Planning for a Children's Museum, Exploratorium or Edutainment Centre?
8 Easy Strategies to Create an Effective Playful Learning Space for Children.
Young children learn best through play. Play enhances their socio-emotional competencies and problem-solving skills. Play stimulates their creative thinking. And play amplifies their joy of learning.
That much is clear.
But exactly how do you create an effective playful learning space? Here are eight easy strategies you can use.
#1 Give them safe places to run, jump and climb.
Children love open areas to run and jump about in, structures to climb on, and nooks and crannies to hide in. For them to freely do so, safety needs to come first. A safe space means, for example, non-slip surfaces, no openings that could possibly trap children’s hands or feet, and age-appropriate structures, high enough to offer children some challenge, yet still low enough to pose little risk.
#2 Use their language.
Remember that your little visitors may not have mastered reading. When designing signage and writing instructions, use simple language that they can understand and font types that are easy to read. You can also consider using cartoons and comics for illustration.
#3 Let them touch.
Children learn about the world by physically interacting with objects. Interactive exhibits, sensory bins with objects of different textures, craft activities, building blocks and touch pools – these are some of the things you can have in your space to get children to feel and explore with their sense of touch.
#4 Make it their size.
Children have smaller hands, and they see the world from a lower height. By giving them things that are the right size and at suitable heights, such as child-sized tools and games and showcases that are low enough, you’ll help them learn and discover with ease and confidence.
#5 Let them do it again, and again and again … and again
Have you ever wondered why children read the same books and play the same games over and over again? That’s because they find assurance in repetition. Research has also shown that children learn and remember better through repetition. A looping circulation route in your space, for instance, lets children repeat their actions and gain confidence through the process.
#6 Ask them questions.
Ask your young visitors questions in your exhibits and explainers. But your intention here is not to test what they know. Your questions should help spark their imagination, nudge them to think more deeply, and relate the information to their real life. Go for “what if” and “why do you think” questions.
#7 Don’t forget their families.
Spare some thought for the grown-ups too. Plant how-to tips to guide parents in exploring your space with their children. Or give them pointers on how they can playfully reinforce the learning at home.
A day out for parents with kids in tow can be energy-sapping. The grown-ups will appreciate quiet corners and comfortable seats where they can take breathers while the young ones are let loose safely.
#8 Give them time to play.
Children tend to move at a slower pace than adults. Plan your space such that it allows them to linger over the activities. Provide comfortable seats, for example, so that they can explore something or watch a video in their own time. Give them the time and space to imagine and play!
Angeline Tong is an architect of narratives and Chief Curator at HOL, an experience strategy and curation consultancy. Angeline has a Master of Education (Human Development & Psychology) from Harvard Graduate School of Education and a Post-Graduate Diploma in Museum Studies from Harvard University. She currently resides in Singapore.
To contact Angeline, email atong@hol.sg
