Exploring Enriching Environments
From Distractify:
At first, artist Mica Angela Hendricks didn’t want her four-year-old daughter near her new sketchbook. But her daughter convinced her, and Mica let her daughter finish one of her sketches, and pretty soon, they had a whole collection of collaborations.
Mica claims that her amazing artistic experiences with her daughter have taught her a lot about being an artist, and that you have to let go of control for wonderful things to happen.
From Seriously! The Future Depends on Play:
From fall 2011 through spring 2012 The Music Box, A Shantytown Sound Laboratory presented groundbreaking musical performances and cacophonous public hours in a miniature village of musical architecture on a residential lot in New Orleans. Constructed from the salvaged remains of an ancient cottage, invented instruments were embedded into the walls, ceilings, floors and staircases of musical structures created by 25 collaborating artists, inventors and tinkers. Performed on by over 70 world-class musicians for orchestral concerts and attended by over 15,000 visitors & 500+students, The Music Box captured the hearts of the New Orleans community.
The Music Box has closed, but 2014 will see the creation of five new musical houses that will be the inaugural structures of Dithyrambalina. We will use these new houses to form a roving village that will visit neighborhoods around New Orleans, and the country, sharing the wonder and possibility of musical architecture with new audiences as we continue to grow our village and work towards securing a perfect and permanent site for Dithyrambalina in New Orleans.
Dithyrambalina: The Music Box and Beyond from TungstenMonkey on Vimeo.
This mom is really mad that her boys, and most kids, are not allowed to play in a normal manner and not coddle or guide them the entire time:
I often think about the world my boys will grow up in. I often get angry when I think about it.
Many years ago, there was a time where young boys could run around with their toy guns, killing the bad guys. You could take the toy guns away from the little boys, and they’d find something else around them – a stick, their fingers, etc – and pretend it was a gun. Today, those little boys – if caught doing that – are labeled as threats, and immediate action is taken to remove that threat from the group.
Modern parents, who drop everything all the time to sit and play with the child, who “needs attention,” or drop what they’re doing to help the child the second he or she gets frustrated? How is Joey going to deal with the fact that there won’t be anyone in his adult life who’s willing to stop what they’re doing, stop living their busy lives, to cater to his every whim?
As a young parent, I get to see firsthand the kind of struggle this mom is talking about. She points out all the same reasons that play advocates do about why we need to let kids explore with real life situations, like good guys and bad guys, and bullies (to some extent), and frustration. Coddling kids or helicopter parenting shelters kids from getting to experience the joys of accomplishment and independence that we all craved as kids and take for granted now as grown-ups.
I say get angry, Stephanie! Get angry, people! This is life and death stuff we’re talking about here.
Check out more of Stephanie Metz here.
Yes, it’s true. Marketers have known for years that people want fun, playful experiences, but it’s only in the last couple of years that companies have been willing to take those playful risks themselves and go out on a limb to make those fun-filled experiences happen. From Forbes:
“The easiest way to create sharability is to give people an experience,” offers Franz Aliquo, Creative Director at ad agency RPM. “Something that turns their mundane day-to-day into something magical.”
Aliquo should know; not only does he worry about corporate brands in his day job, he’s the creative force behind numerous immersive experiences that have gone viral in recent years. His creations include a pervasive 30 day, 24/7 watergun assassination tournament called Street Wars; Rental Car Rally, a competition that’s part food-fight, part-Burning Man, part Cannonball Run; and Flavor Tripping Parties.
“Look at how people use Facebook,” continues Aliquo. “We all want to share the amazing things that happen in our lives – the things that make our lives seem less mundane. People post about what they do, that’s what’s really sharable.”Whether it’s new races like The Color Run and Tough Mudder, or underground dining parties, organizations are dreaming up new ways to tap into people’s desire for unique experiences and camaraderie that makes them want to share."
While the Forbes article is focused more on the marketing aspect of it, to me the big takeaway is that people are looking for fun, playful experiences, and if large companies or marketers are willing to facilitate that play, people are happy to engage.
