{"id":1221,"date":"2020-01-26T09:02:58","date_gmt":"2020-01-26T14:02:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.kars4kidsgrants.org\/our-grantees\/?p=1221"},"modified":"2024-08-22T07:27:39","modified_gmt":"2024-08-22T11:27:39","slug":"minnesota-childrens-museum-sparks-childrens-learning-play","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kars4kidsgrants.org\/our-grantees\/minnesota-childrens-museum-sparks-childrens-learning-play\/","title":{"rendered":"Minnesota Children\u2019s Museum Sparks Children\u2019s Learning Through Play"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/mcm.org\/\">Minnesota Children\u2019s Museum<\/a> is a place where play is the central focus. This is important not just because play is fun, but because play is one of the main ways in which children learn about the world that surrounds them. We know that play is crucial to child development, and so we were happy to give the museum one of our <a href=\"http:\/\/www.kars4kidsgrants.org\/our-grantees\/\">small grants<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>We wanted to know more about the museum so we went to Jamie Brother, family learning program manager for the Minnesota Children\u2019s Museum. Brother, an early childhood development specialist with more than 20 years of experience in early childhood education and adult learning, was happy to answer all our questions. Here is what we learned about the museum and\u00a0 how play helps children learn:<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Kars4Kids: How is playing at the museum different\u00a0from\u00a0playing at home?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Jamie Brother: Playing at the museum is a totally immersive and interactive experience that is designed to spark children\u2019s learning through play. We have 11\u00a0exhibits\u00a0that offer a lot of variety including a vibrant pretend town, a makerspace, a wacky car wash, a dedicated toddler area, a laser maze, a four-story climber and giant spiral slide and more.<\/p>\n<p>The activities throughout the museum\u00a0are open-ended and\u00a0empower kids to discover their own interests, make memories with their families and build important skills like critical and creative thinking.<\/p>\n<p>One thing we consistently hear\u00a0from parents is that when they are here at the museum, they can be present and play with and observe their kids away from the distractions at home (doing the dishes, laundry, etc.). This allows them to really see their kids and often discover something new about them.<\/p>\n<p>Another benefit of visiting\u00a0the museum\u00a0is that it allows kids to interact with and play with many other kids and families from the community, which gives them a chance to build social, emotional and collaboration skills<strong>.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<h2><strong>Kars4Kids: You advise parents to support their children, in part, by resisting the urge to show them how to use tools, in for instance, the makerspace studio. How does\u00a0this support children?\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Jamie Brother: It\u2019s like\u00a0the wise saying imparts:\u00a0\u201cTell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.\u201d When kids do things for themselves, they\u00a0learn,\u00a0figure things out, solve problems and persist \u2013 important skills that serve them well in school and throughout life.<\/p>\n<p>When parents show a child how to do something, the child tends to mimic exactly what the adult is doing. When kids are\u00a0empowered\u00a0to use tools and materials\u00a0themselves, they often use those things in innovative and surprising ways that build their creative and critical thinking skills.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1225\" src=\"http:\/\/www.kars4kidsgrants.org\/our-grantees\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/The-Studio.jpg\" alt=\"Minnesota Children's Museum Studio\" width=\"858\" height=\"573\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.kars4kidsgrants.org\/our-grantees\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/The-Studio.jpg 858w, https:\/\/www.kars4kidsgrants.org\/our-grantees\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/The-Studio-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.kars4kidsgrants.org\/our-grantees\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/The-Studio-768x513.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 1362px) 62vw, 840px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2><strong>Kars4Kids: In your Sprouts\u00a0exhibit\u00a0for babies and toddlers, you offer water play. Why is it important for babies to play with water?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Jamie Brother: Water play is a sensory activity that is important for kids of all ages.\u00a0We have a few spots for water play throughout the museum, including a large water table with whirligigs and fountains in\u00a0<em>Sprouts<\/em>, our gallery designed specifically for kids ages three and under.<\/p>\n<p>Through water play, children gather hands-on information about their world and activate their senses. They build motor skills, experiment with cause and effect and learn basic concepts in science and math such as flow, motion and volume. Plus, almost all kids love to play with water; it brings joy and there\u2019s a calming aspect to it, too.