk of Ralph Baer, widely credited as the “father of video games”, at the Strong Museum of Play in Rochester, New York.
It’s a notable way of preserving Baer’s legacy of invention and engineering in the wake of his death in 2014. Baer worked on a vast array of projects throughout his life, and is well remembered for creating what became the very first commercial home console: 1972’s Magnavox Odyssey.
Baer gave a working prototype of the console (originally known as the Brown Box) to ICHEG for the eGameRevolution game industry history exhibit it opened at The Strong in 2010, then went on to donate personal papers and make multiple personal visits.
Now, the desk he worked on from his Florida home (replete with tools like an oscilloscope and soldering gun) has become another exhibit of video game history.
“The Strong is pleased to display the workspace from Ralph’s Florida home, complete with many of the tools of his trade,” writes ICHEG director Jon-Paul C. Dyson in a blog post about the desk’s installation. “ICHEG is pleased that guests—young and old—who visit The Strong’s eGameRevolution exhibit will see the work area of this man of genius and appreciate anew his gift of play.”