For our landscape architect friends, we are excited to announce the REBOOT of our Online LACES Play Series!  Earn up to 9 LACES credits online and ON DEMAND through August 10, 2022.

Thank you to our partner – the South Carolina Chapter American Society of Landscape Architects. These fine folks work hard to ensure we can provide LACES CEUs for the relevant conference sessions. Glad to have you on our Play Team, ASLA-SC!

Check out the list of LACES approved sessions:

• “All Ages, All Abilities, All the Time” – Jill Moore White
  Parks today face the challenge of providing environments where all visitors can feel safe, secure and fully engaged. Universal design increases usability, safety, health and social participation. In this presentation, participants will discover how applying the principles of universal design ultimately contribute to social equity and social sustainability in parks.
• “Designing Everyday Spaces for Children” – Shweta Nanekar, PLA, LEED AP (BD+C)
  How do we modify current approaches to the design of everyday spaces to make them more child-friendly? Available literature on child-friendly environments is reviewed to identify empirical research and project examples that can help designers and planners to create spaces that cater to the “Whole Child.”
• “Future of Play: Technology Integration” – David Flanigan, CPSI
  We all know that kids are spending countless hours in front of a screen, not only for gaming and social media, but due to COVID, many kids are attending school virtually. What will the future be like for kids if they are addicted to their screens and don’t want to go outside and play?
• “Healthy Communities, Parks and Splashpads” – Sarah Shepherd
  As demographics, inclusiveness and health concerns evolve, aging facilities need to step up their game to keep communities engaged and active.  Explore effective community infrastructure through the lens of aquatic play. Discover how Splashpads increase park usage, promote inclusion and build social capital that help communities grow and flourish.
• “The Importance of Failure in Play” – Melinda Pearson
  Failure is an inevitable part of life. By creating play spaces that push boundaries in thinking and stretch the limitations of our bodies we create a safe play to explore our failures and learn great things about our growing selves and our budding potential in the process.
• “Inclusive Playground Design:  A Case Study of Three New England Playgrounds” – Ingrid Kanics
  This presentation will share the research results of interviews with parents of children of all abilities around the design of three New England Inclusive Playgrounds. We will share what design features they feel make a playground inclusive and how these playgrounds impact the life of their communities, families and children.
• “Making Connections: People, Places, and Physical Activity” – Ines Palacios, PhD
  Discover planning and design considerations to increase community connectivity, offer more enjoyable ways to be physically active outdoors, and create multigenerational destinations that promote people’s health, happiness, and well-being. Effectively champion and advocate for solutions to provide more affordable, accessible ways to activate healthy lifestyles and increase economic vitality.
• “National Study of Playgrounds (2020)” plus a 2022 update! – Meghan Talarowski, MLA, CPSI, and Deborah A. Cohen, MD
  The National Study of Playgrounds (NSP), a joint research project of Studio Ludo and Dr. Deborah Cohen, is the first observational study of playgrounds to compare the impacts of playground design on play behavior and physical activity across gender, age group, and socio-economic status.
• “Prototyping: Play Applied” – Aaron Goldblatt, Dana Schloss, Meghan Talarowski, Christopher Kircher
  Designers of all stripes occasionally use prototyping to test ideas and physical realities. This discussion advocates for moving the act from occasional to central to a practice and to understand it as an act of play. Designing through joyful exploration makes better spaces for everyone.

The LACES series is part of the online reboot of the 2022 Conference on the Value of Play: THE NATURE OF PLAY.

(updated 2/14/22)

Check out this sneak peek of some of the amazing educational and research symposium sessions we have planned for the 2022 IN PERSON Conference on the Value of Play: THE NATURE OF PLAY, April 2-6 in Clemson, SC.

Below is an alphabetical list of some of the session titles.
The detailed conference schedule is coming soon!

