Learning and Play: An adventure to the Hands on Museum

Learning is fun!

Whenever someone used to tell me this I would look at them like they were crazy. How could learning be fun? Until college, where I began being able to take classes that I actually enjoyed, I thought learning was far from fun. Learning meant one thing for me. Learning mean school. School meant days full of lengthy classes, which bore me. Thus, by the transitive property (yes, this was one thing I did take away from that boring geometry class back in 9^th grade…) learning meant boredom!

But then I began college. And learning began to take on a new meaning for me. I took classes that interested me with professors who were so engaging that I actually looked forward to class for the first time in my life. I encountered new forms of learning: interactive learning.

Outside the museum

For Minor Quest #3, the only thing we were given was: UTM 17T 272566 4684679. We had to determine what this code meant and any further steps. Figuring out what this code meant was like a game for me. It was something fun, a puzzle. After figuring out that these numbers and letters correlated to the Hands on Museum in Ann Arbor, my friend and I decided to go see what this museum was.

 

When we walked in, the first thing I saw was a sign that said, “Discover the scientist within you”. This museum was an interactive children’s museum—a fun way for kids to learn. Children can learn about scientific concepts though the various hands on exhibits and activities. The Visitor Guide says, “Discover the scientist within you as you experiment by pushing, pulling, twisting, touching, shaping, building and turning. Get ready to have fun as you embark on a science adventure!” According to Susan Gelman, a psychology professor at the University of Michigan, play is a fundamental activity during childhood in all cultures. Play takes many forms: parallel play (when kids are next to each other playing but do not actually interact), traditional games, sports, board games and role-play. While “pushing, pulling, twisting, touching, shaping, building and turning” activities are not the types of games Gelman talks about, I could consider this museum a new, modern form of a game. Children at the museum participate in an engaging, fun form of play.

An exhibit on health & balance

Even as a college student, I found myself engaged in the activities intended for preschoolers and elementary-age kids. In fact, I found myself as engaged in these activities as I am when I play games intended for my age, like sports. As I explored each of the exhibits, I found myself having fun in a way I never imagined I could as a nineteen year old. Each exhibit was not only a game, but also had information about some concept. Some of these facts were completely new to me, even as a college student.

Taylor at the Health Exhibit

What we thought would be a quick trip to the museum simply to figure out why this museum was the place we were supposed to go for the quest, we spent over an hour there having a blast. I felt as if I was a young child again, drawn to these extraordinary stimuli. Each exhibit was bright and attractive, full of information in an easy to comprehend manner. As I progressed through the museum, I remained interested and attentive to each exhibit. In my opinion, the main reason for this was the hands-on nature of the museum.

Me at the Architecture Exhibit

Usually, I get extremely bored at museums. As a child I would dread when my grandparents wanted to take me to the Art Institute in Chicago or the Field Museum. All I wanted to do was have fun, but at these museums I had to be quiet and careful not to touch anything. However, at this museum, the whole point was to interact with the various exhibits as a form of learning. This made the learning fun and informative. Since I could interact and play with the different exhibits, I felt as if the exhibits were types of games. This kept me engaged in learning because I was not simply reading information or observing various displays. Instead, I was able to create fun out of learning. While I was technically doing a homework assignment at the museum, I really felt the enjoyment I felt as a child in playing games. With games, like the ones I played in the museum, I was explicitly learning but also playing and enjoying the learning at the same time.

Taylor in the Building Block Exhibit

In our society today, parents, teachers, kids and many other influential individuals so greatly stress the importance of education that children are limited in their playtime. According to Melinda Wenner, in the article The Serious Need for Play, “Starting them as early as preschool, parents concerned about getting their kids into the right colleges are filling after-school hours with music lessons and sports—reducing time for the type of imaginative and rambunctious cavorting that fosters creativity and cooperation,” (Werner, 24).  This museum is a concrete bridge between play and education. It incorporates play within learning about things such as the planets, health and fitness, bone structure, physical properties of the earth, light and many more. These game-like exhibits help children learn, while also providing them with the freedom to approach the exhibits in any way they desire, making them both fun and educational.

With this, I realized learning really is fun!

Works Cited: 

Wenner, Melinda. (2009). The Serious Need for Play. Scientific Americans Mind, February/March, 22-29. Retrieved from www.SciAmMind.com.

Gelman, Susan. Fun and Games in Childhood. UC 256. The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI. 22 February 2012. Lecture.