This playground is designed to make kids think.
It’s called Urban Thinkscape, and it was built here in this empty lot in Philadelphia
to encourage kids and their parents to play while they’re waiting for the bus.
-When our children are active and engaged, doing something meaningful to them,
they learn better, cause that's the way human brains work.
That’s Kathy Hirsh-Pasek.
The project is based on her research about play and learning in young children.
She says kids learn best through play, and that play can actually rewire the young brain.
There’s a lot of research supporting the idea that play is crucial in the early years of a child's development.
Some studies show that play builds social-emotional, cognitive, and language skills,
while a lack of play can stunt creativity and lead to aggression.
The research is by no means definitive - some are skeptical that play actually leads to long term benefits in children.
But it’s enough to convince Kathy and others to think critically about a child’s free time.
-Children spend only 20 percent of their waking time in school.
80 percent is outside of school.
Studies show that kids in the United States are playing less than they did 20 years ago - in school and outside of school.
-We can make our cities more family-friendly and turn our public spaces into playful learning places.
She means places like laundromats, grocery stores, and hospital waiting rooms.
Urban Thinkscape is one of the first attempts at redesigning these public spaces for play.
-How could I take a simple concept like a bench and create opportunities?
-So here you can actually see some of our original designs.
Kathy partnered with other psychologists, architects and community members
to design four installations that target specific cognitive skills.
Like this wall, where kids can solve puzzles.
-And in jumping feet, it’s a new kind of hopscotch game.
But it’s made with a kind of irregularity that doesn’t exist in real hopscotch.
When kids see two feet, they’re supposed to hop with just one, and vice versa.
This makes them focus more on their next step.
-One foot!
-Then, you go over here to the star.
This game is called Stories.
-And you could create a story depending on which way you traversed the web.
-Square!
Butter!
-And we know from the science that if you use more number language and more spatial language,
then those will relate to your later language and reading outcomes.
All of these games encourage what’s called “guided play.”
This is different from free play.
It has specific learning goals in mind, and it works best when adults are involved.
At Urban Thinkscape, parents introduce new words and hint at different ways to explore.
-Parents can connect with pictures,
showing their children things that they used to do when they were children.
Alicia Walton was hired to visit the site routinely and observe whether guided play was happening more than at a typical playground.
-They talk more and they actually, it was more,
"Move here. Let's use this installation."
"Follow me. Look up, look down."
-What else do you see?
-I see a watermelon.
Parents and children do interact more at Urban Thinkscape than at a local playground.
But it’s too early to tell whether the installations will improve learning outcomes in the neighborhood.
Alicia says she’s encouraged by what she’s seen but thinks the space is underutilized.
Families don’t always play there as intended.
And sometimes, kids just get bored.
-Oftentimes, we don't find as much interaction in the cold months.
Ultimately, I would like to see more people come here.
By 2050, 70% of the world’s children will live in cities.
And similar concepts are being piloted in Chicago, Seattle and Nairobi.
Urban Thinkscape is only a year old, and the team’s still learning.
But if they get it right, they’ll have a concept that could work almost anywhere.
-Play is not an accessory.
Play is really pretty fundamental to what it means to be human.