I was having a discussion with a friend recently about play learning and have been thinking about what a playground could be like that let children interact with information in a non-directed format - where they could just jump in and learn while playing. What sorts of things could you let kids learn in a physical space? I've seen lame attempts done in some places - but the kids completely miss the 'educational content' that is plastered decoratively on playground 'equipment'.
I've heard of a new playground in NYC that has city employees to monitor use of large building blocks and encourage kids to jump in and build their own creations. I'm wondering how far the idea could be taken. I think the Baltimore children's Port Discovery and Columbus Ohio's COSI does a great job of conveying seriously educational content in a completely hands on, fun environment. But those places cover so much material that it's kind of overwhelming and you can't stay all day and it costs a friggin arm and a leg - plus I don't live in either city so there's the travel issue.
I'm curious - could this be taken further? Now I'm all for just letting kids play in a completely unstructured space like a meadow or a stream. But that doesn't teach you what a combustion engine is or the periodic table or a language. I've noticed that some things are best learned by just discovering through touch and body involvement and interaction.
What do you think?
Can a playground teach a content topic?
I'd love a sort of montessori / self discovery learning playground system built all over my city. Schools and homeschoolers could use it. But I have no idea how it could be fleshed-out in practicality. I think a lot of the metal tot lot style things out there are kind of blah - yeah kids play on them some, but they're pretty boring and the kids end up playing in the bushes and climbing low trees just more than the $50k of plastic and metal out there. Cities already spend kajillions on playgrounds - what if someone proposed a better idea?
Maybe we should ask our kids to help design them, lol.
I've heard of a new playground in NYC that has city employees to monitor use of large building blocks and encourage kids to jump in and build their own creations. I'm wondering how far the idea could be taken. I think the Baltimore children's Port Discovery and Columbus Ohio's COSI does a great job of conveying seriously educational content in a completely hands on, fun environment. But those places cover so much material that it's kind of overwhelming and you can't stay all day and it costs a friggin arm and a leg - plus I don't live in either city so there's the travel issue.
I'm curious - could this be taken further? Now I'm all for just letting kids play in a completely unstructured space like a meadow or a stream. But that doesn't teach you what a combustion engine is or the periodic table or a language. I've noticed that some things are best learned by just discovering through touch and body involvement and interaction.
What do you think?
Can a playground teach a content topic?
I'd love a sort of montessori / self discovery learning playground system built all over my city. Schools and homeschoolers could use it. But I have no idea how it could be fleshed-out in practicality. I think a lot of the metal tot lot style things out there are kind of blah - yeah kids play on them some, but they're pretty boring and the kids end up playing in the bushes and climbing low trees just more than the $50k of plastic and metal out there. Cities already spend kajillions on playgrounds - what if someone proposed a better idea?
Maybe we should ask our kids to help design them, lol.
