Film and Discussion Promote
Children’s Play
BRISTOL, RI -
Providence Children’s Museum is partnering with the Audubon Society of
Rhode Island to present the next in a series of free public screenings
of the thought-provoking film Where
Do the Children Play? The film will be shown on Thursday, June 4 from 7:00-9:00 PM at Audubon’s Environmental Education Center
(1401 Hope Street/Rte 114 in Bristol).
A provocative new documentary, Where
Do the Children Play? examines an issue of growing concern among
pediatricians, mental health experts, educators and environmentalists:
more and more children today have little or no opportunity for
unstructured play, especially outdoors.
Following the screening, a panel including Janice O’Donnell, executive director
of Providence Children’s Museum; Kristen
Swanberg, Audubon’s senior director of education; and Scott Wolf, executive director of
Grow Smart Rhode Island, will lead an audience discussion about the
issues – some disturbing, some inspiring – explored in the film.
"As an advocate for the importance of children's self-directed play –
both indoors and outdoors – Providence Children's Museum is partnering
with schools and other organizations across the state to screen this
powerful film,” said O’Donnell. “We – as parents, as educators,
as policy makers, as a community – must safeguard time and space for
children's play."
The event is presented by Providence Children’s Museum and the Audubon
Society of Rhode Island, with assistance from the U.S. Alliance for
Childhood, a nonprofit research and advocacy group that works for the
restoration of play in children’s lives.
For more information, contact Megan Fischer at
fischer@childrenmuseum.org or visit Providence
Children’s Museum’s blog.
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