Temple University's Center for Reimagining Children's Learning and Education, the University of Delaware, and Johns Hopkins University are collaborating with the Children's Museum of Manhattan and several other children's museums, science centers, and researchers around the U.S. to conduct a two-day workshop to review and expand the research base on the role of play in children's learning of STEM. The workshop is associated with a larger, multi-faceted initiative called the Ultimate Block Party (UBP), whose mission is to make a case for and conduct activities on the science of learning and the importance of play in children's lives and their development of 21st century skills. Associated with the workshop, UBP activities in 2010 include a major event on October 3 in Central Park, New York City, whose purpose is to provide families with engaging activities that emphasize how the science of learning supports the critical role of playful learning in children's education.
The workshop participants will include both researchers and practitioners who will share knowledge about children's learning in informal settings and strategize on how to maximize the kind of scientific learning that takes place in free-choice learning environments. A particular emphasis will be on sparking curiosity about STEM by children from all socio-economic and ethnic groups. On the second day, participants will also contribute to the event in Central Park by observing and commenting on the event, its impact on attendees, and possible improvements for future events in New York and around the country.
The process includes an evaluation of the workshop and the production of a workshop report. Dissemination will be both to academic research and informal science education communities.
On October 2, 2010 museum professionals and academic researchers attended the Museum Play Panel Workshop funded by the National Science Foundation and initiated by the Ultimate Block Party. This workshop, hosted by the Children’s Museum of Manhattan, was designed to bridge research and practice in informal education, the science of learning, and play. Panelists representing children’s and science museums were paired with university researchers and each group presented information on two key topics: 1) How to best capitalize on museums’ unique role in encouraging children and families to learn through play; and 2) How to effectively document the impact of informal education. The genesis of this workshop stems from the critical need for a common framework of shared information across museums and better methodology for assessing museum impact. Museums can benefit from strong communication channels to support the sharing of best practices while academic researchers and museums mutually benefit from research that informs both learning theory and informal education. The Play Panel Workshop serves as one step towards addressing the need for wide scale conclusions about informal learning based on research that observes and measures museum impact. The Workshop had a strong focus on accessibility and reach. To be successful, museums must know their audience and fully understand how to provide a range of playful learning experiences to meet the needs of various families. Museums can share information on demographics with each other and discuss how to best meet the needs of various visitors, including grandparents who are often young children’s primary caregivers. Workshop attendees described the need to draw older adults such as grandparents into the museum learning experience, enhancing "playing across the lifespan." Play experiences provide natural entry points for children to engage with adults of any age both in the museum and beyond. Conversations that begin in the museum can continue on the bus, at the dinner table, or in the waiting room at the doctor’s office and a key message is to encourage public awareness that we are all scientists. Curiosity and inquisitiveness is not age-specific; being playful and inventive are invaluable traits across the life span. Ideas are only as good as our ability to communicate them and the notion of "getting out the message" to a large, diverse public was another workshop theme. Technology can be a powerful tool in disseminating content to children and adults alike, but first museums, the Ultimate Block Party, and others must agree upon what the unifying messages are. This warrants further discussion, as does the notion of how to shift focus away from content-driven passive learning towards a greater understanding of how to engage learners in the process of scientific inquiry. There was general consensus among the Workshop participants that the timing is right to reclaim playful learning for children and adults of all generations. At a time when middle- and upper-income mainstream parents are condemned for being hyper-protective and hyper-involved in their children’s learning, and low-income minority parents are conversely criticized for not being involved enough, museums and the UBP movement can take the lead in providing a balanced perspective. The public needs help in understanding the importance of rich, content-driven learning and the 33 essential skills that emerge through free play. Rather than giving overburdened parents and grandparents more to do, the goal should be to help adults see true educational value in the simple everyday moments of their children’s lives. There was strong support for the Ultimate Block Party as a platform for a community event that can reach parents in compelling new ways. The New York City Block Party was designed to bring together families from all of the City’s boroughs and served as an opportunity for parents and caregivers not only to observe play but also to play alongside their children. The play experiences at the event (either observational or participatory) can serve as effective mechanisms to communicate that play is powerful, that it is highly engaging and most importantly, essential for a child’s healthy growth and development. The notion of community was at the center of the Workshop’s discussion about play. There are government agencies and corporations who want to better understand how children learn and how education impacts our ability to compete in a global economy. There are organizations seeking to educate these groups and the public about how children learn best. There is a strong community of museums and initiatives, such as the UBP, that are prepared to extend their reach by working with businesses and organizations with shared goals. There are families eager to hear more about learning and play and how they can leverage everyday activities into learning opportunities. An entire community is prepared to join forces in reclaiming play. At the center of this greater community is the child, who is, ideally, too busy playing to notice.
