Program areas at KidsPlay Childrens Museum
KidsPlay is a museum offering a wide array of interactive exhibits designed to help children thrive intellectually, socially, and emotionally. The Museum provides a safe and stimulating environment that encoruages children and caregivers to discover, imagine, and create. Children practice skills, build curiosity, and explore new things through development play. In 2023, KidsPlay participated in Connecticut's Summer at the Museum, Museums for All, Blus Star Musems, and other access initiatives to ensure that underserved and underrepresented audiences have access to its exhibits and programs
The Museum provides its space and program support to other non-profit organizations and collaborative partners at rates below market price. The designated areas include a family resource library, a local perfoming arts theater costume shop, and a fraternal organization meeting space. The museum's program room is also partially used for adult ESL and parenting classes. These partners also use the museum as a safe space for intervention work, observations and family engagement. In late 2023, KidsPlay launched the Hub@KidsPlay initiative, which aims to utilize its space and collaborations to further promote positive outcomes for children and families in the community.
KidsPlay offers educational programs and outreach activities aimed at enhancing children's cognitive and social-emotional development. The museum collaborates with experts and partners to provide science, humanities and arts content tailored to childeren's developmental stages. KidsPlay is a popular destinantion for educational field trips. In addition, the museum hosts KidsPlay Day Camp, offering an enriching and creative experience for children involved in a local English language learners program at Torrington Public Schools. In 2023, Kidsplay partnered with Connecticut's Office of Early Childhood to expand development screening in the region through the Sparkler app. These initiatives aim to connect playful learning at the museum with academic readiness for the classroom.