SPARK: Play Makes Learning More Effective and Joyful for Everyone

SPARK, the Children’s Museum of Rochester, sees play as a powerful tool. Think of how children play “house.” Trying on adult roles, such as that of a mother or father, helps children understand relationships, develop empathy, and boost their imaginative skills. SPARK understands that the significance of play extends far beyond mere amusement; it is the foundation of child development and a key element in fostering critical cognitive and social skills.

Since opening its doors in August 2020, our latest small grant recipient SPARK, has become a vibrant hub for approximately 70,000 visitors each year in Southeast Minnesota, creating an engaging learning environment where play reigns supreme. The museum’s innovative exhibits and programs in fact, leverage the intrinsic benefits of play, not only for children but also for adults, promoting lifelong learning, social interaction, and emotional well-being. In this interview with SPARK Executive Director Heather Nessler, we delve into the remarkable approaches this unique museum employs to make learning effective and joyful while exploring the depth of play’s impact on our community.

Kars4Kids: You serve a very large metropolitan area. How many children do you serve in a typical year?

Heather Nessler: We serve Southeast Minnesota within our nearly 10,000-square-foot space, and since we opened our facility in August 2020, we have served more than 262,000 people. Typically, we see around 70,000 people a year (minus the pandemic years).

Kars4Kids: Why is play important?

Heather Nessler: Play is critical to child development. It is one central way children build skills to enact agency and understand how their choices influence other people. Play enhances brain structure and function and promotes executive function (or the process of learning rather than the content). Children’s museums provide examples of the many ways parents, caregivers, and educators can use play to facilitate well-being, healthy brain development, and make learning more effective and joyful for everyone.

Kars4Kids: Why do kids need a museum to help them play? Don’t they just naturally play on their own or with friends as a normal part of childhood?

Heather Nessler: True, the benefits of play can occur in many different types of environments, but children’s museums excel at cultivating play. SPARK offers particularly valuable contexts for play: free-choice elements and intentional structure and scaffolding. Research has repeatedly found that this type of “guided play” can lead to stronger learning and developmental outcomes than unstructured play. Additionally, children’s museums are designed to embrace social forms of playful learning, making them ideal places to foster social-emotional learning (skills we use every day, all day), such as managing our emotions, self-regulating, and communicating with one another.

Kars4Kids: SPARK offers opportunities for people of all ages to “learn about the world, each other and local environments through hands-on, inquiry-based exploration and play.” Adults need to play?? What do adults learn from play? What is “inquiry-based exploration?”

Heather Nessler: Amongst both children and adults, play has the potential to reduce stress and improve mental health, a crucial need for our society. Adults need to play more, in my opinion. Being playful does not equate lack of seriousness, which some adults believe. Just like a child, play encourages socialization, problem-solving, empathy, and so on. Inquiry-based exploration encourages our visitors to explore and solve problems through real-world connections and high-level questioning. At SPARK, our interactive exhibits and hands-on programs evoke critical thinking and problem-solving skills and improve collaboration and retention.

Kars4Kids: Can you describe your exhibits? Are these permanent exhibits or do you change them periodically?

Heather Nessler: Our exhibits are hands-on, interactive, and built to handle the creative energy our visitors bring to the space. Our focus areas are health and wellness, STEAM, and cultural connections. We play up our local assets. For instance, our water table reflects elements of a local dam. Our climbing structure replicates a Helix, which is very appropriate a community known as the “med city”. Our exhibits are permanent, and we continue to add new elements to the museum. We rotate props and provide pop-up exhibits to keep things fresh.

Kars4Kids: Would you tell us a bit about the museum space? Outside of the exhibits, what makes the museum a place conducive to play? Are there any intentional design features, for instance, that make it a comfortable and beckoning place for play? How large is the museum?

Heather Nessler: Our space is small but robust. We are nearly 10,000 square feet, and the skylights and high ceilings make it feel that much grander. I am very proud of the programming we offer at SPARK, encompassing literacy and social-emotional skill building, creating art with unique materials, and making a mess during a STEM workshop. We are always pushing the limits and offering scalable opportunities for children of all ages and their adults to engage.

Kars4Kids: Tell us about your latest exhibit described on your website as a “smart city.” Can you explain what that means? Is this also a space for play? What made you decide to create this exhibit?

Heather Nessler: Ah, we’ve added another exhibit since SPARK City, called Wonder Woods. Wonder Woods is for our littlest learners – a tot spot. It’s an area for babies and toddlers to build large and small motor skills and for parents to network. SPARK City is on the other end of our age range, serving an older audience of around 8-10 years old. The city is a game and the player’s objective is to keep their city functioning. Collaboration with others is key, but one person can keep the city copacetic, however, it’s more challenging without teamwork. Water, power, traffic, and residents all have a role in the game.

Kars4Kids: How do you measure the impact of play? Have you been able to gauge the impact of SPARK on those you serve?

Heather Nessler: While an exact definition of play is difficult to articulate, a report from the American Academy of Pediatrics describes it as an activity that is, “intrinsically motivated, entails active engagement and results in joyful discovery.” Oodles of research around play exist. SPARK has worked with our local schools, offering enrichment activities centered on self-identity. An age-appropriate pre- and post-assessment with those students helped inform the anecdotal summary that children feel more connected to themselves and one another after our workshop.

Kars4Kids: What about you, Heather? Who is Heather Nessler and how did you come to be the executive director of SPARK?

Heather Nessler: I am a communications and marketing professional, having worked in many different industries, from baseball to radio to public education. It’s a bizarre combo, but it works because I love having fun and making an impact. I gravitate toward areas of arts and culture, museums, and education. In this role, I can combine my passions with work I love in a community I chose, with incredibly brilliant and delightful people.

Kars4Kids: What’s next for SPARK, the Children’s Museum of Rochester, Inc.?

Heather Nessler: Everything! SPARK is a well-loved children’s museum that just celebrated our fourth birthday. Our museum is bustling, but there are many opportunities to continue expanding who we serve. Providing access by removing barriers is a priority, and we will continue to build upon it as our museum grows in size and service.