Educators and researchers have long advocated for play’s impact on our ability to learn – from early childhood through young adulthood, play is not a frivolous activity but a critical component in the healthy development of our brains, emotional well-being, physical health and social competence. And it’s FUN!

Throughout CambridgeSeven’s 60+ years, we’ve worked with dozens of institutions that promote this concept and as the research has evolved so have our designs. In this article, we highlight three recent projects that have embraced the latest thinking in childhood development and education and how design can facilitate those educational goals.

Early Childhood Development: Motor Skills, Self-Directed Play, Social Competence

Randall Lewis Second Story and Beyond | Rancho Cucamonga, CA

The City of Rancho Cucamonga in California is whole-heartedly leaning into playful learning. We worked with the City’s Public Library to insert a new children’s museum, specifically for visitors under the age of ten, into the second story of their existing building to create a collection of engaging exhibits that complement the library’s mission.

Second Story and Beyond provides multi-sensory experiences and highly interactive exhibits that allow children to learn through physical exploration. To keep visitors coming back for more, we designed in flexibility so that the exhibits can be periodically changed to coordinate with popular themes of children’s story books. The first theme – Space Explorers… Blast Off! – presents several playful opportunities enlivened by concepts of engineering, physics and astronomy.

Here, full-body movement is encouraged. Two climbing structures encourage the development of gross motor skills (full body movement), which help children gain confidence, bravery, and kinetic awareness of how they move in space. Visitors also build their fine motor skills by working with their hands in tactile play spaces where they can build their own rockets, test out mini Mars rovers and view faux microbes under a play microscope. This kind of activity stimulates children’s imaginations, sparks their curiosity, and helps them develop physical skills that will carry into other aspects of their lives. It also instills a positive association with learning, sparking a life-long quest for knowledge.

By integrating literary and physical learning in the same facility, Second Story and Beyond is progressing our assumption of what a place of learning looks like. Its immediate success with the public is evidence that children and their caregivers are excited for these enriching and unique opportunities to learn together.

Primary Play: Literacy, Social Development, STEM

Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center | Virginia Beach, Virginia

Earlier this year, we celebrated the grand unveiling of the Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center’s South Building expansion. New architecture, new exhibits, and a new outdoor play area make this the perfect place for learning and play.

Inside, interactive exhibits show off the fascinating creatures of the sea and their unique superpowers. Eye-catching environmental graphics are inspired by retro comic book art styles and use vibrant colors, geometric patterns and explosive word bubbles to give visitors the sense that they are inside the storyline of their favorite superhero. Each gallery has opportunities for young visitors to engage in parallel play, whether it’s acting like a River Otter in a hollowed out log, manipulating objects like an Octopus, or power-punching like a Mantis Shrimp. The new exhibits afford multiple experiences that support learning through doing. These interpretive displays are augmented by live-organism exhibits like touch pools and jelly tanks that glow green, blue, and purple to create a deep underwater atmosphere.

Children and teens can observe real science labs and develop a sense of what it is like to be a marine biologist, conservationist, or veterinarian at the Veterinary Care Center. Windows and digital displays allow them to see the staff members caring for real animals. Young learners can follow along while using tools and props to care for stuffed animals. A two-way audio system allows visitors and staff to speak to each other, creating a new way for visitors to interact with the real-time science at the aquarium.

Outside, Our Watershed is an expansive play area that teaches visitors about the ecologies of the local watershed and water cycle. While playing on climbing structures, they also learn how to help protect our natural habitats from pollution and impacts of the climate crisis. Playful elements include a larger-than-life sand crab habitat, a Chesapeake Deadrise fishing vessel and adjacent dock area, interactive tables that explain erosion and different landscape elements, a bubble house, and a playhouse that explains water conservation and the wonders of indoor plumbing. A new outdoor theater is valuable space to host presentations, events, and workshops while enjoying the landscape of Virginia Beach.

Pre-teen Engagement: Critical Thinking, Risk & Reward, STEM

Sloan Museum of Discovery | Flint, MI

The Sloan Museum of Discovery houses exhibits that are geared toward older students who can grasp more advanced STEM topics. CambridgeSeven and Xibitz designed their new Discovery Hall to offer a variety of interactives that, similar to Second Story, engage visitors’ senses and motor skills while incorporating more digital features and advanced concepts.

Discovery Hall is organized around two disciplines: Earth Science exhibits sit within and immediately around a two-story globe at the center of the hall; Physical Science exhibits are placed around the globe on their own thematic islands. Each island presents a new way for visitors to explore the various forms of energy and its transfer through our physical world. Hands-on activities create fun challenges that convey concepts of fluid mechanics, thermodynamics, light and sound waves, forces in motion, and the relationship between potential and kinetic energy.

Inside the globe, visitors learn about Earth Sciences through interactives like a weather simulator to explore how pressure, humidity, and temperature create different weather patterns. Our team also reinterpreted the classic playground staple – a sandbox – and introduced responsive light media that changes according to user input by color-coding the sand based on its height from the table, which teaches visitors about topography and how weather can affect the Earth’s natural landscapes.

Creating these spaces where learning meets play keeps our own team inspired, but beyond that, experiential learning has been proven to benefit children of all ages as it helps them grasp abstract concepts and retain knowledge. According to the National Math and Science Initiative, hands-on education helps students develop problem-solving and critical thinking skills.  We’re finding that places like these are also becoming more desirable as families and students seek more real-life connection and experiences that don’t involve time behind a screen.