• AAA Play: Examining Play as The Linchpin to Learning
• Active Play: What Role Did It Have in Our Evolutionary Past and How Vital Is It for Our Future?
• Apples, Peaches, Pumpkin Pie, Who’s Not Ready Holler Eye
• Authentic Learning and Play Through Intergenerational Connections in Makerspaces
• Being Mindfully Curious to Discover Our Inner Play Being
• Bringing Kids Imagination to Life in Outdoor Play Through Augmented Reality
• Built and Social Nature of Neighborhoods Impact Women’s Play
• Coming To Our Senses: Envisioning Spaces for Play on A University Campus
• Community Edinburgh (Inspiration from Scotland)
• Contextual Play Hackathon – Creating Meaningful Play Solutions
• Controversial Play: Weapon, Fantasy and Risky Play-Why They Are Important and How to Support Them
• COVID Roadblocks Disrupting Play Opportunities: Fighting Back
• Creating Ecosystems of Play: The Synergies of Systems
• Developing A Love of Learning and Health Through Nature-Based Play Spaces
• Don’t Throw It Away! Make Something and Play!
• Earth Tones
• Experiential Spaces as Immersive Playscapes for Adult Players
• Exploration In Forests of Learning: Play-Based Ecosystems
• Get Up, Get Out, And Play Naturally!
• A Glimpse Beyond the United States: Considering the Trajectories of Play Via The ‘Land Down Under’
• How Global PLAY Has Influenced PLAY In the Early Years of Australian Schools
• “It Felt like Complete Chaos…at First” – A Student-Led Play Day with Non-Profit
• Just Playing: Towards A Universal Ethic of Play
• Körperkoordinationstest Fur Kinder (KTK): Assessing Motor Coordination Differences in Children Recess
• The Meaning of Play and Its Implications for Equitable Design in Outdoor Urban Spaces
• Mindfulness in a Bag – Bringing Social/Emotional Learning to life through Brown Bag Play
• National Study of Playgrounds
• Naturally, It’s Child’s Play!
• A New Perspective on Urban Playscapes: A Case Study Method
• Parent Motivations for Enrolling Young Children in Early Enrichment Programs
• Park Ranger Emergency Response Training Needs
• Play As Liberation: Exploring Self-Directed Education
• Play Protocols: Maximizing Learning Through Play
• Playcemaking: Designing Nature Playscapes with Children
• The Playful Life: The Power of Play in Our Every Day
• Playful Literacy Instruction: Making Learning Joyful and Culturally Responsive
• The Playful Remake: Repurpose Tried and True Activities to Make Them Playful
• The Power of Play Therapy
• The Power of Quality Recess: Why You? Why Now? And How?
• Recess Policy Implementation: Beliefs and Perceptions of Site-Based Decisions-Makers
• Second Nature: Technologies Enabling and Enriching Play in the 2020’s
• The State of Play: The State of Children’s Physical Activity and Access to Community Opportunities for Play in The U.S.
• Supporting Health Equity and Environmental Resilience Through Green Playgrounds
• Teaching For Social Justice: Honest Teaching of History While Building Community Through Playfulness
• Teaching Off Trail
• Time For a Reboot: Prescribing Natureplay for Emotional Wellness for Children, Teens and Families
• A Tree Grows in Brooklyn: Equity and Play
• What Did You Do in School Today? Developing Class Books Around Children’s Play Experiences.
• YES, I Have An IEP! Climbing, Forts and Snakes: Risky Playing My Way to College, Career and Beyond!
• You Can’t Fall from That: What National Playground Standards Could Learn from Childcare Regulations

The 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, educators, health scientists, architects, landscape architects, designers, planners, park and recreation professionals, business and community leaders, psychologists, physicians and parents from across the U.S. and beyond. The 2022 IN PERSON Conference on the Value of Play: THE NATURE OF PLAY explores play across the lifespan, play in the workplace, play in the classroom and address universal issues of access, equity, inclusion and more.

For our landscape architect friends, we are excited to announce our 2021 Online LACES Play Series!  Earn up to 9 LACES credits online and ON DEMAND through December 31, 2021. The LACES series is part of the 2021 Virtual Conference on the Value of Play: PLAY IS SURVIVAL.

Thank you to our partner – the South Carolina Chapter American Society of Landscape Architects. These fine folks work hard to ensure we can provide LACES CEUs for the relevant conference sessions. Glad to have you on our Play Team, ASLA-SC!

