There’s perhaps no better way to learn something – or become inspired by it – than to roll up your sleeves, get your hands dirty, and play.
Play – the boundless, imaginative world that encapsulates childhood – fosters curiosity, creativity, and a zest for learning. As we navigate the complexities of adulthood, that playful spirit often takes a backseat, overshadowed by demands and deadlines. However, the intrinsic value and profound impact of play on our lives should never be forgotten.
The Lost Art of Play
In our formative years, play was our gateway to exploration, discovery, and understanding. We experimented, created, and learned through the sheer joy of play.
Children collect rocks or leaves or shells, discovering the unique colors and shapes and textures. They build Lego houses and bristle block towers and forts out of blankets and pillows. They invent games with rubber balls, orange cones, or decks of cards. They explode balloons with baking soda and vinegar and erupt volcanos with Coke and Mentos. They explore caves and touch animals and bury themselves in sand.
As we grow older, though, the nature of play changes. We become more cautious, busier, less carefree. As a parent, I’ve often had to bite my tongue from constantly screaming, “Be careful!” or “Don’t touch that!” as my kids engaged in play. Because as much as I wanted to keep them safe, I also knew that they benefited from really experiencing life. That’s a tricky line to walk, especially as a parent.
Play-Supportive Environments
There are special people and places that walk this line well.
Great teachers often encourage a playful approach to learning, fostering experimentation and curiosity in the classroom. My math teacher grandfather gave me tangrams to work on when I visited, scattering polygons across the kitchen table and challenging me to fit them together into a square frame. My high school physics teacher made science come alive in the classroom. His enthusiasm – coupled with our hands-on experiments that included running a Van De Graaf generator that made our hair stand on end – captured my imagination. During a summer engineering program, I designed and built a bridge that could carry a remote-controlled car. I remember working collaboratively with other teenagers, the trial and error, the laughs, and the sense of accomplishment.
I’ve been known to tee up various challenges for my kids and their friends. Come over to the Guarini house for the Superbowl, and you might get a chance to build spaghetti skyscrapers or towers of index cards. It’s common for our kids to experiment in the kitchen – inventing recipes and competing in cut-throat cooking competitions in which they concoct meals with limited ingredients in a race against the clock. (I still have nightmares about the ‘Sumata Soup’ my youngest made the judges taste!)
Interactive science museums are another haven where play intertwines with learning, offering engaging exhibits that encourage experimentation and discovery. As a kid, I loved watching shows in the planetarium and petting animals in the wildlife sanctuary at The Children’s Museum in Connecticut. Every time we visit family in Albuquerque, we make a stop at Explora so my kids can play with bubbles and experiment with electricity.
Last week, my 21-year-old daughter and I visited the National Museum of Mathematics (MoMath) and the New York Hall of Science (NYSCI). We’re not the intended demographic, but we still had a great time. My daughter, who is a college student majoring in math, was squarely in her element, tiling two-dimensional shapes onto curved surfaces and talking with the staff about how to form three-dimensional shapes of constant diameter. What was especially compelling was seeing the youngsters – toddlers through high school students – thoroughly engrossed in play.
Puzzles provide another realm where play thrives. From jigsaw puzzles to the Rubik’s Cube to crosswords to Sudoku, puzzles offer a variety of physical, cognitive, and spiritual benefits. They stimulate problem-solving, strategy, and creativity while engaging individuals in an enjoyable learning process.
And play with digital technologies – from devices to apps to games – support knowledge acquisition, creativity, and skill development. I believe this is a key reason why generative AI has captured the public’s imagination recently – as the technology has been put into the hands of everyday people and allowed us to play. Write an AI-generated essay using ChatGPT! Make an AI-generating image using DALL-E! Create professional-quality videos using Synthesia! It’s no longer just some abstract concept that big business is using for or on you…but it’s something you can experiment with, explore, and use.
Reintroducing Play
The benefits of reintroducing play into our adult lives extend far beyond mere enjoyment. Rekindling the spirit of play that we embraced as children enriches our lives, sparking curiosity and fostering an environment where experimentation and innovation flourish. Here are some ways to reintroduce play:
1. Engage in Social Play: Engaging in social play at home and in the workplace not only promotes teamwork but also encourages a fun and relaxed atmosphere, improving camaraderie and creative thinking among team members. Try going to an escape room as a team-building activity during a face-to-face event with colleagues or family (I’ve done both and thoroughly enjoyed it!). Or pick up a new game like pickleball (the fastest-growing sport in America) or try one of the many games like Wordle.
2. Cultivate a Play-Supportive Culture: Create an environment that supports and values play in the workplace. Encourage a culture that embraces experimentation, risk-taking, and creativity. Allow employees the freedom to explore and personalize their approaches to problem-solving and innovation. This culture of play fosters an open, innovative mindset, leading to improved morale and productivity. At last week’s Charter Workplace Summit, Michelle Lee from IDEO’s Play Lab, demonstrated ways to introduce playfulness into daily work and discussed the critical components of play: psychological safety, a feeling of agency, and a sense of joy.
3. Experiment with New Technologies: Embrace the spirit of experimentation by delving into new technologies. In putting this blog together, I experimented with ChatGPT – learning what it could do to augment my thinking and what it can’t do (like tell my personal stories or share my unique perspective). For anyone afraid of new technologies, there’s nothing like rolling up those sleeves and getting your hands dirty to build comfort and confidence. Encourage your team to explore tools that could enhance workflows or processes. Experimentation with technological advancements fosters a sense of innovation and encourages a playful approach to problem-solving.
By nurturing a culture that values play at home and at work, we infuse our lives with creativity and joy.
