That number may not be the highest number in one day ever at the museum ( staff member recalls a 2,600 day), but that would have been an eight or twelve hour day. Yesterday we were open for five hours. There were lines out in the cold from 45 minutes before opening to after 4:00. Some waited an hour in the cold. That means we operated at our 600 person fire code capacity until just before closing.

Rather than try to describe the entire day, here are a few lasting impressions:

Staff – every time I saw one of them, either they were smiling or they were making someone else smile.

Complaints – none

Funny moment – I talked to two little girls, twins, who looked about four years old. As they waited in line I asked them several questions. They answered each one in perfect unrehearsed unison.

Thank you’s – In spite of the crowded conditions, nearly everyone said thank you as they left, along with multiple comments about how much fun they had.
There were a lot of first time visitors to our museum, and a lot of families taking in at least one other museum downtown during the day.

To Amway and Fifth Third, those 2,429 thank you’s, go to you.

-Bob Dean, Executive Director, GRCM.

LaFrenier, P. (2011) Evolutionary Functions of Social Play; Life Histories, Sex Differences and Emotion Regulation. The American Journal of Play, volume 3, number 4, by The Strong, 464-488

Post written by Bob Dean, Executive Director at the GRCM.

Post written by Bob Dean, Executive Director at the GRCM.

Playing with Ideas: The Affective Dynamics of Creative Play by Pat Power, explores the value of play in adulthood by studying the neurology, emotion and cognition of play. The author suggest eight essential qualities of play: lighthearted, humorous, imaginative, open-minded, transformative, enigmatic, interactive, and dynamic. She concludes that play enhances our sense of quality of life and therefore “positively confers a plethora of long-term health benefits including a tendency to live a longer and happier life”.

Playing in the Mud – A great article on a great website, about the joys and value of playing in the mud. Did you know it can even help your immune system?

While standing in front of the distorted mirror that makes one look… well… short and wide, we overheard a young person say, “Hey, we look just like Grandma!”

Playing Without Seeing

Many parents and children enjoyed participating in a multidimensional “visual art meets music” workshop with husband and wife duo, Ed and Adriana Mallett in a recent GRCM program. The Malletts conducted three workshops in which Adriana guided children through the creation of several visual art pieces, while listening and responding to live music performed by Ed. It was a wonderfully creative and holistic arts experience for children (and grown-ups!) of all ages.

Perhaps, however, one of the most appreciative visitors did not want to create her own works of art, she just wanted to explore the musical instruments themselves. A GRCM staff member noticed a 9 year old visually impaired girl hanging out near the workshop listening to the music. Her mom indicated that she has had a long time interest in music and is very musically gifted, but doesn’t often have the opportunity to explore “real” instruments. Between two of Ed and Adriana’s workshops, the staff member asked if the girl could come in and feel the various instruments. Ed spent the next half hour with the little girl showing her each of the instruments, showing her how to play them and making music with her. This was a truly unique opportunity for the family and the heartfelt impact of this impromptu music lesson was revealed in twin smiles shared by mother and daughter.

Prize-Winning Grandma

A Grandmother was just observed in our Happy Animal Clinic, where kids pretend to be veterinarians. She was wearing one of our turtle costumes. She was crouched down on her hands and knees and, was telling her two grandchildren about her turtle symptoms, while they checked her over with stethoscopes and ultrasound.

This is the inauguration of a new website and a new blog for the Grand Rapids Children’s Museum. We hope it becomes a regular stop for you. Our objectives with this blog are many and varied, but in short, we want it to extend the mission of the Grand Rapids Children’s Museum beyond our doors and into yours.

In this blog we will pass along the latest research on play and the beneficial impact it has on cognitive, social emotional and physical development. We also plan to pass along practical ideas on how you can stimulate your children with open ended, child directed play, at home, on vacation, virtually anywhere. Finally, we also hope to share with you the daily joy of being at the Grand Rapids Children’s Museum by posting pictures and telling stories. This is a truly magical place doing an important job and we don’t want to keep it to ourselves. We welcome your comments and ideas. Enjoy.