Check out the list of LACES approved sessions:

• “All Ages, All Abilities, All the Time” – Jill Moore White
  Parks today face the challenge of providing environments where all visitors can feel safe, secure and fully engaged. Universal design increases usability, safety, health and social participation. In this presentation, participants will discover how applying the principles of universal design ultimately contribute to social equity and social sustainability in parks.
• “Designing Everyday Spaces for Children” – Shweta Nanekar, PLA, LEED AP (BD+C)
  How do we modify current approaches to the design of everyday spaces to make them more child-friendly? Available literature on child-friendly environments is reviewed to identify empirical research and project examples that can help designers and planners to create spaces that cater to the “Whole Child.”
• “Future of Play: Technology Integration” – David Flanigan, CPSI
  We all know that kids are spending countless hours in front of a screen, not only for gaming and social media, but due to COVID, many kids are attending school virtually. What will the future be like for kids if they are addicted to their screens and don’t want to go outside and play?
• “Healthy Communities, Parks and Splashpads” – Sarah Shepherd
  As demographics, inclusiveness and health concerns evolve, aging facilities need to step up their game to keep communities engaged and active.  Explore effective community infrastructure through the lens of aquatic play. Discover how Splashpads increase park usage, promote inclusion and build social capital that help communities grow and flourish.
• “The Importance of Failure in Play” – Melinda Pearson
  Failure is an inevitable part of life. By creating play spaces that push boundaries in thinking and stretch the limitations of our bodies we create a safe play to explore our failures and learn great things about our growing selves and our budding potential in the process.
• “Inclusive Playground Design:  A Case Study of Three New England Playgrounds” – Ingrid Kanics
  This presentation will share the research results of interviews with parents of children of all abilities around the design of three New England Inclusive Playgrounds. We will share what design features they feel make a playground inclusive and how these playgrounds impact the life of their communities, families and children.
• “Making Connections: People, Places, and Physical Activity” – Ines Palacios, PhD
  Discover planning and design considerations to increase community connectivity, offer more enjoyable ways to be physically active outdoors, and create multigenerational destinations that promote people’s health, happiness, and well-being. Effectively champion and advocate for solutions to provide more affordable, accessible ways to activate healthy lifestyles and increase economic vitality.
• “National Study of Playgrounds (2020)” – Meghan Talarowski, MLA, CPSI
  The National Study of Playgrounds (NSP), a joint research project of Studio Ludo and Dr. Deborah Cohen, is the first observational study of playgrounds to compare the impacts of playground design on play behavior and physical activity across gender, age group, and socio-economic status.
• “Prototyping: Play Applied” – Aaron Goldblatt, Dana Schloss, Meghan Talarowski, Christopher Kircher
  Designers of all stripes occasionally use prototyping to test ideas and physical realities. This discussion advocates for moving the act from occasional to central to a practice and to understand it as an act of play. Designing through joyful exploration makes better spaces for everyone.

Join us on Twitter Monday, March 29 at 7:00pm EST/4:00pm PST for the next instalment of our monthly #WePlayChat.  We are honoured to welcome Dr. Noah Lenstra from Let’s Move in Libraries to the main stage to discuss the topic, “Play and Public Librarianship”.

Dr. Noah Lenstra started Let’s Move in Libraries in 2016 at the University of North Carolina Greensboro’s School of Education, where he is an assistant professor of library and information science, and an affiliated faculty member in the Gerontology program. His research has been published in numerous peer-reviewed publications, and in June 2020, his book Healthy Living at the Library was published by Libraries Unlimited. He served on the American Heart Association’s Voices for Healthy Kids Activating Rural America Advisory Group, and he is an active member of the Public Library Association and the Association for Rural & Small Libraries.

Here are the questions we will be covering during this #WePlayChat:

Q1. What is playful lifelong learning, and how do public libraries support it, including during COVID-19?

Q2. What examples of playful learning have you seen public libraries support? What forms of community play could you see public libraries help support?

Q3. What are the obstacles to taking a more playful approach to public librarianship?

Q4. Do we see public librarians as supports for community play, and how do we change this attitude if not?

Want to join the global conversation around the value of play!?  When it is time for the chat, login to Twitter, and search for the hashtag #WePlayChat and follow along on the “Latest” tab.  Feel free to like, reply, and retweet. Just be sure to include the hashtag #WePlayChat so your input is part of the feed!
________________________________________________________________________

#WePlayChat is our monthly Twitter chat for anyone seeking to gain knowledge around the field of play. Launched in 2016, it is the longest-running monthly play-based chat in the world.

