Part of the Playful Learning Initiative in Santa Ana, CA, the Abacus Bus Stop transforms a neighborhood transit stop into an interactive math experience, inviting children and caregivers to slide beads, count, compare quantities, and explore patterns while waiting for the bus.

Part of HopePHL, the Baring House project features an indoor sensory wall and outdoor musical Playful Learning elements designed to encourage exploration, movement, and shared discovery.

Part of HopePHL, the Woodstock Family Center project features outdoor Playful Learning furniture, including two interactive tabletops and three benches designed to encourage conversation, exploration, and shared discovery in an open-air setting.

Part of HopePHL, the Stenton Family Manor installation features eleven Playful Learning tabletops integrated throughout the dining room, transforming everyday mealtime into opportunities for conversation, problem-solving, and shared discovery.

Part of HopePHL, the Red Shield Family Center installation features a Playful Cozy “Fort Building” space designed to encourage imagination, collaboration, and creative problem-solving through hands-on construction and open-ended play.

Part of HopePHL, the Drueding Center installation features portable Playful Learning indoor elements designed to activate an indoor play space, including an interactive mat and guided prompts that encourage movement, conversation, and shared exploration.

Part of HopePHL, the Darlene Morris Family Shelter mural is an interactive wraparound mural that transforms a family room into a playful learning space, featuring I-Spy elements and prompts that nurture social-emotional growth and imaginative thinking.

Part of HopePHL, the Jane Addams Place mural is a Playful Learning installation that reflects the surrounding community, celebrates diversity, and creates a welcoming environment for children and caregivers.

Part of HopePHL’s Families Forward initiative, this project is a Playful Learning mural designed to spark interaction, conversation, and joyful learning for children and caregivers.

Part of a series of Playful Learning Landscapes created in partnership with HopePHL, the Play Garden enhances the outdoor space at Visitation, featuring seven playful learning zones including sand exploration, imagination play, music, mindfulness, a Little Library, a playful picnic area, find and seek, and active play.

Reading Promise was a Philadelphia literacy initiative that activated everyday spaces with playful reading prompts and interactive storytelling cues, encouraging children and caregivers to share books, spark conversation, and build joyful reading habits together.

At El Sol Science and Arts Academy, the Fraction Ball brings hands-on math and movement together, turning an outdoor play element into an engaging opportunity for children and caregivers to explore fractions and patterns while staying active.

Play Captains was a youth leadership initiative that engaged teens as facilitators of playful learning in community spaces, supporting active play, social connection, and meaningful leadership development.

Part of Playful Learning Illinois, the Math Steps installation in Aurora transforms an everyday walking path into an active math experience, using colorful prompts and number challenges to encourage children and caregivers to count, compare, and think mathematically as they move.

Part of the Playful Learning Illinois initiative, Linares Launderia transforms a neighborhood laundromat into an interactive learning space, inviting children and caregivers to compare stacks of clothes, match pairs of socks, sort by size, create patterns with detergent lids, and explore numbers and counting on washing machines.

Part of the Playful Learning initiative in Santa Ana, the Lotería installation brings a cultural twist to math and science learning, using play-based prompts inspired by the traditional game to spark counting, comparison, and scientific thinking for children and caregivers.

Part of the Playful Learning initiative in Santa Ana, Supermarket Speak at Northgate Market embeds STEM prompts throughout the grocery store, inviting children and caregivers to count, compare, measure, and explore patterns while shopping together.

Part of the Play Everywhere Philadelphia initiative, Logan Nook of Discovery is an outdoor gathering space outside the Logan Library where children and families can play and interact around installations that celebrate the history and culture of the surrounding neighborhood.

Part of KABOOM!’s Play Everywhere Philadelphia grant, Art in the Park at Cobbs Creek introduces interactive play installations at key trail entrances, welcoming children and families into the greenspace while sparking curiosity about the surrounding natural environment.

Part of the Play Everywhere Philadelphia initiative, the Rail Park Playspace reflects Chinatown’s culture and heritage through Monkey King–inspired play structures and child-designed elements like giant boba cups and storefronts, fostering imagination, early literacy, and shared community ownership.

Part of KABOOM!’s Play Everywhere Philadelphia grant, Come Play with RMHC Philly transforms the courtyard at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children and the Ronald McDonald House Charities into a sound garden oasis designed to spark creativity, rhythm exploration, and musical innovation for children and families.

Part of the KABOOM! Play Everywhere Philadelphia initiative, The Yard on John Coltrane Street in Strawberry Mansion is a music-inspired outdoor space that honors the legacy of John Coltrane through interactive sound elements and performance areas, inviting children and families to explore rhythm, creativity, and community connection through play.

Part of the Playful Learning initiative in Santa Ana, Parkopolis is a life-size board game that encourages STEM language use, caregiver-child interaction, and physical activity through movement-based challenges and collaborative play.

