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!