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Kars4Kids: What is your most popular exhibit?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Jamie Brother: Since we reopened as an all-new museum in 2017 following a major renovation,\u00a0<em>Our World\u00a0<\/em>in the Best Buy gallery<em>\u00a0<\/em>has been our most popular\u00a0permanent exhibit.\u00a0<em>Our World\u00a0<\/em>is\u00a0a pretend town that allows kids to work in a post office, fire department,\u00a0food stand,\u00a0hardware store and more.\u00a0In this exhibit, kids can try on different roles and work together as part of this vibrant community.<\/p>\n<p>We opened\u00a0a new experience in November 2019 called\u00a0<em>Noodle World<\/em>, which is an immersive play space made entirely of pool noodles that has been wildly popular.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1224\" src=\"http:\/\/www.kars4kidsgrants.org\/our-grantees\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Noodle-Wood.jpg\" alt=\"Minnesota Children's Museum exhibit Noodle Wood\" width=\"669\" height=\"446\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.kars4kidsgrants.org\/our-grantees\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Noodle-Wood.jpg 669w, https:\/\/www.kars4kidsgrants.org\/our-grantees\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Noodle-Wood-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 984px) 61vw, (max-width: 1362px) 45vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>With the newly renovated museum, we\u2019re able to change the experiences compared to the old museum, which was\u00a0more\u00a0static. We\u2019re always working on new experiences to delight our visitors and offer them something new each time they visit. And, we host new special exhibits every\u00a0few\u00a0months that add to the variety of experiences such as <em>Wild\u00a0<\/em><em>Kratts\u00ae<\/em><em>: Creature Power<\/em><em>\u00ae<\/em>, <em>Curious George<sup>TM<\/sup>: Let\u2019s Get Curious! <\/em>and <em>Hot Wheels<sup>TM<\/sup>: Race to Win<sup>TM<\/sup><\/em>.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1229\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1229\" style=\"width: 778px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1229\" src=\"http:\/\/www.kars4kidsgrants.org\/our-grantees\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/exterior.jpg\" alt=\"Exterior of Minnesota Children's Museum\" width=\"778\" height=\"447\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.kars4kidsgrants.org\/our-grantees\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/exterior.jpg 778w, https:\/\/www.kars4kidsgrants.org\/our-grantees\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/exterior-300x172.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.kars4kidsgrants.org\/our-grantees\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/exterior-768x441.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 984px) 61vw, (max-width: 1362px) 45vw, 600px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1229\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Exterior of Minnesota Children&#8217;s Museum<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2><strong>Kars4Kids:\u00a0You offer a 40-foot-high netted catwalk and a giant spiral slide at The Scramble. How many feet long is the slide? Why is it important for kids to have daredevil opportunities, albeit in a safe, padded space?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Jamie\u00a0Brother: It&#8217;s important for kids to have\u00a0opportunities to take safe risks because it allows them to overcome challenges, build confidence and self-control.\u00a0The spiral slide in\u00a0<em>The Scramble<\/em>\u00a0is 17 feet long, but there\u2019s also a smaller slide in the gallery,\u00a0which allows kids to start small and gradually build up to the larger slide, building their confidence along the way. Similarly, there are different levels to the climber so kids can build up to the catwalk when they feel comfortable and are ready for that challenge.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Kars4Kids: Tell us about Our World. Why do children like to pretend to do adult jobs, like fighting fires, working as a postal clerk, or in a hardware or grocery store?\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Jamie Brother: Kids are always watching the world around them and want to do what they see adults doing. This exhibit gives them opportunities to work together and feel like a grown up, which builds\u00a0confidence and\u00a0collaboration skills.<\/p>\n<p><em>Our World\u00a0<\/em>is centered on the idea of\u00a0a community, which is a\u00a0theme children\u00a0tend to\u00a0gravitate toward. They naturally want to do for others and take on different personas and roles, and this exhibit offers them many opportunities to do so.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1226\" src=\"http:\/\/www.kars4kidsgrants.org\/our-grantees\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Our-World-3.jpg\" alt=\"Minnesota Children's Museum exhibit Our World \" width=\"903\" height=\"603\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.kars4kidsgrants.org\/our-grantees\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Our-World-3.jpg 903w, https:\/\/www.kars4kidsgrants.org\/our-grantees\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Our-World-3-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.kars4kidsgrants.org\/our-grantees\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Our-World-3-768x513.