Loose parts play embraces an unrestricted method of play by offering children an assortment of materials or objects that can be freely moved, manipulated, and combined in various ways. This unstructured approach stimulates children’s creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills as they envision, design, and construct using the available materials. Here’s what you will find

Loose parts play is an open-ended approach to play that involves providing children with a variety of materials of objects that can be moved, manipulated, and combined in a different way. The open-ended nature of loose parts play stimulates children’s creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills as they imagine, design, and build using the materials

Pollinator Blend Harvested nectar plant seeds from CMSM’s beautiful Butterfly House take home a pack to enjoy a piece of the museum in your home garden! Seeds may include but not limited to; California Giant Zinnias, Cosmos, Coneflower, Marigolds, Wild Bergamot, Blazing Star, Mexican Sunflower, Daisy, New England Aster, Black-Eyed Susan, Giant Sunflower, Dwarf Zinnias

Sensory play is beneficial to children all year, and in the cold months of winter, making messes indoors feels worth it on some of the longer days. But summer provides the perfect opportunity to engage in sensory play with children, because you can take the messes outside! Sensory play not only captivates their imagination but

At the Children’s Museum of Southern Minnesota, we have three kitchens: the mud kitchen, the Cabin kitchen, and the play kitchen in the farm-to-table Grow It Gallery. These exhibits are always popular, because children love this kind of pretend play. Play kitchens are a particularly popular resource for pretend play, as it benefits children and

By Michelle McDonough, M.D., family medicine physician in Mankato, Minnesota. Like a tablet with a low battery, or a car running low on gas, your body can run out of energy without its fuel and energy source — food. Just as a tablet needs the right cord to charge and a car requires the correct