The Science of Play: Why Hands On Learning Matters

When children play, it can look wonderfully simple: blocks stacked into improbable towers, water swirling through a maze of tubes, paint splashed across a page in colors only a child would dare to combine. Yet, beneath that joyful chaos, something remarkable is happening. Play is not a break from learning. Play is learning. Hands‑on exploration is one of the most powerful tools we can give growing minds.

As construction moves forward on the Grand Forks Children’s Museum, with the foundation poured and the first walls soon to rise, the purpose behind this museum has never been clearer. Even as the museum itself rises, the exhibits being built off‑site are already shaping the experiences children will soon have inside. Each exhibit is intentionally designed to spark curiosity, build confidence, and strengthen the skills children need to thrive.

Neuroscientists have long known that when kids manipulate objects, test ideas, and make discoveries, their brains form stronger and more complex neural connections. Hands‑on play activates multiple regions of the brain at once, motor, sensory, language, and problem‑solving, creating the kind of whole‑brain learning that textbooks alone can’t achieve. When children touch, build, splash, climb, and experiment, they’re literally wiring their brains for future learning.

Play also strengthens problem‑solving and creativity in ways that feel natural and joyful. When a tower keeps falling or a water path doesn’t flow the way a child expects, they’re doing real scientific thinking: forming hypotheses, testing ideas, adjusting strategies, and trying again. These moments build resilience and flexible thinking …skills that matter just as much as academics in today’s world.

There is also the social side of play. Hands‑on environments invite collaboration. Children negotiate roles, share materials, take turns, and work together toward a shared goal. In those small, personal interactions, they’re learning empathy, communication, and emotional regulation. The children are practicing how to be part of a community.

Perhaps most importantly, play helps children see themselves as capable learners. When a child builds a bridge in the Friendly Forks zone or launches a paper airplane in Fly Zone, they’re not just having fun, they’re discovering that they can figure things out on their own. With each small success, a new belief takes root:

I can figure things out.

I can try new things.

I can learn.

I can play with a new friend.

That confidence becomes the foundation for everything that comes next. Place‑based play deepens that sense of belonging.

Exhibits like the Harvest Hustle, the Wind and Elements, or the River Run help children understand the world right outside their door: why weather matters here, how rivers shape our region, and how the agriculture makes the Red River Valley unique. These experiences root children in their community and spark pride in the place they call home.

All of this supports school readiness in ways families can see and feel. Hands‑on learning strengthens early math and spatial reasoning, language development, fine motor skills, scientific thinking, persistence, and focus. When children enter school with these foundations, they’re more confident, more engaged, and more ready to learn.

This is why the Grand Forks Children’s Museum matters. A children’s museum isn’t just a building, it’s an investment in the next generation. Now, with construction underway, that investment is becoming real. By giving kids a place to explore, experiment, and imagine, we’re strengthening families, supporting educators, and contributing to the long‑term vitality of our region.

Hands‑on play is joyful, yes, but it’s also strategic. It’s how we build thinkers, makers, inventors and problem‑solvers who will shape the future of Grand Forks.

Play is not a break from learning

Play is learning. 

Play is powerful. 

Play is transformative.

Before long, just two years from now, children across our region will walk through the doors of a place built just for them… a place where curiosity is celebrated, creativity is encouraged, and every child can discover the joy of learning through play.

Katie Mayer, Executive Director, Grand Forks Children's Museum