Sledging

Wow, what a lot of snow! Can you believe it? And all before Christmas too!

If you’re anything like us here at Eureka! then I’m sure you’ve had a great time playing out in the snow on the days off from school and work. We might not have had a stretch of days off from work, but we did make time to go play in the snow. Across the Eureka! Park we made snow angels, threw loads of snow balls and, of course, went sledging.



Traditionally, people would use wooden sledges called toboggans, but these days you’re most likely to find sledges made of plastic. The great thing about sledging though is that anyone can do it, with almost anything! We didn’t have a sledge of our own, but all it took was some imagination and creativity to put together our own ‘sledging devices’ out of cardboard and plastic.

Now, if you ask me, I’m most likely to say the bigger the hill, the better the sledging. It’s just because I like to get the sledge going as fast as possible. For safety’s sake, make sure you should only sledge on a hill that you feel safe with, and before you start sledging take a look around. Can you see what is at the bottom? Are there any humps and bumps that might throw you off your sledge? It’s always good to make a thorough check. At Eureka! the hill we used had a nice, long slope, and we were able to go quite far and fast!

There’s a lot more to sledging that just sliding down by yourself. Why not take your grown-ups along for the ride? Or see if you can fit another person on your sledge. You might even try lying on your front and sledging, or if you have two sledges, racing against someone to the bottom to see who has the faster sledge.

There are so many different games you can play, and it’s completely up to you! So go on, get out there to play and discover as many different ways of sledging as you can. You might even show them off the next time you come to Eureka!.

And hey, if you don’t think that sledging is for you, then you can’t beat building a snow fort and having a good old snowball fight with your friends!

What’s your favourite way to have fun in the snow?

Ben Guifoyle is an Outreach Enabler at Eureka! The National Children’s Museum

Playing with a purpose for Playday 2010

Today at Eureka! we are celebrating Playday, the national event where communities around the UK host events that champion and support children’s right to play. In the process of preparing for our events, I read the research released this week by Play England to support the 2010 Playday campaign.

Taking time out for some sandcastle building during last year's Playday!

Play England found there is a profound loss of community spirit in Britain, which in turn is leading to children no longer being able to play outside. I have to wonder what has led to this lack of togetherness, and is it really the only reason why children don’t play outdoors any more?

In 2005 I returned to the UK after four years of living and working abroad. Bringing a six-year-old and a one-year-old back to the UK I became acutely aware of the lack of children on our streets. I noticed the ever-growing perception that children are ‘in danger’ if out of the sight of a parent, and we experienced the lack of play provision in many areas.

As I have written before, the evidence to support our multiple fears is not there. There have not been increases in child abductions and murders, compared to 20 or 30 years back, but there has been an increase in media coverage.

Playday 2010’s campaign theme is ‘Our Place’. Play England’s research states almost half of adults surveyed think it’s unsafe for children to play without supervision. However when 73% of children want to play outside more where they live, isn’t it our role as adults to enable this play in our home environments rather than install fear? I believe it is up to us to take note of these facts and figures, and to support the reinvigoration of community spirit by positively reinforcing the value of play.

It’s also encouraging to learn that the new ministerial Childhood and Families Task Force, chaired by the Prime Minister, has made Playful communities one of its priority areas – this is great news and I look forward to reading their conclusions, which are expected at the end of the year.

Taking time out to play today is just one in a series of steps to change our communities for the better. For Playday, I will be around the museum getting messy, crafty and active. We’re celebrating the right of all children to play, will you?

Rebecca Johnson is Play and Learning Director for Eureka! The National Children's Museum.

Fire and children's play: a discussion

Last week at Eureka! we hosted Yorkshire Play’s open meeting discussing ‘Playing with Fire’, after their DVD of the same name. We had an exciting programme of events, which included viewing the DVD, watching children from the Eureka! Nursery take part in a fire-based play activity and participated in a discussion about the risks and benefits of using fire as a part of children’s play.

Fire is a controversial subject. At the meeting it was agreed by all that making fires is a deep-seated need for many children. But it’s not clear what the best way is to fill that need while also balancing safety concerns for children and the people around them.

I believe that the best thing is to channel that need through exposure to the pleasures and risks of fire in a controlled manner, which is done in many play settings and uniform groups, enabling us to educate children about fire in an age-appropriate way.

We were lucky enough to have a break in the rain so that a group of children from the Nursery could demonstrate just how fire can be used in a play setting. Outside the museum, we watched as the children and Cindy, a PlayScape facilitator did a risk assessment of the area to make sure it was free of sticks and brush which could be set alight. They placed sand and stones to make a boundary that they all agreed not to step over unless they were invited, and they talked about being burned and what to do in case of an accident. Then, they were able to make a fire and cook marshmallows and toast; the only hiccups were when one of the children didn’t like bread!

