The PLAY Antidote

I've been asked many times by visitors, members and supporters what the acronym PLAY stands for. Frequently, people see our presentation of the word in all caps and believe that it must stand for something. Fair enough. After all, why would our mission statement end in "...the power of PLAY"?

What does PLAY stand for?

PLAY is not an acronym for a set of four other words but PLAY does stand for something. In fact, PLAY stands for so much. It stands for healthy bodies and for strong brain development. PLAY stands for social and emotional skills and problem-solving, critical thinking and self-confidence. PLAY stands for helping children get ready for school and for success in the early years of schooling. PLAY stands uniquely as a potential antidote for the growing achievement gap and as a means to foster literacy, language and communication skills.

When children PLAY, they engage in the ultimate brain-building activity. They were literally born to do it. PLAY is for every child, regardless of financial resources, family status, special needs, race, gender, culture or religion. In fact, worldwide, there is one universal truth for all children - they all PLAY.

And the longer they PLAY, the more equipped they are to deal with their circumstances, develop new skills and grow and develop healthy brains. PLAY is a bit of a magic bullet. Safe, hands-on, immersive PLAY in children and even in adults, helps develop key cognitive growth patterns, bathes our brain in healthy and necessary hormones and creates the best possible environment for successful development. PLAY allows a child to put on a superhero cape and face down an imaginary bully. PLAY allows a child to explore design and math concepts through creating buildings with blocks. PLAY develops a rich tapestry of language and storytelling as children weave together an impromptu play with puppets. This is what learning looks like. PLAY is what learning looks like. And it's everything we're about at The Children's Museum of the Lowcountry. We PLAY. All caps. Through building, through painting, through pretending to be check-out clerks or pirates, we create in children the ability to see themselves in the greater world as architects and engineers, artists, managers and yes, even pirates!

PLAY often appears as something that is 'nice but not necessary'. To adults, PLAY may appear to be deceptively simple but more and more research suggests that it's among the best assistive devices we have for working with cognitive development. So, at CML, we present PLAY in all caps for one very important reason; we know exactly how much power there is in this simple action and we intend to give it the attention it deserves. 

The message is clear - for every budding teacher, activist, police officer and computer programmer - they all benefit from the power of PLAY.

This essay originally written for The Children's Museum of the Lowcountry's Membership Newsletter, August 2016 edition. CML is a non-profit organization whose mission is to engage young children's potential by inviting families from all backgrounds to explore environments and experiences that spark imagination and stimulate curiosity through the power of PLAY. 

Learn more about us at explorecml.org