PLAY MATTERS

Our philosophy starts with the simple belief that kids are capable of incredible things. Our job is to nurture that natural ability; our goal is to support kids’ healthy development.

We know that to support kids we need to support their parents. Our efforts are geared toward fostering family fun and celebrating the joy of learning together.

Our approach is intended to counterbalance many of the forces that negatively affect children’s lives. The compression of childhood, screen time, over-scheduling, and a focus on testing are taking too much of the play and joy out of childhood, drawing kids to indoor activities at the expense of outdoor play, and giving them less time for activities with their family.

We focus on the development of skills that will help kids be successful: exploration and experimentation; persistence and resilience; the ability to understand their emotions and the emotions of others around them. They’ll need to understand the impact they have on others and find ways to communicate with all types of people. Today’s kids need to grow up to be confident risk takers and effective problem solvers.

We believe in play as the way that children learn. In our case, it is play in both a STEM-rich environment and in a natural and inviting outdoor experience.  Children are the most natural science learners. Given the slightest encouragement they will ask a myriad of questions. If you surround children with stimulating materials and resources, they will follow their natural instincts to observe, predict, and experiment—in other words, to be scientists. Real stuff and simple materials are our preferred tools for learning. Add curiosity, creativity, and working together, and you have a simple recipe for creating successful learners.

Put another way, what we want is great play for kids. Play that is rich, varied, full of experiences, both solitary and with others, with found or repurposed objects, or just with imagination. Great play is what every kid needs and every kid deserves. The cost to provide it is very low. The cost of not having it is very, very high.

Our Mission: To spark joyful discovery through play to instill STEM confidence, deepen relationships with the natural world, and empower children and their caregivers.