The Computer Gallery: List of Games

The Computer Gallery was an opening day attraction at Sesame Place. It remained there until sometime after 1993 when it was renamed The Games Gallery (and became a more traditional arcade.)

Image from YouTube

When it opened in 1980 it had "56 Apple II computers linked by three Nestar Cluster/One Model A hard disc systems." It was called "the nations largest collection of computer games".

The computer keys were arranged in alphabetical order and the computers ran on tokens.

Tokens were 3 for $1 in 1980. Children could play for "up to four minutes on one token"

Image from eBay

Here is information on a few of the games:

Lemonade - This game demonstrates using the computer to solve economic problems of running a lemonade stand at a profit. (citation)

Tune-In - A music based game where players compose a melody by arranging musical phrases pre-programmed into the computer.

 Image from YouTube

Fire Fly - Tests hand-eye coordination. Plays try to see how many windows in a city they can light up with a flash of light.

Mup-O-Matic - Players guess the Muppet character emerging in the video patterns. This was aimed at younger children.

 Image from YouTube

Art Beams - Kids design a six-color video design which is then stretched, squeezed, angled or flipped over. (citation)

Reflect - Players bounce a light beam off a mirror at angle to make objects on the screen react. One object was a rosebud which would blossom if hit with light.

Layer Cake - A variation of an ancient puzzle game where players move layers of cake to the correct sized plate.

Paddle Tennis - A tennis game that could be played with or without gravity.

 Image from YouTube

Do you remember any others? Please let me know!

The location of Super Grover's Cable Glide

There used to be a zip line ride at Sesame Place called Super Grover's Cable Glide.

It is listed in the 1980 park brochure and has been there since opening day.

Image from Henson

It is described as "a fast and breezy to go from here to there, by riding a rope on a pulley and sweeping 120 feet through the air just a few fee above the ground.

Images from YouTube

I also found images of a much smaller version of the attraction:

Image from YouTube

I contacted Jeff Davis, VP of Operations at Sesame Place and asked him if these were two separate rides or if both were part of the same "Super Grover Attraction:

The answer is that they were both Super Grover's Cable Glide and they were  located behind, what was then The Computer Gallery. This would put them just out of frame on the left hand side of this image:

 Image from Henson

This makes sense since you can see a street just beyond the fence in the pictures of the smaller track. If you look to the far left of the image above you can see that the street in front of the park bends around to the side of the park.

Many thanks to Jeff Davis for helping to answer this question.

The Computer Gallery

Image from YouTube

The Computer Gallery (later re-named The Games Gallery) is a former Sesame Place attraction that was located to the left of the entrance of Big Bird Bridge. 

 Image from YouTube

An article in the St. Joseph, MO., News-Press (from Sunday, June 7, 1981) referred to it as "the nations largest collection of computer games".

Joyce Hakansson of Atari designed the Computer Gallery, according to an article on atarimagazines.com. The system was described as "56 Apple II computers linked by three Nestar Cluster/One Model A hard disc systems."
The Computer Gallery was an important educational element to the park, as discussed in Intelligent Machines Journal in the fall before the park opened.

 Image from Info World

The games were state of the art (at the time) and helped children (and their parents) learn more about computers.

 Image from YouTube

The computers required tokens, were housed in large colorful metal cases and had membrane keyboards.

 Image from YouTube

 Image from YouTube

The computers became very expensive to keep up to date and were slowly replaced with Arcade games. Sometime after 1993 the space was renamed The Games Gallery.

Image from YouTube

The space was converted to a restaurant called Sesame Cafe in 2001. The restaurant has since been renamed Cookie's Cafe.

Image from Google Street Views

Count's Ball Room News Photos

As I researched yesterday's post on The Count's Ball Room I found three images in three different newspapers that appeared to all feature the same kids.

These pictures were probably all taken within a minute of each other and then sent out to different newspapers.

The first one is from the St. Joseph, MO., News-Press from Sunday, June 7, 1981.

This one features a nice article that lists all the new additions to the park as it started it's second season:
-14 new challenges to "the nations largest collection of computer games" at The Computer Gallery
-More merchandise added to Mr. Hooper's Store
-Several treats added to the Sesame Food Factory menu
-All but three attractions are now open to children AND adults
-Addition of a second Ball Room

The article also lists the park as 2 and 1/2 acres (rather than the often quoted 3 acre opening day size) and says it can accommodate 4,500 guests a day.

Next, an image of the kids in the Ball Room was used in the Youngstown Vindicator on June 29, 1981. This article mentions that the balls are purple and that the park has "40 outdoor play elements, 24 hands-on science exhibits and 60 educational computer games."
The article from the St. Joseph, MO., News-Press from earlier that month listed the educational computer games as numbering "more than 70".

The final one is from The Mount Airy News from Friday June 26, 1981. This one has a similar description to the one above, but with different wording: