Wednesday 23 December 2009

Don't grow up to be an eggplant!

Imagination is a wonderful thing and children have an almost unending capacity for using theirs, especially at this time of year.  The following quote by Ursula K. Le Guin (The Language of the Night) is, thankfully, very true.
“I doubt that the imagination can be suppressed. If you truly eradicated it in a child, he would grow up to be an eggplant.”
In all my years working at Eureka! I am happy to report that I have never met a child who was destined to become an eggplant!


Some of the most heart warming and incredibly entertaining moments I have experienced at Eureka! have been when I have been sat in a darkened corridor providing ears and a voice for a talking dustbin. Talking to Scoot the Robot can be a magical experience for a child and one that they will remember forever. Sometimes it will bring them back to Eureka! again and again to renew their acquaintance with their robot friend. For the tiny tots Scoot is as real to them as Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy. As they grow and learn more about the world they begin to question and challenge Scoot.

Child: "You’re not real."
Scoot: "I am. You’re not imagining me. I’m right in front of you."
Child: "There’s somebody talking for you."
Scoot: "That’s a worrying thought. Is there somebody talking for you?"
Child: "No, I’m talking myself."
Scoot: "Can’t I talk for myself?"
Child: "No – somebody has to talk for you."
Scoot: "Golly, I’m glad they’re there to help me then; I love talking; I’m a bit of a chatterbox."

The conversation continues with the child happily chatting to a metal dustbin that they have established is not a real robot. Even the children who discover Scoot’s secret, once the problem is solved, will continue to chat to Scoot as before. Does that mean they are stupid? Certainly not; they are using their imaginations and, in the words of George Scialabba:
“Perhaps imagination is only intelligence having fun.”
There are many children who consider Scoot a friend and thoroughly enjoy telling him their latest news and discovering things about a robot’s life. Robots don’t have families; that’s why they enjoy making new friends so much. Robots are made of metal so they don’t like the rain as it can make them go rusty. Robots don’t grow so it’s very difficult to guess how old they are. (Scoot was ‘born’ on the same day as Eureka!, 9 July 1992).

I finish with a final quote from Theodore Geisel; which explains why even I believe in Scoot the Robot – and is yet another reason I love my job.
“I like nonsense; it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living; it's a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope. Which is what I do, and that enables you to laugh at life's realities.”
Jill Ward is an Enabler in the Front of House team at Eureka!

Merry Christmas everyone!

Friday 18 December 2009

Play and make good cheer


This is our last quote before Christmas so a festive saying is in order today. Thomas Tusser (1524-1580), a sixteenth century farmer and poet is known for an instructional poem entitled Five Hundred Points of Good Husbandry, published in 1557. As well as the well-known quote below, he is credited with coining the much-repeated proverb, "A fool and his money are soon parted."
"At Christmas play and make good cheer, for Christmas comes but once a year."
Have a read of this article by Idler Tom Hodgkinson whose fantasy Christmas involves lots of time for play and possibly resembles the kind of holiday that Thomas Tusser would have recognised! 

What games will you be playing with your family this holiday?

Wednesday 16 December 2009

Children say the funniest things part 2

Anyone who has ever interacted with children has undoubtedly been moved to tears of laughter at the things they say. As we've noticed here at Eureka!, children do say the funniest things!



This year's ‘Santa’s Magical Toyshop’, a special workshop just for Early Years groups has been no exception. ‘Santa’s Magical Toyshop’ is about two mischievous elves (Twinkle and Jingle) who have not got very far through Santa’s job list and so need the children’s help to complete the festive tasks before Santa’s returns.

Many of the Enablers at Eureka!, myself included, have been caught out laughing at some of the responses children give to Santa and his Elves alike. One such response was from a little boy who, when Santa asked ‘who would like a present?’, innocently declared:
“I’ve already got a present from a different Santa I saw last week!”
In another workshop Santa, on returning from his annual holidays with Mrs Clause, was met with the cries of one child shouting:
“…but where’s Mrs Clause gone?”
On leaving one particular workshop one child stated, whilst wagging his finger:
“Twinkle…you have been very mischievous today…you’ve got to be good”.
Such heart warming comments as these remind us all why we have chosen to work with children. Merry Christmas everyone!

