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100+Top Play Resources (Now 300+)

July 5, 2009/45 Comments/in Fitness, Health, Nature, Play, Science, Sports /by Carol Torgan, Ph.D.

'Just Rome' courtesy of Pensiero on Flickr

‘Just Rome’ courtesy of Pensiero at Flickr

[ This list currently has over 300 entries. I am trying to keep it updated, so please let me know what I am missing! Thanks, Carol]

There’s growing recognition that play is not just, well, child’s play. Mounting evidence shows play has a crucial role in cognitive, physiological, behavioral and social development and adaptation at all ages and stages of life.

In essence, we need to take play seriously. Play has been recognized as a right of every child by the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights. It is also the right of teens, adults and seniors. As we learn more about the benefits of play, it’s apparent it belongs in living rooms and boardrooms, and in sand lots and parking lots – any place there’s room to move. Play sculpts our brains, our bodies, our relationships, and our future.

Below is a wide ranging – but by no means exhaustive – list of play resources that includes organizations, resources, guidelines and reports, current news stories, books, audio and video, e-newsletters, blogs, twitter hashtags, image and design collections, programs, locations, and events.

Many of these sites offer extensive resource lists and news feeds of their own that integrate the fields of education, urban design, transportation, the environment, nature, physical activity, sports, nutrition, and obesity. While the list focuses on more recent resources that mainly center on play, there are many, many outstanding resources I’ve overlooked. Please feel free to add them in the comment section…on your way out the door to play.

Play: Organizations (alphabetical)

Play: Resources (alphabetical)

Play: Guidelines & Reports (most recent first)

The Power of Play: A Pediatric Role in Enhancing Development in Young Children. Michael Yogman, Andrew Garner, Jeffrey Hutchinson, Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, Roberta Michnick Golinkoff, Committee On Psychosocial Aspects of Child And Family Health, Council on Communications And Media. Pediatrics, August 2018 New!
The Power of Play: Innovations in Getting Active Summit 2011: A Science Panel. Proceedings Report From the American Heart Association. D. A. Lieberman, B. Chamberlin, E. Medina, Jr, B. A. Franklin, et al. Circulation, published online Apr 25, 2011. (PDF)
The potential of safe, secure and accessible playgrounds to increase children’s physical activity, Research Brief, Active Living Research, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, February 2011. (PDF)
The association between school based physical activity, including physical education, and academic performance. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, GA. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2010. (pdf)
2010 Shape of the nation report: Status of physical education in the USA. National Association for Sport and Physical Education, Reston, VA, 2010 (pdf)
The crucial role of recess in schools. C.L. Ramstetter, R.Murray, and A.S. Garner. Journal of School Health, Nov;80(11), pgs 517-26. 2010.
Developing healthy kids through outdoor play: The whole child report. National Wildlife Federation, 2010.
State Indicator Report on Physical Activity, 2010. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, GA. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2010. (pdf)
The state of play: Gallup survey of elementary school principals on recess. Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, February, 2010.
The Loss of Children’s Play: A Public Health Issue. Alliance for Childhood, Policy Brief 1, November, 2009. (pdf)
Restoring Play and Playful Learning to U.S. Kindergartens. Alliance for Childhood, Policy Brief 2, November, 2009. (pdf)
Children’s Nature Deficit: What We Know – and Don’t Know. Cheryl Charles, Richard Louv, Children and Nature Network, September, 2009. (pdf)
Strategies to Prevent Childhood Obesity. L. Parker, A.C. Burns, E. Sanchez and Committee on Childhood Obesity Prevention Actions for Local Governments. Institute of Medicine and National Research Council of the National Academies, September 1, 2009.
The Playwork Primer, Penny Wilson, in conjunction with The Alliance for Childhood. April, 2009. (pdf)
F as in Fat 2009. How obesity policies are failing in America. Trust for America’s Health, July, 2009.
The built environment: Designing communities to promote physical activity in children. Pediatrics. Vol. 123 No. 6 June 2009, pgs 1591-1598. (Policy statement by the American Academy of Pediatrics)
What is playwork? Fact sheet No. 14. Frazer Brown, June, 2009. The Children’s Play Information Service. (pdf)
Creating & retrofitting play environments: best practice guidelines. PlayCore, Inc. and Natural Learning Initiative, 2009.
Crisis in the kindergarten: why children need to play in school. Alliance for Childhood, March 2009. (pdf)
Design for Play: A guide to creating successful play spaces. (2.7MB PDF) Aileen Shackell, Nicola Butler, Phil Doyle and David Ball, Play England, 2008.
Managing Risk in Play Provision: Implementation guide. Guide commissioned by Play England. David Ball, Tim Gill and Bernard Spiegal, The Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), December 2008. (pdf)
The Play Strategy. Department for Children, Schools and Families, U.K., December, 2008.
2008 Physical activity guidelines for Americans. U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services, Oct 2008.
Time out: Is recess in danger? Patte Barth, The Center for Public Education, August 2008.
Design for Play – A guide to creating successful play spaces. Guide commissioned by Play England. Aileen Shackell, Nicola Butler, Phil Doyle, David Ball, The Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), August 2008.
The VERB campaign. Not about health, all about fun: marketing physical activity to children. American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Vol 34, Issue 6, Supplement, June 2008.
Public Playground Safety Handbook, U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Publication #325, April 2008. (pdf)
Call to activity: getting kids moving in the great outdoors. President’s Council on Physical Fitness & Sports, DHHS, February, 2008. (pdf)
Recess Rules. Why the undervalued playtime may be America’s best investment for healthy kids and healthy schools. Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, 2007. (pdf)
Building “Generation Play”: Addressing the crisis of inactivity among America’s children. A report by Stanford University, February, 2007. Stanford Prevention Research Center, Stanford University School of Medicine. (pdf)
The importance of play in promoting healthy child development and maintaining strong parent-child bonds. Pediatrics vol 119, No. 1, Jan 2007. Clinical report from the American Academy of Pediatrics. (pdf)
The trouble with 21st Century Kids. A special report by SPI Play in association with Peter Smith and Rachel Biggins. Richard Emmott Marketing Ltd, 2006.(pdf)
A Guide to the ADA accessibility guidelines for play areas. U.S. Access Board, Oct 2005.
BONUS: Crawley adventure playground. The Crawley Community Association Adventure Playground Committee, Crawley, Sussex (UK), 1955. (PDF) [An archival gem courtesy of Fair Play For Children]

