Museum helps parents make play fun, educational

A new series of Family PlayShops at the DuPage Children's Museum aims to help parents of children younger than 3 learn to make playtime educational and enriching as well as fun.

The combination play group and workshop allows adults to bond with children from newborn to 35 months, and pick up tips and insights from the museum's team of specialists.

Family PlayShops are four-week series, with each week's gathering offering age-appropriate activities prepared by a different museum specialist who can answer questions about child development and learning related to their specialty. While the focus will be ways to enrich play at the museum and get the most out of each visit, the toys and materials featured in the PlayShops can be used at home to extend the experience and activate learning anywhere.

"Interaction with adults, especially when children are from birth to 3 years, helps them to build confidence in themselves as learners as well as stimulates growth and development in ways that wouldn't happen on their own," early learning specialist Alix Tonsgard said.

"Children can take their learning only so far through free exploration and experimentation by themselves. They need that extra push from an adult in their lives to take their learning to the next level."

"Family PlayShops are … an opportunity to make the museum's specialists even more accessible to the community," said Thomas Sullivan, director of education and programs. "We are constantly involved in research around how children learn through play, and our specialists are eager to share their knowledge in this fun, informal setting."

The museum's specialist team features an early learning specialist, arts specialist, STEM specialist, and accessibility and inclusion specialist. The team will help participants immerse themselves in the process of learning through experiences.

Family PlayShops meet 9:15 to 10:15 a.m. Mondays, with series beginning July 9 and Aug. 6, at the museum, 301 N. Washington St., Naperville. To learn more, visit dupagechildrens.org/FamilyPlayShop or call (630) 637-8000.