Penny Dargan is in the Front of House team at Eureka!

Friday 11 December 2009

Changing play


This week we read an article from the BBC website about how children's freedom to play has sadly declined over the last 50 years due to a number of factors including stranger danger, changes in architectural design and the increase in cars on the roads.

We were reminded of this quote from contemporary American psychiatrist Stuart Brown, M.D. who says:
"Those who play rarely become brittle in the face of stress or lose the healing capacity for humor."
The accompanying TV series Hop, Skip and Jump: The Story of Children's Play is available on BBC iPlayer

Wednesday 9 December 2009

A Good Play

A Good Play
We built a ship upon the stairs
All made of the back-bedroom chairs,
And filled it full of sofa pillows
To go a-sailing on the billows.
We took a saw and several nails,
And water in the nursery pails;
And Tom said, “Let us also take
An apple and a slice of cake;”
Which was enough for Tom and me
To go a-sailing on, till tea.
We sailed along for days and days,
And had the very best of plays;
But Tom fell out and hurt his knee,
So there was no one left but me.

This poem by writer Robert Louis Stevenson, known for writing the children’s story Treasure Island, shows just how imaginative children are and how they can often entertain themselves for endless amounts of time using nothing but simple household objects. 

As a young child I can clearly remember spending many a wet day creating dens out of duvets and chairs with my younger sister and then holding tea parties in our new creation!

Friday 4 December 2009

Learning through play with Walt Disney

We turn to Mickey Mouse creator, Walt Disney (1901-1966) today, who was born on 5 December 108 years ago. This quote embodies everything that Eureka! aims to be with its learning through play philosophy...
"I would rather entertain and hope that people learned something, than educate people and hope they were entertained."

Wednesday 2 December 2009

Dirt can be good for children


‘Children should be allowed to get dirty’ according to scientists who have found being too clean can impair the skin's ability to heal, reported recently in this article from the BBC

It goes on to say that researchers from the School of Medicine in California believe that normal bacteria which lives on the skin trigger a pathway that helps prevent inflammation when we get hurt. The bugs dampen down overactive immune responses that can cause cuts and grazes to swell. Many believe our obsession with cleanliness is to blame for the recent boom in allergies in developed countries:
  • Some experts are saying that the findings could provide an explanation for the ‘hygiene hypothesis’, which states that exposure to germs during early childhood primes the body against allergies.
  • The lobby group Parents Outloud said the work offered scientific support for its campaign to stop children being mollycoddled and over-sanitised.
  • A spokeswoman for Allergy UK said there was a growing body of evidence that exposure to germs was a good thing.
So what do you think? Should we be exchanging bubble baths for mud baths and are we in fact cleaning our hands, clothes, homes etc too much and ‘washing away’ all the fun of messy, outdoor play?

For parents, it can present a big dilemma. With literally 100s of adverts on TV and in newspapers and magazines telling us to kill every germ in sight, people do it, with the best intentions to ensure children have as healthy an environment as possible. Let’s think back though . . . how many of you scrambled through mud and squealed in equal delight and repulsion when you discovered a worm? Now be honest, how many of you wondered what it would feel or even, dare I say it, taste like? In my experience, slightly gritty with an earthy aftertaste – rather like the feel of spaghetti. The worm was cleaner when I put him back in the soil but I wasn’t and it felt great and here I am to tell the tale! Now I don’t recommend the activity generally but what I was doing, reflecting back, was engaging in imaginative, investigative and ultimately messy, dirty fantastic play and I was also discovering my world and taking risks (as well as finding out what a worm tasted like). And often returning to my mum with dirty grazed knees from falling over in stony soil, she would wipe away the blood and mud and send me off with a wagon wheel (which of course were much bigger back then!).

In fact aren’t we encouraging children to play outdoors even more now? Isn’t there also a huge campaign to get them out and about to grow their own vegetables in the garden – to dig, to sow, to plant, to harvest, to get out in all weathers and connect with the earth – I’d rather have a happy, stress-free muddy child than one who’s reluctant to get clothes dirty for fear of reprisal. Stick some old clothes on, that’s what I did.