Play: Books (alphabetical order)

50 dangerous things (you should let your children do). Gever Tulley, NAL Trade (Reprint edition), 2011.
The ambiguity of play. Brian Sutton-Smith, Harvard University Press, 2001.
Children at play: an American history . Howard Chudacoff, NYU Press, 2007.
The dangerous book for boys. Conn Iggulden and Hal Iggulden, William Morrow, 2007.
The daring book for girls. Andrea J. Buchanan and Miriam Peskowitz, William Morrow, 2007.
Exuberant animal: the power of health, play and joyful movement. Frank Forencich, AuthorHouse, 2006.
From ritual to record: The nature of modern sports. Allen Guttmann, Columbia University Press, 1979.**
The genesis of animal play: testing the limits. Gordon Burghardt, The MIT Press, 2005.
The genius of play: Celebrating the spirit of childhood. Sally Jenkinson, Hawthorn Press Ltd, 2001.
Homo Ludens – A study of the play element in culture. Johan Huizinga, Beacon Press, 1971.
KaBOOM!: How One Man Built a Movement to Save Play. Darell Hammond, Rodale Books, 2011.
Last child in the woods: saving our children from nature-deficit disorder. Richard Louv, Algonquin Books, 2008.
Man, play and games. Roger Caillois, University of Illinois Press , 1961. **
Play = learning: how play motivates and enhances children’s cognitive and social-emotional growth. Dorothy G. Singer, Roberta Michnick Golinkoff, Kathy Hirsh-Pasek (eds). Oxford University Press, 2006.
Play as if your life depends on it: functional exercise and living for Homo sapiens. Frank Forencich, Go Animal, 2003.
Play dreams and imitation in childhood. Jean Piaget, W. W. Norton and Company, Inc., 1962.**
Play. How it shapes the brain, opens the imagination, and invigorates the soul. Stuart Brown, with Christopher Vaughan. Avery, New York, 2009.
Playing and learning outdoors: Making provision for high quality experiences in the outdoor environment. Jan White, Routledge, 2007.
Play reconsidered: sociological perspectives on human expression. Thomas S. Henricks, University of Illinois Press, 2006.
The Games We Played: A Celebration of Childhood and Imagination . Steven A. Cohen, Simon & Schuster, 2001.
The play ethic: A manifesto for a different way of living. Pat Kane, Macmillan UK, 2005.
The power of play. David Elkind, Da Capo Press, 2007.
The theory of the leisure class. Thorstein Veblen, Penguin Classics, 1991.**
Under the sky: Playing, working and enjoying adventures in the open air – a handbook for parents, carers and teachers. Sally Schweizer, Rudolf Steiner Press, April 2009.