Making toast over a campfire.

Clare Dean, Eureka! Nursery Early Years Professional, said the children got a good sense of the safety issues as well as seeing that fire can be fun, useful and not just dangerous.

We then spent an hour discussing some of the controversial issues surrounding fireplay, utilising the expert panel. The panel included a member of the Fire and Rescue Service, a child who engages in fireplay and practitioners/trainers who promote fire play. The differing viewpoints and the response from the audience has caused me to reflect. As a parent and a playful learning professional I am often torn about fire play, and in fact, many types of activities that we now consider to contain risk.

Research indicates that parents today are much more fearful and protective than they were 30 or 40 years ago. I want to let my children have the same freedom I experienced but I can’t help but worry. I know there is no evidence to support our fears, there are no increases in child abduction or child murders just more media coverage, and in fact there has been a 75% reduction of children killed on the roads between 1976 and 2006. Peter Cornell from RoSPA stated: 'We need to ask whether it is better for a child to break a wrist falling out of a tree, or to get a repetitive strain wrist injury at a young age from using a computer or video games console'.

When children spend time connecting with nature, getting dirty, getting cut by thorns, building fires they are learning important lessons for life and gaining a stong sense of safety outdoors. It is this knowledge that influenced my decision to be procative in providing experinces for my own children and their friends, I’m lucky enough to have a fire pit in my garden where I regulalry have groups of up to 10 children building and cooking on fires. They now have a clear understanding of the risks asssociated with fire, they have knowledge of what to use as kindling, what and when to add to make a good fire to cook on and the importance of using fallen wood so as not to interfere with the eco system. They also know not to leave the food on too long or else it get burned! When I see the kids in the school playground they always want to know when they can come again or recall stories from the evening before. I hope that, as well as the lessons learned, these are memories for life.

As a panel member, Kofi Johnson, 10 years old, was able to voice how important experience was for his learning and development. He said that he learns more about the health and safety aspects, and risks of using fire by doing and seeing, rather than being told.

The panel discussion touched on many different aspects of using fire in play, and sparked an active back and forth in the audience on topics such as:

•    Why does it appear to be more acceptable for uniform groups to use fire than it is for the play sector?

•    Is it the terminology we use in the play sector that influences people’s perspectives?

•    How do we encourage teachers to see the benefits of fireplay in schools?

We also learned some interesting facts about fire and its societal implications, which raised their own questions.

Peter Lamb, Hull City Council, reported that since the introduction of designated social gateway centres, places where fires are lit and youth and young people are allowed to gather around them, there has been a reduction in vandalism to play equipment.

Gayle Elvidge from West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service commented that the number of deliberately set fires they are called out to are reducing year on year. Do you think this could be because more children are exposed to structured sessions? 

It was a constructive session but many of the questions remain unanswered; we’d love to hear your point of view and look out for footage and audio of the debate online soon.

Rebecca Johnson is the Director of Play and Learning at Eureka!

Weigh anchor and hoist the mizzen

This weekend kicks off our half-term Pirates Ahoy adventure. We’ve put together a whole slew of high-seas hijinks for our visitors; Pirate Training School with sing-along sea shanteys, a treasure map through the galleries and my favourite, a galleon play structure that will be ‘run aground’ outside on the Eureka! Beach for the young buccaneers to explore.

Of course, before we can set sail, we need to hoist the sails. At Eureka! that’s where our team of Technicians come in. While here in Marketing, or in Learning and Education, we’re great about coming up with the ideas and programming that makes a visit to Eureka! magical, without our ‘techies’ keeping the museum at ship-shape, we’d be lost.

And the galleon was no exception. Here’s a sneak peek while we do our health and safety checks and get it ready to set sail in the wild, wild world.

In the Loading Bay 'dockyards'.

The jolly boat ‘Eureka!’ ready for her maiden voyage.

Without our 'techies', we might have had to settle for something less ambitious!

Allison Tara Sundaram is the Marketing and PR Officer for Eureka! Her pirate name is Red Mary Bonney (what’s yours?).

Happy New Year

Happy New Year!

Well, it's been a cold and snowy start to 2010 with lots of opportunities for outdoor play - we hope you're enjoying it! Members of staff at Eureka! have certainly been enjoying the snow, despite the disruptions; the image above shows Liz putting the finishing touches to a snowman.

How have you been playing in the snow?

To start the year here's a very seasonal poem about play in the snow by Winifred C. Marshall...

Little January

Tapped at my door today.

And said, "Put on your winter wraps,

And come outdoors to play."

Little January

Is always full of fun;

Today we coasted down the hill,

Until the set of sun.

Little January

Will stay a month with me

And we will have such jolly times-

Just come along and see.

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

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!

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!

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!.

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!