So, as long as we remember the general rules of washing hands after the toilet and before touching and eating food, immune systems will balance themselves out, leaving children more time to discover their inner explorers, gardeners, botanists, zoologists, etc as they keep busy with playing and learning – the thing they do best!

Liz Smallman is Head of Learning at Eureka!

Friday 27 November 2009

Rooted in play

With Diwali celebrated earlier this month, Eid this weekend and Christmas approaching - Advent Sunday is also this weekend - here's a quote from Dutch historian Johan Huizing (1872-1945) reminding us about the role of play in our society:

"Now in myth and ritual the great instinctive forces of civilized life have their origin: law and order, commerce and profit, craft and art, poetry, wisdom and science. All are rooted in the primeval soil of play."
Find out how to make your Advent Christingle on The Children's Society website

Wednesday 25 November 2009

Playing with science

The ‘enablers’ here at Eureka! are delighted to educate and, at the same time, entertain our visitors. We are also very keen to encourage, enthuse and excite the children (in fact many things beginning with ‘e’, it seems!). One of the ways we do this is by delivering science busking sessions. It’s amazing how people’s opinions of science change when they discover what fun it is to play with science. I always start my sessions with a question – “Who loves science?” I ask the question again at the end of the session and the response is always considerably more enthusiastic.

A 'science busking' session lasts about 20 minutes and consists of up to a dozen interactive demonstrations (of which we have a repertoire of about 40). For example, learning about density becomes magical when the children are introduced to ‘Bob the Pen Lid’, who has been trained to dive and float on command (providing you say the magic word –‘please’). When they spot the ‘trick’ and hear the explanation they are far from disappointed as I explain that science is actually better than magic. If Bob was magic I’d be the only person with a pen lid that obeys my commands; whereas, now that they all know the science, they can go home and make their own Bob and amaze their friends.

Most of the demonstrations are designed to be easily repeated at home in order to encourage children to try things out for themselves. I also tell a true story that shows that anybody can be a scientist – all you need to do is ask questions and try to find out the answer.

Sometimes we use a powder called Instasnow (a super absorbent polymer called sodium Polyacrylate) for one of the demonstrations. Water added to a scoopful in a child’s cupped hands produces a flurry of ‘snow’ cascading out of their hands and into a waiting bowl. We also do fabulous demonstration using milk, food colouring and washing-up liquid (see below). During one session a young boy, about six years old, asked “What would happen if you put that ‘magic’ powder into the milk and food colouring?” It was a good question, a scientist’s question, so what else could we do but put it to the test. We added a few scoops of Instasnow to the milk and it slowly soaked up the colourful milk, drawing it to the middle of the plate and making a colourful little snow ‘volcano crater’. We now do that demonstration ourselves – always giving credit to that six year old scientist who invented it.

Whenever I do those demos and tell that story I have to allow extra time at the end of the session because, invariably, I am inundated by a crowd of children asking “What if we put this in that?” and “Can we try mixing these together?” etc. It just goes to show that, given the opportunity, children are always incredibly eager to ‘play with science’.

Have a go at colour-changing milk at home

You'll need: milk (whole), a dinner plate, food colourings, washing up liquid and cotton buds.

Method
  • Pour enough milk onto the plate to completely cover the bottom
  • Add one drop of each of the different colours of food colouring to the milk. Keep the drops close together in the centre of the plate of milk
  • Use a clean cotton bud to ‘marble’ the milk
  • Repeat first two steps
  • Take another cotton bud, place a drop of washing up liquid on the end and touch the middle of the milk with it. Look at that burst of colour!
 

Explanation

    Milk might seem to be a liquid but actually it is mostly water with lots of little droplets of fat and protein and stuff floating in it. These little bits of solids are attracted to each other and bond together as if they were all holding hands, making ‘walls’ that the food colouring can’t pass! You can use your cotton bud to move the colours around the ‘walls’ to make a marbling effect.
    When you add soap it actually breaks the bonds that are holding the little fat and protein droplets in place and they zoom off in all directions; which bumps the food colours and makes them zing off to the edge of the plate, giving you a real 'wow!' moment.