Our #WePlayChat participants come from 33 countries, spanning multiple continents – all tuning in to connect around PLAY.  This FREE professional learning opportunity is a great way to connect with fellow play enthusiasts, teachers, and experts from across the globe.

The full detailed schedule is coming soon…but until then, below is an alphabetical list of the MORE THAN 60 recorded Educational Sessions and Research Symposium Sessions that will be core content for the 2021 VIRTUAL Conference on the Value of Play: PLAY IS SURVIVAL, available online from April 1 through June 30.

As we prepare for our second online Play Conference, there is a renewed intensity to connect play advocates, educate our national and global community, support play research and publications, and truly fulfill our mission to promote the VALUE of play throughout life. We continue to incorporate phenomenal speakers and resources with unique opportunities for learning through play!

• A Play-Based Literacy Program for The Professional Development of Reception Year Teachers
• A Prescription for Play in Education
• Access for All: Providing Equitable Hands-On Learning Experiences in A Digital World
• All Ages, All Abilities, All the Time
• Beyond Candyland: Learning Through Making Board Games
• Big Body Play Powers A Child’s Learning Trajectory
• Capture the Flag: How Traditionally Marginalized Residents Reclaim Urban Space Through Play
• Circus Is an International Language
• Crazy Games Workshop Explores Using Low Cost Materials Outside Normal Usage to Create Fun Learning
• Designing Everyday Spaces for Children
• Designing Hybrid Outdoor Play and Learning Spaces for All Ages
• Eduspeak And Play: Surviving the Wolf at The Door While Keeping Play Alive & Well in Your Classroom
• Equity and Play: Surviving and Thriving
• Future of Play: Technology Integration
• Healthy Communities, Parks and Splashpads
• Hobby Horses—A Hobby, Sport or Pure Play? Feminine Debates on A Contemporary Plaything
• Inclusive Playground Design:  A Case Study of Three New England Playgrounds
• Intergenerational Play Within the Workplace: A Powerful Mechanism for Informal Learning
• Legacy of Laughter; A Grandparent Playbook
• Let’s Start With Play. Why Play in The Emergency Department Can Be Our Best Tool for Patients
• Making Connections: People, Places, And Physical Activity
• More to Say After Outdoor Play: Bookmaking and Storytelling with Children
• No, They’re Not Too Old to Play. Bringing Loose Parts Play to South Florida Middle Schoolers.
• Nonprofit, Let’s Play America, Hangs on During the Pandemic with Virtual Play Days & Handbooks
• Paddle, Pivot, Pedal, Prance and Most of All…PLAY!
• Parent LAB PLAY DAY Series
• Parents’ Perceptions of Play Throughout the Pandemic and In the Social Justice Movement
• Performative Play for The Project Based Learning Classroom
• Play and Expressive Therapy Interventions for Enhancing Emotion Regulation
• Play as Culturally Sustainable Family Engagement
• Play Behavior of Children from an Isolated Area in Brazil: Body and Space as Cultural Expression
• Play Frisco 2.0
• Play Like Our World Depends on It: Using Playfulness to Engage Others in The Climate Emergency
• Play on The Go: Tips for Developing and Using Prop Boxes
• Play Programming During the Pandemic…. What Can We Learn?
• Play, Politics, & Policy: Building a State-Wide Movement for Recess
• Playground Design for School Communities – Moving Towards a Better Way
• Playing in a Pandemic: Lessons from Virtual and Traditional Instruction in Early Elementary School
• Pretend Play as a Tool for Development During Virtual Learning of Young Children
• Prototyping: Play Applied
• Ready Player One: Harnessing the Power of Activity and Fun Using A Digital Medium
• Recess and Play Before and During the Covid-19 Pandemic
• Reconsidering Solitary Play: Understanding Self, Place, and Nature
• Reducing the Negative Impacts of Trauma Through Outdoor Play
• Removing Invisible Barriers: A Design Call to Action from Families of Those with Differing Abilities
• Sacred Play: An Ancient Contribution to Contemporary Play Theory
• Shifting Play from Survival to Thrivival
• Social Togetherness in a Time of Social Distancing
• Soulful Play
• Sustainability of Self
• Teaching Off Trail
• The Benefits and Uses of Collaborative Competition in the Classroom
• The Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Young Children’s Play
• The Effects of a Multi Recess Intervention on Body Composition in Elementary School Children
• The Importance of Failure in Play
• The Push Play Project
• The Rubber Shark Principle: How Play Is Bridging Our Relationship with Disability Inclusion
• The Value of Adult Play Is All in the Design
• Those Summer Days: Exploring Extreme Heat’s Impact on Children’s Outdoor Play and Physical Activity
• Toy Activism Through Teddybears: Promoting Playful Resilience and Ludounity In Pandemic Times
• Ways to Play the Virtual Way
• Wordplay: How Silly Jokes, Nonsense Rhymes, and Secret Languages Thrive in Unstructured Play

