A new post by the Zero2Eight substack focuses on a Pennsylvania initiative that provides funding to local organizations to create playful learning experiences for people of all ages in public spaces.
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In the post “How Pittsburgh is Promoting Intergenerational Play to Support Early Learning,” the Zero2Eight substack discusses Let’s Play PGH!, an initiative that launched in summer 2023 when Remake Learning brought together organizations to work on prototypes for play installations.
Let’s Play PGH! was inspired by research from Playful Learning Landscapes, a joint project from Temple University’s Infant and Child Laboratory and the Brookings Institution. Researchers examined how children spent their time outside of school and how everyday experiences in urban spaces could be transformed into learning opportunities.
One of Let’s Play PGH!’s initiatives is the Firefly Gardens in Washington, Pa., that includes a sensory playground filled with wind chimes, grassy tunnels, and a mud box. Each activity at the gardens is paired with caregiver-focused messages and QR codes that encourage activities that can be enjoyed at home.
The Washington County Park system and WQED, which is Pittsburgh’s PBS station, created the sensory garden through a pilot grant from Let’s Play PGH! and Remake Learning, a peer network for Pittsburgh educators.
The garden is located in a community green space and activities at the site were designed to foster intergenerational play and exploration. Its aim is to help caregivers see that – as Fred Rogers once asserted – play is the work of childhood and understand how to support learning through shared activities.
“The messaging really is for adults,” Gina Masciola, program director for learning neighborhoods at WQED and a member of the Remake Learning Council, told Zero2Eight. “It’s really about modeling and helping parents connect to their kids.”
While building Firefly Gardens, Masciola said the grant was used to buy materials for the prototype of the playground, such as purchasing supplies at thrift stores to create homemade wind chimes. The site’s sensory tunnel was built with sticks, long grasses, and bark. The PBS Kids show “Elinor Wonders Why” inspired the signs and play prompts in the garden that are intended for both children and caregivers.