    Jill Ward is an Enabler in the Front of House team at Eureka! 

    Friday 20 November 2009

    Pudsey visits Eureka!

    It's BBC Children in Need today so we have a quote inspired by Pudsey's spots from Joan Almon, a contemporary American educator. Okay so they're not quite bubbles but you get the gist.
    "Creative play is like a spring that bubbles up from deep within a child."
    Eureka! is the Yorkshire host for the BBC Children in Need show tonight. Tune in for three live transmissions from the museum as fundraisers and their families explore the galleries, present their cheques to the BBC charity and meet the special bear himself.

    This year’s Appeal, which was launched back in September, is asking people to ‘Do Something Different’ – a challenge inviting inventive fundraisers to do something outside of their usual routine to help raise much needed funds to help disadvantaged children and young people right here in the UK.

    Last year, the British public helped Pudsey raise a record breaking £37.8 million. These funds are currently being used to significantly enhance the lives of thousands of disadvantaged youngsters across the UK, with 52 grants totaling £3,155,508 helping children in West Yorkshire.

    Wednesday 18 November 2009

    Who needs toys?

    A well known cliche that it pays to be reminded of at this time of year: children invariably would rather play with the cardboard box than the expensive Christmas present inside!


    Philosopher John Locke (1632-1704) knew this back in the seventeenth century when he argued that children should play with minimal toys and playthings made from their everyday surroundings. Conversely it was Locke who helped to introduce the very concept of a 'toy' when he reasoned that children were different to adults and should be treated accordingly.

    Friday 13 November 2009

    Dribble, pass and shoot!

    A quote today from someone who has had great sporting success through play!
    "Just play. Have fun. Enjoy the game."
    Michael Jordan
    American basketball player

    Wednesday 11 November 2009

    Money matters

    As we officially open the newly refurbished Halifax bank at Eureka!, it's a good time to remember that you are never too young (or too old!) to learn about money. Teaching children basic financial skills from an early age can help them become financially responsible in later life.

    Children connect with money throughout their childhood, from watching their parents buy shopping at the supermarket, to earning pocket money by carrying out chores around the house, from making money for charity events at school, to selling homemade cakes. Children often use quite sophisticated thinking-strategies for making their 20p go as far as possible!


    When we present children with fun learning situations which encourage them to practice and understand the processes of money, we are also helping them build immunity to potentially difficult situations in the future. So, teaching children the basics of money and the benefits of saving, for example, can have enormous benefits down the road.


    In the newly refurbished play bank at Eureka! we’ve created play scenarios where children can practice and reinforce their knowledge and skills about money, enhancing their understanding while providing an environment where they can ask questions and tackle misconceptions.

    Why not try this at home...
    • Set up a play shop which sells items found around the home – it could be toys, food, clothes or a mixture of things.
    • Use pretend or real money, create a ‘till’, decide how much each item costs and attach a price label.
    • Children can role-play being the customer or shop keeper.
    • If they're playing customer, why not give them a budget to work with – which items can they buy now and which would they need to save up for? At this point, you could even introduce two piggy banks which the children can use for their own pocket money – one for spending and one for saving. 
    Understanding money can take time, so providing plenty of opportunities for children to play with money and then relating it to real life contexts is a really valuable way to increase and broaden their experiences, skills and understanding – and it can be great fun too.

    Liz Smallman is Head of Learning at Eureka!

    Friday 6 November 2009

    When children pretend

    Today's quote comes from well-loved, American children’s TV host, Fred Rogers (1928-2003) who said:
    "When children pretend, they’re using their imaginations to move beyond the bounds of reality. A stick can be a magic wand. A sock can be a puppet. A small child can be a superhero."
    And a grown-up can go to 'Santa School' to become... Father Christmas as we learn from today's BBC News!


    These children in last year's Eureka! Grotto seem to definitely be using their imaginations as the museum becomes a magical, Arctic hideaway. Fortunately the staff at Eureka! have no need for 'Santa School' and are already fully trained in the art of play!