The 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 2021 Virtual Conference on the Value of Play: PLAY IS SURVIVAL 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.

Join us on Twitter Wednesday, December 16 at 7:00pm ET/4:00pm PT for the next installment of our monthly #WePlayChat.  We are honored to welcome Dr. Laura Zimmerman from the Tech Play Collaborative to the main stage to discuss “Play with Toys: Holiday Edition.”

Laura Zimmermann, Ph.D., is the Founder and President of Tech Play Collaborative which supports positive child outcomes through partnerships with industry and academia. Dr. Zimmermann has over 10 years of expertise in child development, play, and media. She consults with children’s media developers, toy designers, education policy institutes, and research organizations. Previously, Dr. Zimmermann was an Institute of Education Sciences Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Child’s Play, Learning, and Development Lab at the University of Delaware. She received her Ph.D. in Psychology from Georgetown University. She is excited to explore collaborations to support children’s learning through play.  You can follow Tech Play Collaborative via Twitter @TechPlayCollab.

Here are the questions we will be covering during this #WePlayChat:

Q1. What was your favorite childhood toy?

Q2. What are the benefits of toy play over the holidays?

Q3. What will you look for when picking toys for children this holiday season?

Q4. How can we use toys to augment video chat with kids we cannot see over the holidays? 

How can you participate in #WePlayChat?

Want to join the global conversation around the value of play!?  When it is time for the chat, login to Twitter, and search for the hashtag #WePlayChat and follow along on the “Latest” tab.  Feel free to like, reply, and retweet. Just be sure to include the hashtag #WePlayChat so your input is part of the feed!
____________________________________________________________________________________

#WePlayChat is our monthly Twitter chat for anyone seeking to gain knowledge around the field of play. Launched in 2016, it is the longest-running monthly play-based chat in the world.

Our #WePlayChat participants come from 33 countries, spanning multiple continents – all tuning in to connect around PLAY.  This FREE professional learning opportunity is a great way to connect with fellow play enthusiasts, teachers, and experts from across the globe.

Learn more about #WePlayChat online by clicking here.

Join us on Twitter Wednesday, September 30 at 7:00pm ET/4:00pm PT for the next installment of our monthly #WePlayChat.  We are honored to welcome Dr. Angela Novak to the main stage for a conversation on “Finding Clarity in Play.” This #WePlayChat will also shed light on equity, giftedness, creativity, and social/emotional learning within the context of play.

Angela Novak, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor and AIG Coordinator at East Carolina University. She teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in education, focusing on assessment practices and gifted education. One of Angela’s research interests in play, in particular, the connections of giftedness, creativity, equity, and play. She has worked in public education in the gifted field as a classroom teacher, resource teacher, and central office support, as well as in the private non-profit sector of gifted education. She is an equity advocate and is a member of the Diversity Scholars Network, part of the National Center for Institutional Diversity.

Here are the questions we will be covering during this #WePlayChat:

Q1. In what ways do creativity or creative thinking and play overlap, either in research or practice?

Q2. When we think of meeting the needs of gifted students, we often think about challenge, rigor, or acceleration; how does play fit into gifted education, currently, and will this look different in the future?

Q3. As teachers and parents, how does equity influence our opinions of play?

Q4. What does your school, district, or state have for constructs like equity, critical thinking, or SEL and how can these connect with play?

How can you participate in #WePlayChat?