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 1362px) 62vw, 840px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2><strong>Kars4Kids: Tell us how Super Awesome Adventures differs from your other exhibits. What is the focus here?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Jamie Brother: Super Awesome Adventures is an exhibit made up of adventurous activities like a laser maze,\u00a0green-screen\u00a0climbing wall, balance boards,\u00a0and an outer space race area.\u00a0Kids\u00a0build coordination\u00a0and gross motor skills, but because of the different scenarios and environments, it\u00a0also\u00a0empowers kids to\u00a0gain\u00a0communication skills as they tell stories about their adventures.<\/p>\n<p>We are currently designing a new iteration of this space that will feature a shipwreck, towering cliffs, caves and more\u00a0to explore.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1227\" src=\"http:\/\/www.kars4kidsgrants.org\/our-grantees\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Super-Awesome.jpg\" alt=\"Minnesota Children's Museum exhibit Super Awesome\" width=\"887\" height=\"624\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.kars4kidsgrants.org\/our-grantees\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Super-Awesome.jpg 887w, https:\/\/www.kars4kidsgrants.org\/our-grantees\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Super-Awesome-300x211.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.kars4kidsgrants.org\/our-grantees\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Super-Awesome-768x540.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 1362px) 62vw, 840px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2><strong>Kars4Kids:\u00a0What makes an activity \u201copen-ended?\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Jamie Brother:\u00a0The vast majority of\u00a0the\u00a0experiences in the museum are open-ended, which means there\u2019s no right or wrong way to do the activities. There\u2019s no set outcome. This is very intentional because while all play is beneficial to kids, open-ended or free play is particularly beneficial. It allows kids to pursue and discover their own interests and build important skills like confidence, critical and creative thinking, communication, collaboration and more.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1228\" src=\"http:\/\/www.kars4kidsgrants.org\/our-grantees\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Our-World-2.jpg\" alt=\"Minnesota Children's Museum exhibit Our World\" width=\"861\" height=\"575\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.kars4kidsgrants.org\/our-grantees\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Our-World-2.jpg 861w, https:\/\/www.kars4kidsgrants.org\/our-grantees\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Our-World-2-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.kars4kidsgrants.org\/our-grantees\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Our-World-2-768x513.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 1362px) 62vw, 840px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2><strong>Kars4Kids: You distribute\u00a0about 5,000\u202ffree memberships for children from low-income homes, yearly. How does this work? How do you locate these children in need?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Jamie Brother: We want to make sure the open-ended play that happens here at the museum and the benefits that come with it are open to all families in Minnesota. That&#8217;s why we offer scholarship memberships to families who may otherwise not be able to afford to visit. Families who qualify, receive free annual memberships, which gives them unlimited access to the museum. Much of our fundraising activities support these memberships.<\/p>\n<p>There are a couple of ways we reach\u00a0potential\u00a0scholarship members:<\/p>\n<p>1) Often families seek out information on our access\u00a0program\u00a0so we have information on <a href=\"https:\/\/mcm.org\/join\/all-play-membership\/\">our website<\/a> and our membership team and box office staff are always available to provide help and information to anyone interested in learning more and applying for a scholarship membership.<\/p>\n<p>2) We partner with community organizations to provide scholarship memberships to families they serve. Partners include all of the Head Start programs in the 7-county metro area, Minneapolis and St. Paul, ECFE, Way to Grow, YWCA Minneapolis, Habitat for Humanity, libraries, and others.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Kars4Kids:\u00a0What\u2019s\u00a0next for the Minnesota Children\u2019s Museum?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Jamie Brother: We\u2019re always looking to provide dynamic playful learning experiences for families in Minnesota. As part of this goal, we\u2019re currently working on a few new exhibits: 1) Wallace &amp; Gromit and Shaun the Sheep: Shear Genius! will debut here at the museum in June 2020 before it goes on tour in North America; 2)\u00a0An\u00a0immersive exhibit based on a real shipwreck in Lake Superior, will open in fall 2020.