    Wednesday 4 November 2009

    The seven different types of play

    Who knew there were so many ‘types’ of play!? 

    In my research at Eureka! I came across this really interesting article from The National Institute for Play (NIFP) in the USA. They’ve identified seven different types of play that we all engage in at different stages of our lives.

    Attunement Play
    This means a feeling of being "at one" with another being, and this picture taken in our Me and My Body gallery demonstrates it pretty well as a mother and daughter work comfortably together on one of our exhibits.


    Body Play & Movement
    Keeping active is very important to us here at the museum and there are always plenty of items to keep you moving as shown by this young girl who looks to be really enjoying herself as she plays in the Eureka! grounds.



    Object Play
    Object play is perhaps the most obvious and familiar form of play because it involves toys. Here at Eureka! there are plenty of opportunities for object play, including treasure baskets, a collection of natural and household objects presented in a round basket for babies to explore. The aim of the baskets is to provide a rich sensory experience for children, letting babies explore objects by themselves, using their five senses and giving an ideal outlet for their natural curiosity.


    Social Play
    Social play is the rough and tumble we probably all remember enjoying with our brothers and sisters, friends and family as young children. Social play is also found in the close relationship between friends. As the picture below shows, this kind of play is commonly found at Eureka! and these children are happily creating a sculpture in our giant sandpit.


    Imaginative & Pretend Play
    In the Living and Working Together gallery at Eureka!, imagination is essential with role play opportunities all over the place. Whether you are drawing money out from the play bank or filling up your car at the petrol pump, a child’s mind can create a world of their own in this pretend town square.


    Storytelling-Narrative Play
    I really like this photo as the little girl seems to be listening intently to the story that is being read aloud to her even though she is sat in one of the walkways of the museum!




    Transformative-Integrative & Creative Play
    This picture was taken on National Playday where children were given cardboard boxes and craft materials and left to their own devices. All the children were very creative and many transformed their boxes into houses such as the boy below.




    Jenny Goodall is in the Play & Learning Team at Eureka!

    Friday 30 October 2009

    A love of play


    Today's quote is from the well-known, French painter, Henri Matisse (1869-1954).
    "Creative people are curious, flexible, persistent, and independent with a tremendous spirit of adventure and a love of play."
    Matisse's collages, such as The Snail which he created in 1953 aged 84(!), are often used as inspiration for children's art and craft projects and you can see why with such vibrant colours.

    Wednesday 28 October 2009

    Children say the funniest things

    One of the reasons I so enjoy being part of the workshop team at Eureka! is the sheer entertainment value arising from interacting with a group of young children. You never quite know what to expect and their responses continue to delight and surprise me. Children do, indeed, say the funniest things!

    One of my favourite memories is from a ‘treasure’ workshop, which we ran one holiday for families. Once the treasure chest had been found at last and the pirate captain had been revealed as an imposter planning on keeping all the treasure for herself, the question arose as to how this un-pirate should be punished. Forget any preconceptions you may have about the sweet and gentle nature of children; cries of “kill her”, “chop her head off”, “stab her with your cutlass” and several other bloodthirsty suggestions were generally yelled enthusiastically at the first mate – who attempted to guide the children towards the less violent solution of making her walk the plank.

    On this particular occasion I asked “what do pirates do to punish naughty people; what do they make them do?” One kind father decided to whisper the answer to his daughter but unfortunately she misheard. No doubt with her eyes fixed on the artificial trees and bushes behind the treasure chest she screamed out triumphantly with great gusto “make her water the plants!”

    Now, wouldn’t it be nice if she’d been right? Bluebeard and Blackbeard and the like would have had far fewer deaths on their consciences - and their Busy Lizzies and Begonias would have flourished!

    Children can also take questions very literally and supply you with very frank and honest answers. I took part in many ‘space’ workshops as Llij Orak, an alien from the planet Kaygool. In most workshops, at the point where Llij reveals she’s not from this planet and asks the children, “so, what am I?”, the united response of “an alien” is delivered in chorus. In one particularly fondly remembered workshop moment a small boy delivered his reply with great confidence, “a liar!” he suggested helpfully.


