To introduce our new blog, Growing Into the World, Jane Turner, executive director of The Children’s Museum of Atlanta, writes about what she has learned about the benefits of play.
I believe that I have always known that play is a good thing. I enjoy playing; I feel happy and alive when I play; I forge deep friendships through play, discover new things about the world and myself, and I am refreshed. I have also watched my own children at play and I have innately understood that they were happiest at play. I could watch as they figured things out and began new friendships while pretending to be Presidents or digging in the sand to build entire cities. Listen to your child whenever they meet another child and want to connect with them. It is very likely you will hear, “Want to go play?”. As the famous and beloved Mr. Rogers stated, “Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning. But for children play is serious learning. Play is really the work of childhood.”
What I have learned while working at The Children’s Museum of Atlanta is that play is a serious (but joyful) endeavor which introduces children to topics great and small! The benefits of open-ended and physical play are profound and almost endless. It is through play that children develop their imaginations, dexterity, physical, cognitive and emotional strengths. It is how they are introduced to the greater world in an environment that they control; it is how they “try out” occupations, leadership roles, team-building, problem-solving, and creative endeavors. It is one thing to learn in an academic environment that red and blue mixed together form purple; it is quite another to dip a brush in thick, red paint, draw that brush across a wall, dip the brush in blue paint and mix it into the red and see the purple! Concepts come to life; ideas become reality!
One of the most powerful encounters I have had while working at the Children’s Museum was when we welcomed Dr. Stuart Brown to speak. Dr. Brown has spent decades researching the importance of play, and what I learned from him is that the act of play is powerful and that there is a physiological connection between physical play and brain development. Play truly shapes the brain and has an enormous role in the development of the executive functioning of the brain. This means better ability to think creatively, engage in long-term planning, work effectively as a team, and solve problems. And, these are exactly the skills that are most important when young children grow up and enter the adult world.They are exactly the skills that will lead to new inventions and innovative solutions. Who will invent the next important technological advance in the future? It is likely the little boy or girl who is creating sand sculptures, stacking boxes, taking things apart, or turning somersaults today!
What young children do today makes a difference in what they will do tomorrow and beyond, and if we want a country that shapes the future, we must nurture and enable those who will inherit that future to discover what is possible. That is where the adults come in; it is incumbent upon us to ensure that play is not lost in a sea of over-programmed days for our children; it is why I love the Children’s Museum – it is a place of open-ended, child-directed activity. It is where children become painters, sculptors, dancers, engineers, builders, and chemists. It is a world that responds to their direction, their pace, their ideas, and it is a place that can spark true discovery.
Check out these websites and articles to learn more of the richness of play and the importance of this precious, simple, but profoundly important part of childhood. Then come play with us!
Jane Turner has held the position of Executive Director for The Children’s Museum of Atlanta since September 2004. Prior to joining The Children’s Museum of Atlanta, Jane worked for 15 years in the Healthcare IT industry. She served as President of the Board of Directors of Georgia Shakespeare Festival. Jane graduated from Kenyon College and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. Jane currently serves on the Board of Advisors for the Junior League of Atlanta and Advisory Board of Georgia Shakespeare.
Growing Into the World 