The US Play Coalition’s 2026 National Conference on the Value of Play is six months away! Held at the Indiana Memorial Union on the campus of Indiana University Bloomington, the event is April 28-30, 2026. We are well into planning, and we can’t wait to share our amazing event with the play community. We are delighted to share new information on the theme, registration, speakers, and sponsors!
This year’s theme, Play & celebrates play’s ubiquity, adaptability, and boundlessness. Play & invites every attendee to explore their own “&”—whether that’s play in their personal journey, life stage, or profession. Play & invites us to consider all the ways in which play intersects with our personal lives, as well as within and across fields, disciplines, and communities.
Registration rates for the 2026 conference have been posted to the US Play Coalition conference page. Keep an eye out for the registration link to launch soon!
The call for presentations is open! Are you passionate about play and seek to share your work, research, or experience? Apply to present today! Information and the application can be found here. The deadline for applications for presentations is Sunday, November 9, at 11:59pm PT.
We are excited to announce two updates to our sponsorships! At the 2026 conference we are excited to unveil The Play Hub: Sponsors • Games • Connections space, where all sponsor booths will be located. The Play Hub is a dedicated space near the concurrent education sessions with time and activities occurring in the Hub to foster foot traffic! Also, did you know that the National Conference on the Value of Play has a sister conference here at Eppley? The Great Lakes Park Training Institute is dedicated to training park, outdoor recreation, and public land management professionals and is held every February at Pokagon State Park. Companies sponsoring both conferences receive a 30% discount off the sponsorship rates for sponsoring at the same level or higher! More information about sponsorships can be found here!, or reach out to usplay@iu.edu for more information.