    Sometimes the children are so keen to be picked to give the answer that they forget to listen. In one workshop I was trying to elicit a response from the children to the question, “what makes the toy truck start moving when I let go of it on the ramp?” Very few hands went up so I decided to give them a clue. “What is it that holds me down on the ground and stops me floating off into space?” There were now a lot more hands in the air so I picked one very eager young man whose hand had been waving enthusiastically from the start. “Wheels!” he cried confidently. I looked down immediately to check but no, I still had feet.

    It’s not only workshops that provide examples of childhood comedy. One day I was feeling rather low as I walked into the mini post office and came upon a young boy dressed in his postman’s uniform, dragging a huge postbag full of parcels. “Are you doing a good job today Mr Postman?” I enquired; forcing a cheery smile onto my face. My smile deepened as he replied happily “yes, and then I’m going into there (pointing to the kitchen) to be a cooker”. The world was suddenly a better place as I remembered how lucky I am to work with the funniest people in the world.

    Jill Ward is an Enabler in the Front of House team at Eureka!

    Friday 23 October 2009

    Play keeps you fit

    Today's quote comes from Stuart Brown, M.D., a contemporary North American psychiatrist and founder of the USA's National Institute for Play in California:
    "Play keeps us fit physically and mentally."
    And this video clip demonstrates it pretty well - perhaps something we can hope to see inside Eureka! one day?

    Wednesday 21 October 2009

    Exploring materials

    Over the past month, I’ve been working with children from the museum’s nursery, exploring materials in a series of specially created workshops designed for 2-5 year olds. I planned the workshop content in line with the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), the approaches of Reggio Emilia and High/Scope which promote children as active participants in their own learning.

    Children were offered the chance to play with a wide array of objects, from button to shells, straws to feathers, in whatever manner they pleased, and using all their senses. This was very much a partnership in learning for me as the practitioner and the children alike, rather than a formal lesson with lots of instructions.

     During the first week I introduced children to the objects and encouraged them to explore and investigate textures and outward appearances. The children were so engaged that as they left the the session I heard them comment “this is smooth” as they touched the door!

    In week two we looked at the shadows and reflections produce by the objects with the help of an overhead projector, a light box, and torches. We then took the torches into the dark ‘Desert Discovery’ gallery to explore further.

    Week three found us looking at the imprints objects leave behind when pressed into modelling clay. Some children chose to leave their objects in the clay, integrating it into their designs, while other children were more interested in their imprints.

    For our final session I hung up a white sheet and projected photographs from the previous sessions on to it. Needless to say, the children were fascinated with the images of themselves as they ran through with the sheet. I also brought out all the objects from previous sessions for one more explore.



    There were lots of surprises in the way the children played with the many different objects; one boy who usually loves to be very physically active showed himself to be a methodical learner, as he spent a great deal of time sorting out and identifying things. Each week the children surprised me with their understanding of the world around them; they made me and the nursery practitioners smile with their enthusiasm and knowledge and I had a great deal of fun learning with them.

    Penny Dargan is an Early Years Enabler at Eureka!

    Friday 16 October 2009

    Play is a necessity

    Today we have a quote from Kay Redfield Jamison, a professor of psychiatry at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore who makes a serious point about play:
    "Children need the freedom and time to play. Play is not a luxury. Play is a necessity."
    This really reiterates the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child which is 20 years old this year and states:
    "Parties recognise the right of the child to rest and leisure, to engage in play and recreational activities appropriate to the age of the child and to participate freely in cultural life and the arts."

    Wednesday 14 October 2009

    Fast Food Fun

    One of the joys of working at Eureka! is delivering our amazing interactive educational workshops. Throughout the year I might find myself taking the children on all manner of incredible adventures; from flying off to the planet Kaygool with aliens (I’m one of them) to sailing aboard the ‘The Black Light’ with pirates (me again) to search for treasure. At the moment we’re concentrating on the very current topic of healthy lifestyles with two workshops; Fast Food Fun for 7-11 year olds and Fruit for Thought for the 5-7 year olds.