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to building and providing physical experiences for play, we\u2019re also focused on raising awareness about the power of play and helping parents support their children\u2019s playful learning. This is important work since more and more research points to the benefits of play, yet the amount of time kids\u00a0spend\u00a0playing continues to decline due to pressures such as academics, structured activities and screen time. We\u2019ve recently launched a series of workshops for parents on brain development and the power of play and we plan to continue sharing information about the truly remarkable benefits of play through our platforms and through\u00a0partnerships with family-serving organizations and advocates in the community.<\/p>\n<p>Learn more about Minnesota Children\u2019s Museum and the power of play at <a href=\"https:\/\/mcm.org\/\">mcm.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>(all photos: Bruce Silcox)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Minnesota Children\u2019s Museum is a place where play is the central focus. This is important not just because play is [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1225,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1221","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Minnesota Children\u2019s Museum Sparks Children\u2019s Learning Through Play - Kars4Kids Small Grants<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Minnesota Children&#039;s Museum, a Kars4Kids small grant recipient, offers adventures and learning through the medium of open-ended play.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.kars4kidsgrants.org\/our-grantees\/minnesota-childrens-museum-sparks-childrens-learning-play\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Minnesota Children\u2019s Museum Sparks Children\u2019s Learning Through Play\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Minnesota Children&#039;s Museum, a Kars4Kids small grant recipient, offers adventures and learning through the medium of open-ended play.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.kars4kidsgrants.org\/our-grantees\/minnesota-childrens-museum-sparks-childrens-learning-play\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Kars4Kids Small Grants\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-01-26T14:02:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-08-22T11:27:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.kars4kidsgrants.org\/our-grantees\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/The-Studio.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"858\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"573\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Varda Epstein\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Minnesota Children\u2019s Museum Sparks Children\u2019s Learning Through Play\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"Minnesota Children&#039;s Museum, a Kars4Kids small grant recipient, offers adventures and learning through the medium of open-ended play.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.kars4kidsgrants.org\/our-grantees\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/The-Studio.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Varda Epstein\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"9 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.kars4kidsgrants.org\\\/our-grantees\\\/minnesota-childrens-museum-sparks-childrens-learning-play\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.kars4kidsgrants.org\\\/our-grantees\\\/minnesota-childrens-museum-sparks-childrens-learning-play\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Varda Epstein\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.kars4kidsgrants.org\\\/our-grantees\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6c2da790febfa970ee343ac421cb94f7\"},\"headline\":\"Minnesota Children\u2019s Museum Sparks Children\u2019s Learning Through Play\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-01-26T14:02:58+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-08-22T11:27:39+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.kars4kidsgrants.org\\\/our-grantees\\\/minnesota-childrens-museum-sparks-childrens-learning-play\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1612,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.kars4kidsgrants.org\\\/our-grantees\\\/minnesota-childrens-museum-sparks-childrens-learning-play\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.kars4kidsgrants.org\\\/our-grantees\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/01\\\/The-Studio.jpg\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.kars4kidsgrants.org\\\/our-grantees\\\/minnesota-childrens-museum-sparks-childrens-learning-play\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.kars4kidsgrants.org\\\/our-grantees\\\/minnesota-childrens-museum-sparks-childrens-learning-play\\\/\",\"name\":\"Minnesota Children\u2019s Museum Sparks Children\u2019s Learning Through Play - 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