Want to join the global conversation around the value of play!?  When it is time for the chat, login to Twitter, and search for the hashtag #WePlayChat and follow along on the “Latest” tab.  Feel free to like, reply, and retweet. Just be sure to include the hashtag #WePlayChat so your input is part of the feed!
____________________________________________________________________________________

#WePlayChat is our monthly Twitter chat for anyone seeking to gain knowledge around the field of play. Launched in 2016, it is the longest-running monthly play-based chat in the world.

Our #WePlayChat participants come from 33 countries, spanning multiple continents – all tuning in to connect around PLAY.  This FREE professional learning opportunity is a great way to connect with fellow play enthusiasts, teachers, and experts from across the globe.

Learn more about #WePlayChat online by clicking here.

The full detailed schedule is coming soon…but until then, below is an alphabetical list of the Educational Sessions and Research Symposium Sessions that have been recorded for the 2020 ONLINE Conference on the Value of Play: PLAY FOR ALL.

• Adapting Play for Adults with Intellectual Disabilities
• Advocating for Risky Play
• The All New Voice of Play Website: How to Maximize This Exciting New Resource
• The American Association for Promoting the Child’s Right to Play – IPA USA Information Session
• Applying a Task-Person-Environment Approach to Designing Play Studies
• “As a parent, if I can…”: Parents’ Perception and Design of Children’s Out of School Time
• Building an Outdoor Classroom Anywhere
• Child play network influences on physical literacy in Mexican-heritage Colonias
• Creativity and Outdoor Play – The recipe for all children
• Designing Successful Play Partnerships:  PlayBuild + Tulane University
• Determining obesity rates in children with multiple play breaks in schools daily
• Documenting Children’s Play: Including the Child’s Voice
• Empowering LGBTQ+ Youth Through Meaningful Play and Recreation Opportunities
• Encouraging Time Outdoors in Naturalized Learning Environments in S. Carolina Childcare Facilities
• Examining the link between recess quality and classroom behavior in elementary school children
• Free Aquatic Play in a Controlled World
• Furnishing for Adult Play: Developing a social play space for a multidisciplinary research community
• Green Schoolyards : Neighborhood Amenity to National Necessity
• Guide to Implementing Play Streets in Rural Communities: A Tool to Increase Active Play
• How Principles in Play Connect to Pedagogy in Gifted Education and Talent Development
• The Influence of Preschool Educators’ Beliefs About Play-Based Learning on Instructional Delivery
• Is Your Recess Toolbelt Equipped?
• Joining In: Parent Perspectives on Specially Designed Inclusive Play
• Keeping the Recess in Indoor Recess: Creating Playable Spaces Anywhere!
• Leisure & Late Adulthood: Examining the Benefits of Participation during Retirement
• Local Sources for Play Space Materials and Labour – Its the Design that Counts
• Lost Opportunities: How Teaching Interferes with Learning
• Messy, Muddy, and Marvelous: Forest Schools, Education and Play
• Movement & Learning: What’s the Connection?
• Movement in Middle School – Application of the Transtheoretical Model for Physical Activity
• Pedaling to Safe Play: Factors Related to Youth Self-Efficacy for Injury Prevention Bicycle Skills
• Play and Family
• Play ranging with the Hidden Children: Notes from the field
• Play, Dementia & Alzheimers: Life and Fun Following Diagnosis
• Playing the Eduspeak Speak Game: Tips on Aligning Lessons with Play Principles
• PlaySchool:  How to Infuse Play into K12 Education
• Raptors & Ruderals: What do we mean by ‘nature play’ in an urban environment?
• Same Game, Different Play
• Seniors and preschoolers design toys together: An intergenerational play project in Finland
• Unstructured play in schools is linked to positive health benefits for teachers
• #WePlayChat: How to Use Social Media to Drive the Value of Play in a Virtual World
• Wilding nature play for children and families
• Yes, And: The Power of Teaching With Improvisational Play

The 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 has been moved ONLINE for 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.  It is our first-ever online Play Conference!