    Watch a video of the Fast Food Fun workshop


    At the end of every ‘Fast Food Fun’ workshop I ask the children two questions. The first question is always “have you enjoyed the workshop?” - A question that is invariably answered with a very enthusiastic “YES!” The second question; or to be more accurate set of three questions, are aimed at finding out if they think they’ve learned anything. A unanimous positive response tells me that all the learning objectives have been achieved; and what’s more, the response from the children is just as enthusiastic when faced with these questions as it was to the first. That’s what it’s all about for me and it’s what I love about Eureka!; play and learning are not put in separate categories, play is learning and learning is fun.

    I think ‘Fast Food Fun’ is a brilliant way of putting across the healthy lifestyle message. From the moment the children set eyes on Jogger Jill (my alter ego) in her over the top sports gear; complete with jazzy pink leg warmers and ‘bad hair day’ headband, they know they’re here to have fun. I love to see the excitement on their faces as they compete in teams to pick up the little bags of food energy (beanbags) and balance them on their heads, or dodge the beanbags on their way to the supermarket to pick up something from the carbohydrate, fat or protein food groups. All the games are great fun and most of them are pretty active too so we don’t just talk about the value of exercise, we actually do exercise at the same time! Anybody who doesn’t believe in the learning through play philosophy should come along and watch. In what other situation could you get a whole class of 7-8 year olds sitting, totally engaged as they listen to somebody talking about simple and complex carbohydrates and saturated and unsaturated fats – and what’s more, actually understanding the differences and working out which would be the healthier choice.

    Every workshop is different because every group of children is different and that makes them as much fun for me as it is for them. (Maybe next time I blog I’ll include a few examples of ‘children say the funniest things’ and you’ll see what I mean). Until then always remember – “adults don’t stop playing because they get old, they get old because they stop playing” Hopefully, thanks to Eureka!, I’ll never get old!

    Jill Ward is an Enabler in the Front of House team at Eureka!

    Friday 9 October 2009

    Friday is quote day

    We'll be posting quotes every Friday around the subject of play. Maybe they'll make you see things differently or even challenge your own ideas about play; but at the very least we hope they'll entertain you!

    "In our play we reveal what kind of people we are." Ovid (43BC-18AD)
    It seems that even way back in Roman times there were people around who understood the value of play as this quote from the Roman poet Ovid shows.

    Wednesday 7 October 2009

    That's mine!


    This poem is bound to resonate with anyone who has a toddler or works with toddlers, and it’s always made me chuckle. There have been many small tussles in the play kitchen at Eureka! as children cook their parents an imaginary lunch or tea, disagreeing over who will use that tomato or who gets that potato. Peace is usually restored as soon as another vegetable or something more interesting is found to add to the pot.

    This poem really encapsulates the possessive urge that comes over many toddlers as they struggle to learn how to share and play with others. 

    Eight Rules of Toddler Play

    1. If I like it, it’s mine.
    2. If it’s in my hand, it’s mine.
    3. If I can take it from you, it’s mine.
    4. If I had it a little time ago, it’s mine.
    5. If it’s mine, it must never appear to be yours in any way, shape or form.
    6. If I’m doing or building something, all the pieces are mine.
    7. If it looks like mine, it’s mine.
    8. If I think it’s mine, it’s mine.

    Poem by Tracy Hogg and Melinda Blau (The Baby Whisperer Solves All Your Problems)

    Jenny
    Goodall is in the Play & Learning Team at Eureka!

    Wednesday 30 September 2009

    If you go down to the woods today...

    Last week I got to spend a whole day outside playing in a forest in Doncaster!

