The 'How to' series, curated by the Engagement team at the National Maritime Museum, is a central point for parents and carers to discover resources and top tips for addressing challenging or sensitive conversations with children. 

This page pulls together resources and tips for creating playful people, places and spaces. 

Discover more resources around a range of topics. 

Speakers

Scroll through to meet the experts.

Jo Graham

Jo Graham: Jo Graham is an independent consultant specialising in families and early years in museums. Jo taught primary and early years children in Bradford before joining the Science Museum, London. Since 2000, Jo has run her own business (Learning Unlimited) and has become well-known for championing museums and galleries as playful places for families and children. Jo was the early years consultant for Ahoy at the National Maritime Museum, advising on how to build play possibilities into the gallery from the earliest designs.

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Dr Helen Dodd

Dr Helen Dodd: Helen Dodd is a Professor of Child Psychology at the University of Exeter. She is an expert in child mental health with a particular interest in links between play and mental health. During the pandemic Helen has contributed to the @playfirstUK campaign calling for children's play to be prioritised and for a #SummerOfFun. She has written a number of articles and blogs about the importance of play and has been creating an archive of children's pandemic play. 

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Top tips

The National Maritime Museum makes play a priority, and our programme of facilitated and self-led activity is child-led and playful, encouraging families to explore and discover together. 

Play has never been more important, and the Museum is making this a core approach. The Museum is a resource and a community space, so finding playful opportunities for audiences is key. 

The speakers discussed how play can impact mental health, build confidence and help children to develop a sense of self. The tips and resources below are a collection of suggestions from the webinar. 

  • Don't be afraid to take loose parts with you into spaces: Bring toys, books, etc, into spaces like Museums to help provide playful opportunities for your children.
  • Embrace mess! Get the recycling out for children to play with, let a game run its course before putting things away, and make sure toys are visible. If children can't see toys, they won't think to play with them. 
  • Wait to be invited. Sometimes children will want adults to participate in their games, and sometimes they won't. 
  • Think about how you can suggest play opportunities, rather than instigating games with rules. 
  • Check out the resources for parents and carers on the Summer of Play website. 

Resources

https://www.summerofplay.co.uk/ 

How children learn, video.

Online Play sessions by the Whitworth in Manchester provide lots of ways to play at home with early years. 

Case studies from Museums about being more playful.

Learning through play.

What we mean by playful parenting, by the Lego Foundation

What we mean by learning through play, by the Lego Foundation

Child led play and exploration

The Loose Parts Theory