Part of the Playful Learning initiative in Santa Ana, the I-Spy Mural at Madison Park is an interactive installation that encourages children and caregivers to observe closely, search for hidden objects, and engage in shared discovery through playful exploration.

Part of the Playful Learning initiative in Santa Ana, “How Tall Am I / How Long Am I” at Angels Park is an interactive measurement mural that introduces math concepts by inviting children and caregivers to measure, compare, and explore ideas of height, length, size, and scale through playful animal-based comparisons.

Part of the Literacy Rich Neighborhoods Initiative, the Fairhill-Hartranft ABCs turns art, language, and play into a neighborhood-wide celebration of literacy through murals, alphabet signs, and interactive scavenger hunts.

The 48th and Woodland Sprayground is a vibrant, accessible space where children and families explore local ecology through playful water features, movement, and discovery.

The PHMC Public Health Campus features vibrant, playful design elements that reflect community values and transform the site into a welcoming hub.

Play Friendly Communities in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo transformed sidewalks and plazas into playful learning spaces, inviting families to read, play, and connect together.

Urban Thinkscape transformed a Philadelphia bus stop into a hub of playful learning, where puzzles, games, and art turned waiting time into opportunities for connection and discovery.

Seattle’s Playful Learning Sidewalks transform everyday routes to school into interactive spaces for counting, movement, and literacy—making every step an opportunity to learn and play.

Bright Horizons Playful Learning Stations transform child care centers into environments where literacy, STEM, and storytelling come alive through interactive play.

Through ChangeX, communities can apply to bring Playful Learning projects like Fraction Ball and Urban Thinkscape to life, with technical support from Playful Learning Landscapes.

Part of the Playful Learning Initiative in San Diego, the El Super Playful Learning Grocery Store uses bilingual signage in English and Spanish to turn everyday shopping into joyful opportunities for learning, conversation, and connection.

Part of the Playful Learning Initiative in San Diego, the City Heights Library features bilingual signage that encourages families to explore math, literacy, storytelling, nature, and culture through play and conversation.

Esperanza transformed a vacant lot in Philadelphia’s Kensington neighborhood into a welcoming community space where art, storytelling, and play spark pride and connection.

Live and Learn transforms affordable housing into vibrant spaces for families by weaving Playful Learning into everyday life. From murals, puzzle walls, and spinning wheels to lending libraries and storytelling stages, the installations at Sharswood and Susquehanna Square spark curiosity, connection, and joyful learning opportunities for children and caregivers alike.

The Logan Library Tree brings imagination and play to the children’s section with a life-sized tree, hidden animal designs, and a cozy reading nook.

This project transformed a vacant lot beside Jay Cooke Elementary into a Serengeti-themed outdoor space with active play, reading areas, and a Little Free Library for students and the community.

Imagine a human-sized board game designed to maximize fun while learning about math and science. Roll the dice to get a 6 ½ or a 3 ¾ and progress along a board with challenge cards, a new kind of hop scotch and a way to test your athleticism. Currently at the Please Touch Museum in…

Park in a Truck empowers communities to design, build, and sustain their own green spaces. By transforming vacant lots into vibrant parks, the initiative blends hands-on community design with Playful Learning, creating beautiful, resilient spaces where children and families can connect, explore, and thrive.

Part of the Literacy Rich Neighborhoods Initiative, El Proyecto Grandote celebrates cultural traditions, language, and storytelling through murals, games, codices, and an interactive map created with the Puentes de Salud community.

The PHA Youth and Family Center features interactive installations including a Puzzle Wall, Origami Birds, and a Modular Bookshelf that create a vibrant space for families to gather, play, and connect.

The Playful Learning Laundromat in Durham, NC, features a mural, letter wall, and reading nook that transform wait time into joyful opportunities for literacy and family connection.

Playwall transforms an ordinary wall into a canvas for community-generated play, inviting people of all ages to share, connect, and celebrate the value of play.

The Ultimate Block Party aims to create a multi-pronged social movement that champions the importance of play and playful learning in children’s lives. We seek to ensure that all children are provided with competitive skills for the 21st century global world and to build a public groundswell about the value of play for fostering lifelong…

Part of the Literacy Rich Neighborhoods Initiative, Seeds & Bees at Wyck House invites families to explore nature and history through alphabet spinners, I-Spy viewers, weather stations, and more.

Story Trails in Philadelphia feature community-inspired tales and playful learning panels, turning family walks into opportunities for reading, creativity, and connection.

Part of the Literacy Rich Neighborhoods Initiative, The Hive at Johnson House combines storytelling wheels, word panels, music, and play to connect families with history, literacy, and imagination.

Part of the Literacy Rich Neighborhoods Initiative, The Nest at Cliveden is a bird’s nest–shaped outdoor structure that invites families to read, share stories, and explore playful literacy activities together.