    I was at a conference called "If you go down to the woods today..." jointly hosted by Play England, Yorkshire Play and the Forestry Commission. It was an environmentally friendly event where all delegates were able to fully engage in nature play. Holding the whole conference outside reinforced the messages we are hearing from educationalist and play professionals alike, that being outside enhances children's development.
    One of the workshops was delivered by Creeping Toad. As a voluntary helper on the day I was unable to attend the whole session, but one activity I saw is great for playful, nature-loving people of all ages, whether in a group setting or with the family. Apologies to Gordon MacLellan (aka Creeping Toad) for not presenting this activity in the creative, inspirational way he did but here goes:
    • Sit outside and listen to nature, discuss what creatures may be around you right now
    • Place a golf ball sized lump of clay or Plasticine on the end of a piece of string (approx 30cms)
    • Spend 20 minutes exploring your environment gathering any natural objects you want and stick them into your clay to create your own natural creature
    It was great to see all the delegates proudly walking round with their creation all day and in the well-known words of Blue Peter, here's one I made earlier... quite autumnal isn't it?!
    Rebecca Johnson is Director of Play & Learning at Eureka!.

    Tuesday 8 September 2009

    Learning through play


    It is that time of year again - back to school, and for some it will be the first time.

    Having worked in Early Years for many years I have seen frameworks and curricula come and go. Through my own practice and much reading, I know that young children don’t learn by listening to the teacher whilst sitting silently, bottoms on chairs. They learn through active engagement with their environment, through interaction with people - peers and adults.

    The introduction of the Early Years Foundation Stage in September 2008 has been a move in the right direction in ensuring all children under five are exposed to play based learning. (I know many nurseries and reception classes were already implementing a play based approach but many were not).

    In 1935 Susan Isaacs, educational psychologist and advocate of learning through play said:

    "We watch the nursery school child at play and accept this sort of activity at this age as normal and desirable. But too often the five and six year old is expected to cease play activities in school and begin lessons. Yet some educationalists would like all children under seven to enjoy nursery school conditions where play and living experiences are the accepted mode of learning.
    "

    I and the rest of the learning team at Eureka! believe this should be the accepted mode of learning (and that is certainly how we plan and deliver our school programmes) and it saddens me to see that in the 70 years since Susan made this comment, children have become subjected to more and more formality and tests.

    Here's hoping Jim Rose's review of the primary curriculum will enable older children to learn through play too. His recommendations include giving teachers new advice on how to stimulate play based learning, which will be passed onto parents and smoothing the transition from early years to primary by extending and building upon active, play-based learning.

    Rebecca Johnson is Director of Play & Learning at Eureka!

    Wednesday 26 August 2009

    It's never too wet (or cold) to play!


    Playing outdoors is brilliant - whatever the weather, as this recent article on the BBC website reminded us.

    Why not get some funky wellies and a bright waterproof on and have a splashing time with these ideas:

    • Stomp through pools of water – who can make the biggest splash?
    • Make up a ‘singing in the rain’ dance routine
    • Hand out disposable waterproof cameras to capture the magic of the rain including water droplets, cloud shapes and colours, reflections in puddles and amazing rainbows. Make a rainy day photo album
    • If you’re wet already, get drenched even more with water balloon challenges and soggy sponge dodging
    • Pitch a tent in your garden when rain is forecast. You'll stay nice and dry when the rain starts, but you can enjoy the sound of the raindrops hitting the tent. Get cosy, tell rainy day stories, sing rainy songs like ‘Itsy Witsy spider’ and play games
    • Collect rain water and add colours to paint the pavement when rain is expected – watch the colours blend and wash away. Or dust powder paint onto thick cardboard and watch what happens
    • Look in the garden to find creatures who love being out in the rain too – go on a wiggly worm hunt!
    Just don't forget to warm up when you're done!

    Thursday 13 August 2009

    Playday


    Eureka! celebrated Playday earlier this month. The day is an annual celebration of children's right to play and 100s of events took play all over the country. Eureka! marked the event in typical style with lots of opportunities for play at the museum, indoors and out.

    The organisers behind Playday revealed that
    72% of parents want more time to play with their children or to take them places to play (opinion poll conducted by ICM).

    At Eureka! play is at the heart of what we do and Playday was a great chance to demonstrate our commitment to play by encouraging all our staff to make time to play. It was the perfect opportunity to spend half an hour escaping the pressures of our daily lives and experiencing the positive effects of play, something we tend to lose sight of as adults.

    It was great to see so many children, parents and grandparents getting stuck into play, as well as staff - even our CEO Leigh-Anne Stradeski had a bounce on a spacehopper!