Worlds of Wonder: Nature in the Playground

Have you ever wondered what it's like to be the size of an insect and wander along a spider's web? Or what it would be like to be a baby bird in a nest? How about dashing through a hollow log like a chipmunk? Thanks to the ingenious designs of Fred Martin, playscape designer and founder of Environment Design, you can do all of these and more! Mr. Martin, with degrees in Art and Urban Studies, set out to create a new field of design for playscapes, melding the concepts of safety in playground equipment with imaginative play, kinesthetic learning, and the natural environment. He will tell you how he developed this field, and introduce some of his designs scaled to let children (and adults!) feel like they are the size of various animals in their natural forest habitats. Stamford Museum & Nature Center has one of his company's playscapes available for you to play on! After the activity, spend a lovely afternoon visiting the Stamford Museum and Nature Center's interactive exhibits.

Presented by the Connecticut State Museum of Natural History and Connecticut Archaeology Center, part of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at UConn. 860.486.4460 - www.mnh.uconn.edu.

Frederick Martin, Director, Environment Design, Milford, CT
Stamford Museum & Nature Center, Stamford, CT (map will be mailed to participants)
Advance registration required: $20 ($15 for Museum members)
Adults and children ages 6 and above. Children must be accompanied by an adult.