Playful Learning Summit: Memorial Art Gallery

"Joy in Motion" theme focuses on play, creativity and recess as learning tools. Highlighting how joy drives learning.

Rochester, N.Y., [August 19, 2025] – Wednesday’s Playful Learning Summit at the Memorial Art Gallery will focus on the joy of play as a tool for learning.

The Healthi Kids event, titled “Joy in Motion: Reimagining Learning through Play, Creativity, and Recess” will take place from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The summit features inspirational speakers sharing how learning through play can help students succeed. Dr. Deonna Smith, author of Rooted in Joy: Creating a Classroom Culture of Equity, Belonging and Care, will be the keynote speaker. Sessions include a panel of youth sharing why play is important to them, as well as a 20-minute recess designed by youth organizers featuring tag, a scavenger hunt and time to socialize with friends.

“Recess is a time for kids to refresh their brains, get active, and develop important social skills,” said Mike Bulger, director of whole child health advocacy for Common Ground Health. “During recess, kids learn to share, play fair and work out problems. Sadly, recess has been shortened or even left out of school schedules. The Playful Learning Summit will include an opportunity for adults to experience recess from a student’s perspective and demonstrate why kids need more than 20 minutes of free play in a school day.”

The summit will focus on the power of play and creativity inside and outside the classroom to spur physical activity, social-emotional growth, mental wellness, academic achievement and more.

The summit brings together youth and families, educators and community partners to explore ways to build joyful learning environments. Participants will consider the many benefits of playful learning, with a special focus on how it positively affects the holistic development of children from a variety of backgrounds.

“Play supports social-emotional development,” said Stephanie David, early childhood policy director of Common Ground Health. “It forms the building blocks of relationships with peers and adults.”

Wade Norwood, co-CEO of Common Ground Health, will offer closing remarks at the event.

Registration information and full session details are available at healthikids.org/summit25.

Sponsors of the event include New York State Department of Health’s Creating Healthy Schools and Communities,* the Greater Rochester Health Foundation and NYS United Teachers.

About Healthi Kids

The Healthi Kids Coalition, an initiative of Common Ground Health, advocates for the creation of policies, systems, environments, and resources that advance the health and well-being of all children birth to age 8 in Rochester and the Finger Lakes region. We advance policies to ensure all kids have the supports they need for the healthiest start in life. Learn more at healthikids.org.