• 2018 Conference on the Value of Play:
    The Many Faces of Play - April 8-11, 2018

    Learn More

  • 2018 Conference on the Value of Play:
    The Many Faces of Play - April 8-11, 2018

    Learn More

  • 2018 Conference on the Value of Play:
    The Many Faces of Play - April 8-11, 2018

    Learn More

  • 2018 Conference on the Value of Play:
    The Many Faces of Play - April 8-11, 2018

    Learn More

Education

Annual Conference on the VALUE of Play

The Play Conference, as it is commonly known, is an annual educational conference presented by the US Play Coalition. The latest research and practices in the field of play are presented at the conference, which brings together play researchers, park and recreation professionals, educators, health scientists, architects, landscape architects, designers, planners, business and community leaders, psychologists, physicians and parents from across the U.S. and beyond. The three day event includes keynote and featured speakers, round tables on critical issues and trends, research symposium for academics, educational sessions for practitioners, action and research grant opportunities, PLAYtalks and PLAYinstitutes, networking, EPIC play breaks and more.

The 2018 Conference on the Value of Play: The Many Faces of Play
will be April 8-11, 2018 at Clemson University in Clemson, SC.

2018 Conference on the Value of Play Details
Submit a Conference Presentation Proposal

Communication

News & Press Releases

PlayGrounding Podcast a New Resource for Play Fans Everywhere

The US Play Coalition is pleased to announce our new resource for play fans everywhere – PlayGrounding Podcast. PlayGrounding is about the power of play and what it means to live a play-inspired life. Not just the “blow off some steam” kind of play, but the kind that can sharpen your mind, make you more creative and help you move from discontentment toward fulfillment. Host Kara Stewart Fortier launched the podcast on a quest to… Read More

From The Playground

Book Review: Playing it Up– With Loose Parts, Playpods, and Adventure Playgrounds

Book Review by Dr. Debora B. Wisneski (University of Nebraska- Omaha) with Melany Spiehs and Carol Burk (Omaha Public Schools) Almon, J. (Ed.)(2017). Playing it up– With loose parts, playpods, and adventure playgrounds. Annapolis, MD: Alliance for Childhood. Debora: In 2014 in Vancouver Canada, I was able to listen to the Canadian environmental activist Severn Cullis-Suzuki give an impassioned speech on the future. She was speaking of building a better world for our children’s future…. Read More

News Stories Continued
Guest Blogs Continued

  • Community Visibility

  • Play Ambassador

  • Available Grants

Research

Action & Research Grants

Grant funding is a distinctive feature of our annual Play Conference, and we are proud to have awarded $47,000 in funding to date.  Through competitive funding opportunities, we offer both Action and Research Grants to playmakers and researchers whose work has the potential to improve and expand the Play Movement.

Available Grants

  • Research-Based Case for Recess

    research pdfs

  • The Critical Place for Play in Education

    research pdfs
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