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What
Did You Play With?
The idea that play can shape the way a child
thinks and learns is common in American history.
In 17th and 18th century colonial society,
play, toys, and games were recognized as vital
to a child’s mental and physical development.
In the 19th century many children worked on
farms and in factories, but still found time
to play. The development of kindergartens,
increased attendance in public schools, and
the introduction of public playgrounds led
to new ideas about play and more opportunities
for it.
Dolls, games of strategy, vehicles, and construction
toys such as the ones you see here have been
continual favorites for centuries. But with
new technologies in the 20th century--radio,
movies, television, and computers--parents
and educators wonder whether children are
too dependent on passive entertainment and
losing the benefits of traditional play. Inventors
and historians wonder whether the changes
in how we play will change how we invent.
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The Stuff
of Play
Here are some favorite toys of American children
and inventors.
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Play for Play's Sake
Hi-res (14 MB) | Low-res (6 MB)
“I think
play is one of the ways that we get a feel
for the shape of the world.”
--John Fabel, inventor, adjunct professor
of design, Hampshire College.
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All Work and No
Play?
Hi-res
(14 MB) | Low-res
(8 MB)
“You don’t outgrow your need for
play. Your need for play may change, or the
kinds of things you might do for play will
change, but the need doesn’t change.”
--Jeri Robinson
vice president of Early Childhood Programs,
The Children's Museum, Boston
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From Child Scientist to Playful Inventor
Hi-res (14 MB) | Low-res (6 MB)
“Children are making up theories of the
world, going out and testing those theories,
doing experiments to explore those theories,
and that testing and experimentation is what
we see when we see play. Even the very youngest
children are already doing some of the same
things that scientists are doing.”
--Alison Gopnik, Ph.D., University of California
at Berkeley, co-author, The Scientist in
the Crib
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Play to the Future
Hi-res (15 MB) | Low-res (6 MB)
“One of the most critical parts of playing
is that you learn to manipulate the world
physically. Making your own bow and arrow
teaches you physical skills you’re never
going to get by actually sitting in front
of a computer typing on a keyboard.”
--Robert Root-Bernstein, Ph.D., Michigan State
University, co-author, Sparks of Genius
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My favorite toys were hammers, nails, saws,
and scavenged lumber that I used for building forts, airplanes, and boats-although
you had to use your imagination to what they were on completion.
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Craig Venter, geneticist
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