This is one of the best descriptions of the power of pretend play, especially dissecting how pretend play is hard work, and can be overwhelming, especially to someone who doesn’t have practice, which is why lots of play is important for practicing real-world feelings and situations like power, restraint, and questioning assumed priors.
Power is intoxicating.
It is also dangerous.
And it is especially dangerous when applied to four-year-olds.
Four-year-olds lack the experience to wield power responsibly. They have no idea what to do with it or how to control it.
The dinosaur costume was the greatest thing that had ever happened to me.
…All I knew was that being a dinosaur felt very different from being a person, and I was doing things that I had never even dreamed of doing before. …Of course, I had always had the ability to do these things — even as a person — but I didn’t know that. I’d just assumed that I was unable. As a dinosaur, I didn’t have any of those assumptions. It felt like I could do whatever I wanted without fear of repercussions.
read the whole comic via Hyperbole and a Half: Menace.
Your playful moment of the day brought to you by a playful primate enjoying the weather.
Because even the hardest working CEO-types need to take play breaks.
The city can feel like a maze sometimes; in this case it really is.
Whether or not you agree that funnest is actually a word, you have to admit that this new bouncy, zig-zagging pedestrian bridge in Brooklyn is pretty darn cool. Designed by Ted Zoli and constructed by HNTB, Squibb Park Bridge provides a much-needed link over the BQE to connect Brooklyn Heights to Brooklyn Bridge Park. Reactions to the slightly unstable sensation felt when crossing the bridge seem to be mixed, but locals are certainly appreciating the newfound ease with which they can get to the waterfront.
check out the full gallery via PHOTOS: Bouncy, Zig-Zagging Squibb Park Bridge is NYC’s Funnest Pedestrian Bridge | Inhabitat New York City.
It’s like a grown-up sized version of those bridges they put on playground structures! Neato!
Banksy is a graffiti artist who often makes commentary about creating better, healthier, more friendly environments.
In light of Banksy’s return to New York in three years, The Creators Project collected “some of our favorite tech-focused graffiti artists in recent memory. Even if these artists don’t use the same stencil and paint style (read: analog) as him, we’re sure these artists cite Banksy as a top influence.”
more via In Light Of Banksy’s New York Return, Here Is The Best Tech-Focused Graffiti | The Creators Project.
Coming soon(ish) to a street near you (if you live in Colorado):
OHY will transform a Downtown Denver street into an interactive arcade using LED screens, projections, custom games and street art.
BRINGING PLAY BACK TO THE STREET: Get ready! This summer – June & July, 2014 – Champa Street in Denver, from 14th Street to the 16th Street Mall, will be transformed into a street arcade like you’ve never seen. This isn’t your father’s old-school arcade. Powered through a combination of the Denver Theatre District’s LED screens, building projections, street art, social media and a website, this immersive arcade is going to be a gaming experience for all!
ON THE WEB: The public will be able to interact with video game characters through personalized Twitter profiles powered by local improv comedians from Bovine Metropolis.
ON THE STREET: Once you’re on Champa Street, you’ll feel it – the pulse of the arcade bringing downtown to life. To play at the arcade is to be immersed in each game. The entire two city blocks will be full of street art and custom structures that will transport players to a modern game world. The enormity and excitement is going to blow people away.
GAMES: Built by the Denver-based, award-winning creative team of Legwork Studio and Mode Set, the games will allow players to use a smart phone and their body as controllers while playing on the huge Denver Theater District LED screens, as well as projections on buildings. Microsoft Kinect devices will be utilized so participants feel like they’ve jumped right into the video games.
more via OhHeckYeah: Denver’s Immersive Street Arcade by Brian Corrigan — Kickstarter.
This sounds like a really great way to get people playing together in public spaces.
(Word to the wise, if you have a play-based Kickstarter event, toy, program, or other play-related thing you are trying to get attention for, let me know about it as it is pretty much guaranteed to get some blog time.)
Mental Flowers 