Last week was the second event in the Speaking of Play series presented by the Providence Athenaeum, Providence Children’s Museum and Kidoinfo: a provocative conversation about the important benefits of recess. Panelists shared stories of their recess crusades and sparked an enthusiastic and passionate audience exchange about joining together as a community to stand up [...]
PAPER CAPERS Weekends in April | 11:00 AM – 2:00 PM Kidoinfo partners with Providence Children’s Museum to create this special series. Discover fun-filled paper folding activities! Where: Providence Children’s Museum – 100 South Street, Providence Cost: Free with museum admission. Ages: Recommended for ages 5 and up. Origami Saturday, April 6 & Sunday, April [...]
I recently had the privilege of watching my granddaughter, at 9 months, negotiate the positioning of her body. I could see the wheels turning as she tried to move into a sitting position, thinking “if I do this, this might happen…” As she pulled herself up into what I refer to as the ‘majestic triangle,’ she brought her hands together celebrating the growing sense of herself in space. She was really thinking spatially —developing an intuitive understanding of shape and space, a skill that is necessary to navigate the world around us on a daily basis.
By Janice O’Donnell, Executive Director, Providence Children’s Museum
If you’ve visited Providence Children’s Museum in the past couple of months, you may have noticed members of the staff with clipboards lurking in the Museum’s newest exhibit, ThinkSpace. Doing some lurking of my own, I spent nearly 20 minutes watching a very small visitor push big wooden beads along the wire and bead maze, watch them slip down, push them up again. Twenty minutes – amazing concentration for an 18-month-old. I tracked a 7-year-old who solved one block-stacking challenge after another, translating abstract drawings into three-dimensional models, and a 9-year-old who was determined to map all of the mystery mazes. I took notes, timed how long they spent at activities, and listened for spatial language: “Rotate it!” “I need another parallelogram.” A mom asked what I was doing. “Observations,” I told her.
By Providence Children’s Museum educators Since planning for and opening our new ThinkSpace exhibit, Museum educators have been thinking a lot about great spatial thinking activities. Spatial thinking is an important problem-solving skill, and one that is fundamental for kids’ interest in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) disciplines. Here are some of our favorite [...]
By Cathy Saunders, Director of Education, Providence Children’s Museum
Play is important for children’s healthy development. All too often the school day offers little or no opportunities for children to play – recesses are limited or eliminated, “test prep” replaces hands-on exploration, and so on. By the time the typical child finishes 5½ or more hours of school, he is ready for some fun!
Think about your childhood afternoons. What were some of your favorite memories – gathering with other kids at the park? Playing hoops at the local community center? Making messes in the kitchen? Doing Scouts or some other organized activity? Digging into your favorite hobby? I’ll bet that it included some time to rejuvenate as well as opportunities to engage your mind in something interesting to you.
By Mary Scott Hackman, Early Childhood Programs Coordinator
The summer crowd has a special feel here at Providence Children’s Museum. Visitors seem relaxed and joyful, peer excitedly around corners, anticipate what the next room or exhibit will hold, hold hands with their children, and run up the ramp, entirely open to the possibilities. The unplugged, gleeful way they experience the Museum shouts, “We’re on vacation!”
The City of Providence was recently honored as a “Playful City USA” by KaBOOM!, a national non-profit dedicated to saving play for America’s children. The national program recognizes cities and towns that make play a priority and use innovative programs to get children active, playing and healthy.
To celebrate this designation, Providence parks and other recreation venues will participate in a citywide weekend of play, beginning with a Playful Providence Kickoff Celebration held on Friday, September 7, 4:30 – 6:30 PM in Burnside Park. The celebration will feature playful activities by Providence Children’s Museum, RI Parkour, RI Museum of Science and Art and more plus lively music from the Brown University Band, collaborative art projects, and a short speaking program.
Playful Providence activities will continue throughout the weekend…
By Janice O’Donnell, Executive Director, Providence Children’s Museum
Do you like kids’ movies – the ones with great animation, a good story and a little adult-level humor mixed in? How about really well-written children’s books with beautiful illustrations? Me too. How much do you like them when you’re watching them for a fourth time or reading them for the tenth – this month?
Just as with a movie or book, we adults can get bored visiting the children’s museum or zoo long before kids do. A recent national study surveyed over 8,400 adults who visit children’s museums frequently. The typical respondent was a 30-something, college-educated mother of a child or children under 6. Why does this mom go to the museum so often? She does it for the kids. She knows the kids love it and it’s good for them. But she’s not having much fun herself. Oh dear. Children’s museums are meant to be fun and engaging for the whole family. We know it’s our job to come up with better ways – activities, signage, staffing, seating – to engage adults so they’re having fun too, but visitors can make some changes themselves.
Unstructured, freely chosen play promotes children’s healthy growth and development, but many kids don’t get enough free play, especially outdoors. The warm summer months invite kids to indulge in more carefree, active, outdoor play that is not as available during the school year. This summer, Providence Children’s Museum offers an array of powerful outdoor play experiences on its grounds and well beyond.
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