For our many architect and design play friends, check out  the AIA CEU approved sessions at the 10th Anniversary Conference on the Value of Play: PLAY FOR LIFE, March 31- April 3 in Clemson, South Carolina:

Play for All: Providing Accessible and Inclusive Outdoor Play and Learning Environments – Ji Hyun Oh

The purpose of this presentation is to share the study that examined provisions of playground environments in a preschool setting and to discuss how outdoor play spaces and play elements can support or hinder rich play experiences for children with and without disabilities.

Reframing the Playground: European Play Precedents at Tulsa’s Gathering Place – Chelsea Hoffman, Teri Hendy, Peter Heuken

European playgrounds provided the inspiration for the largest public playground in the United States, Tulsa’s Gathering Place. This virtual tour of precedents and the Tulsa installations explores how European-style play innovations can find a home on this side of The Pond.

Taking the idea of an inclusive playground past the label to true Universal Design – Alice Reese and Hannah Linter

Today’s buzzword in play is the accessible playground. Is a true inclusive playground limited by this label and idea? A true inclusive playground takes accessibility several steps further towards universal design.  The key to universal design is an environment that enables versus a play piece defining the user as disabled.

Blank Slate: Design for Learning, Exploration and Physical Growth – Paul Russell

Today’s buzzword in play is the accessible playground. Is a true inclusive playground limited by this label and idea? A true inclusive playground takes accessibility several steps further towards universal design.  The key to universal design is an environment that enables versus a play piece defining the user as disabled.

Temple University Students Design an Eco-schoolyard for Play and Learning at Greenberg Elementary – Lolly Tai

Temple University landscape architecture students assisted in the design of the eco-schoolyard for play and learning at Greenberg Elementary School in Philadelphia. Through a comprehensive design process and collaboration between university and school, Temple students demonstrated how their role impacted the initial impetus for creating a healthy and green schoolyard.

Playable Infrastructure – Meghan Talarowski

How do we make space for play? Through places, policies, and people. This session will discuss the role of the designer, the developer, and the community in fostering play for all ages through real world examples and step by step recipes of successful “playable infrastructure”.

The 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.

For our many landscape architect play friends, check out all of the LACES approved sessions at the 10th Anniversary Conference on the Value of Play: PLAY FOR LIFE, March 31- April 3 in Clemson, South Carolina:

• Playable Infrastructure
• What type of play is that? Categorizing play-types to objectively evaluate outdoor play environments
• Socio-Environmental Barriers to Outdoor Play and Their Impact on Child Health Outcomes
• Free play and alternative education pedagogies
• Hardware or software in provisioning public play spaces for children: An analysis of forces at play
• Action Research on Play for Life: The Making of Transitional Play Unit for Two-Year-Old Classrooms
• Play for All: Providing Accessible and Inclusive Outdoor Play and Learning Environments
• A Field-Testing Study on Outdoor Play Environments: Findings and Lessons Learned
• Play by the River – Bringing natural, all-ages play to a new River Garden by the Mississippi
• Learning through doing: The benefits to learning through planning for inclusive play.
• I’m Tired of Saying “No”: Creating invitations for boisterous and adventurous play in the classroom
• Sensory Inclusive Play: Partnering with KultcureCity to become Sensory Inclusive Certified
• Reframing the Playground: European Play Precedents at Tulsa’s Gathering Place
• Traffic Gardens and Dramatic/Challenging Play: Engagement as a Means of Facilitating Risk Competence
• Developing Minds and Bodies Through Loose Parts Play
• Naturalized Outdoor Learning Environments in Childcare Facilities: A Review of Policies in 3 States
• Rotary PlayGarden: An Inclusive Play Success Story
• Approaches for Evaluating the Design of Natural Playspaces to Sup-port Children’s Outdoor Play
• The Role of a Playground Consultant
• Inclusive Play Panel
• “But, I have nothing to do in the park!” – Thinking about places for teens
• Elevating Lifelong Play to Create Healthy Communities
• Guerrilla Playfare:Lessons Learned From Parkour & Streetsport For Designing More Play-Friendly Cities
• Taking the idea of an inclusive playground past the label to true Universal Design
• Blank Slate: Design for Learning, Exploration and Physical Growth
• Temple University Students Design an Eco-schoolyard for Play and Learning at Greenberg Elementary
• How to Make Your Community Playful
• Creating Playful Learning Communities
• Lighting Play Environments for Today & the Future

The 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.