Twenty or 30 years ago when today’s adults were children, the definition of the word “play” meant opening the back door and going out into the neighborhood. Back then, it was typical that a child in need of activity would, within minutes, find any number of a dozen or more kids who were also on the prowl for fun.
But times have changed. These days, with both parents working, the word “play” almost always comes conjoined with another — “date.” And dates they are — micromanaged, pre-arranged, tightly scheduled opportunities designed to help children bond with their peers. Generally there’s a car ride involved and often, especially in winter, kids play indoors without the room to run off their energy — so is it possible there’s a correlation between the way American children play today and the rise in childhood diabetes and obesity?
“I’ve never seen statistical information, but from anecdotal evidence, I’d say that’s on the money,” says Stephen Long, the executive director of the Children’s Museum of the East End (CMEE). “It surprised me moving out here the extent to which people scheduled play dates. I assumed that was a city thing — there’s good reason to have play dates scheduled in urban neighborhoods.”
Last weekend, CMEE opened a new exhibition called “Get Active!” which is designed to inspire ages two to 10 to move, climb and jump during what is normally the cabin fever time of year.
“When I began talking to parents about what the needs of families were on the East End, I heard over and over again that there was nowhere to go to exercise — especially in the winter time,” says Long. “Parents wanted their kids to be active, but in wintertime could CMEE create an exhibit to meet that need?”
“It seemed like a no brainer that we would figure how to use the temporary gallery as place to burn off steam,” he adds.
So Eva Peterson, CMEE’s educational outreach coordinator, took the temporary gallery and set up a series of stations where kids can jump rope, try out hula hoops, climb on a geometrically shaped structure, walk a balance beam or shoot basketball.
“Gymboree loaned us a bunch of their equipment for toddlers,” says Peterson. “The activities were based on what we were asked to have available. We have a youth advisory and adult educational advisory group and they help put it together.”
Though the goal of “Get Active” is not to directly address the issues of childhood diabetes and obesity, Long believes that if kids are keyed into the fun of fitness, health issues will disappear on their own.
“Obesity statistics have tripled in the last 20 years or so,” says Long, “including among toddlers. These habits we form about exercise and eating when we’re young.”
“On a national level, the amount of time set aside for physical education at schools is decreasing. That also helped inspire us to create the exhibit,” says Long, who notes that all of CMEE’s kid-friendly spaces are designed to allow children to decide what they want to do and for how long — just like it used to be.
“So much of children’s time is structured now,” adds Long. “To have a place where they can go and decide how much time they want to spend climbing on the geodome, or on the fire truck or in the art room, it’s great for them. This gives them an opportunity to make the choices that we used to make as children.”
“It’s also great when the parents have to tell the kids, ‘We have to leave,’” he says.
Not only does the new exhibition provide children an opportunity to exercise their muscles, but it also provides interpretive materials and recipes to educate visitors about the importance of nutrition and the right kind of exercise needed to stay healthy.
“What I like about this kind of exhibit is it addresses it in a subtle way,” says Peterson. “It doesn’t make weight an issue. We just want them to have fun. If you’re active, you’re not thinking about food as much and the weight will come off in a natural way.”
“One of the things the kids suggested is an area with books about exercising,” says Long. “Funny, the parents said, ‘I don’t know, my kid’s not going to read.’ But kids want to take breaks.”
For Peterson, one of the major challenges of “Get Active!” had to do with the space — and how to make the best use of it. Because there are children of various ages using the exhibit, it was important that it be designed for all children — from the smallest to the tallest.
“It’s not a huge area, 1,200 square feet, but we wanted to do the best we could to make it a space that would accommodate not only toddlers but kids eight to 10 years old,” says Peterson. “That was a real trick for us.”
To address some of those concerns, a netted area was installed to contain the basketball shooting area, so balls don’t accidentally go into an area where toddlers may be playing.
“We’re open to tweaking it and getting it to serve the wider audience,” she adds. “We didn’t want it to just be for the little ones or the older ones.”
The exhibit is scheduled to be up through April 15, but Long notes that it could stay longer if parents would like it to. And with spring just around the corner, Peterson feels that there’s no reason the active lifestyle should stop once the kids leave the museum.
“The good news is kids like to have fun, and there’s always fun to be had at the playground,” she says. “It’s hard with video games and TV. But once they start doing things like taking a walk after dinner, they’ll start appreciating quality time with their parents.”
The Children’s Museum of the East End is located at 376 Bridgehampton/Sag Harbor Turnpike
in Bridgehampton. For more information on “Get Active!” call 537-8250.
Above: Melissa Villa, Monasia Street and Autumn Coffey on the geodome at CMEE (mike heller photo)