** Recommended by Dr. Jack Berryman, noted sports historian, Professor, Department of Bioethics and Humanities, University of Washington School of Medicine.

Play: Audio & videos (Most recent first)

Prescription for Play. (KaBOOM! and Alliance for Childhood) June, 2011
Evolution’s gift of play, from bonobo apes to humans. Isabel Behncke, TED, March 2011.
Chicago Blackhawks and the National Hockey League, Let’s Move, March 2011.
From The Horse’s Mouth vol 13: Sir Ken Robinson. Goose Educational Media inc., Nov 2010
Play Again. A documentary by Ground Productions, 2010.
A new kind of play. Adam Ragusea, Radio Boston, July 13, 2010.
The neuroscience of play: What play does for you and your brain, and what happens to you if you don’t play. Stuart Brown, Aspen Ideas Festival, July 2010.
Why is play important: Crusade for health. Ezekiel Emanuel and Darell Hammond, Aspen Ideas Festival, July 2010.
Imagination and play. David Rockwell and Patricia Sellers. Aspen Ideas Festival, July 2010.
New York Street Games. A documentary by Matthew Levy, narrated by Hector Elizondo, 2010.
Living in Communities: Now Press Play. Jill Vialet, TEDx SF, November, 2009.
The importance of play. Scott Eberle, TEDx Rochester, November, 2009.
Keeping the “Inner Child” in Exercise: How Adults Can Play. Carol Torgan, The Sports Medicine & Fitness Show, Health Radio, August 18, 2009.
Videos from The Summit on the Value of Play, June 2009.
Recess Rules. Fox News, Jan 26, 2009.
The science of play. Radiolab, WNYC, May 30, 2008.
Play is more than fun. Stuart Brown, TED talk, May 2008 from the 2008 Serious Play conference.
Creativity and play. Tim Brown, TED talk, May 2008 from the 2008 Serious Play conference.
Playgrounds for the elderly. ABC news, March 18, 2008.
Where do the children play? Documentary, Michigan Television, 2008.
5 dangerous things for kids. Gever Tulley, TED talk, March 2007.
Adventure playgrounds’ a dying breed in the U.S. Kristin Wiederholt, NPR, Day to Day, March 9, 2006.

Playful popular videos

Dolphin play bubble rings, chiajungchi
Piano Staircase, Thefuntheory.com
Polar bears and dogs playing, FirstScience TV
Sesame Street: Outdoors with Jason Mraz
Seven Up! Excerpt – London Adventure Playground, 1964 New!
The Elk Dance, QuietBuck (originally from David Neils)
Where Do The Children Play, muppetmeatloaf
Your ball needs you, Let’s Move

Play: Image and design collections (alphabetical order)

10 unusual playgrounds from around the world (photos), Mental_Floss
100 days of summer (photos) “A selection of hydrants in Brooklyn and in the Bronx. Street play at its finest!” By Charles le Brigand, Flickr set.
Bodies in Urban Spaces. Photo Journal, Wall Street Journal, September 26, 2010.
Children at play (photos), University of California, Irvine
KaBOOM! Videos and photos
Places for Play: Exhibition
Playable10 International design competition. The annual global search for inspiring play design.
Playscapes (Playground design blog)
Playtimes: A Century of Children’s Games and Rhymes, British Library
The Streetplay Galleries (play images from around the world by professional artists)
Also see Flickr groups such as Childs Play, Jumping Project, and World @ Play

Play: e-Newsletters (alphabetical order)

Play: Blogs (alphabetical)

Play: Twitter http://twitter.com/

Hashtags #playoutdoors #playoutside #recessrevolution #goplay #parks
(These streams are a great way to find play-centric individuals and organizations to follow)