Both of the territory’s Children’s Museums celebrated the second annual Worldwide Day of Play, Saturday. At one point, around 70 children were gathered inside and outside to play at St. Croix’s St. George Village Botanical Garden, Ellie Hirsh, an organizer, said.
Activities included flying giant soap bubbles. Almost everyone spent time at this favorite activity.
Other children followed a storyline trail and created art to tell the story’s end. M’syah Phillip, age 6 and 7-year-old Madison Norgaisse show off their artwork.
Savannah Armijo, volunteer and special education psychologist, shows Justice Lynch, 4, how to toss the ball in the air and catch it with the basket she made.
“There are a lot of studies that show play helps the brain – developmentally and socially. There’s not enough play,” Armijo said.
The center of the auditorium was filled with blue foam blocks and bouncing children climbed over them.
On another level, a large roadway was spread out to encourage children to race tiny cars around the track.
The newest toy, a small copy of one at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, was a long slide with lanes and involved kids making little cars out of legos and racing them. Organizers said one child added 13 tires to his car to win the race!
The Worldwide Day of Play is sponsored by the Association of Children’s Museums and Nickelodeon, Hirsh said.
“When they (children) play, they’re learning all the time – relaxing, learning and having a new experience,” Hirsh said.
