It’s back! After a seven-year hiatus, the Our World: Worldwide Day of Play returns to Stepping Stones Museum for Children in Norwalk on Saturday, September 30. Stepping Stones is proud to serve as a participating site for this special global play event, which is presented by Nickelodeon and the Association of Children’s Museums (ACM). The museum’s free admission, day of play will feature classic lawn and field games, interactive sports and fitness demonstrations, awesome educational activities and amazing live performances – all guaranteed to keep your family moving. So take a break from your electronic devices, get up and get over to the award-winning children’s museum from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm.
Join Stepping Stones to celebrate what we do best – play. Children can do some mindful meditation, move and groove during Zumba with John Layseca, partake in a taekwondo demonstration with Master KJ, dance the afternoon away at our rocking dance party with DJ Lou and so much more. In addition to the jam-packed schedule, there will be a touch-a-truck experience featuring an ambulance from Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital and an opportunity to exercise our brains and bodies with the Norwalk Public Library Book Truck.
Schedule of activities:
All Day | Lawn Games (Corn Hole, Ring Toss, Giant Connect Four and Bucket Ball)
All Day | Chalk Hopscotch
9:00 - 9:15 am | Mindfulness Meditation
9:00 am - 3:00 pm | Touch-a-Truck— Yale New Haven Ambulance
9:30 am, 11:30 am and 1:30 pm | Mutt-i-grees®
9:30 -10:00 am | Sack Races and Tug-of-War
10:00 - 10:30 am | Puppet Parade
10:00 am - 12:00 pm | Book Truck— Norwalk Public Library
11:00 - 11:30 am | Zumba Dance Moves with John Layseca Montes
1:00 - 2:00 pm | Taekwondo Demonstration with Master KJ, Fairfield World Champion Taekwondo
2:30 - 4:00 pm | Dance Party with DJ Lou
“We are thrilled for the return of the Worldwide Day of Play here at Stepping Stones,” said Rhonda Kiest, Executive Director of Stepping Stones Museum for Children. “This is the eleventh time that we are hosting a Worldwide Day of Play event and the first time since 2017. As a children’s museum, we recognize and value the important role of play in a child’s development. We are dedicated to helping the families that we serve maintain their commitment to healthy living. With our focus on our Healthy Children, Healthy Communities® initiative, our increased emphasis on healthier options in our cafe, programming designed to keep our guests active and moving and our beautiful park location, Stepping Stones is truly the perfect stage for a spectacular day of health-based family fun.”
“Play is a powerful experience that enriches people’s lives in museums, schools, homes, and beyond,” states Arthur G. Affleck, III, executive director of the Association of Children’s Museums. “ACM is pleased to partner with Nickelodeon on amplifying the importance of play on wellbeing and healthy brain development, and to make learning more effective and joyful for everyone. As children’s museums, we believe in the power of play and we strive to nurture more play and playful learning everywhere we go.”
Our World: Worldwide Day of Play is part of Nickelodeon’s Our World global initiative to inspire kids and provide them with tools to activate their individual and collective agency. As part of a network of than 300 ACM member children’s museums who reach millions of families in North America, and the more than 1,000 museums participating in Museums for All, a national access initiative that ACM manages, Stepping Stones Museum for Children is a vital collaborator in the Our World: Worldwide Day of Play.
Important local support of the Our World: Worldwide Day of Play at Stepping Stones is being provided by Silver Sponsors Gen Re and Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital, Bronze Sponsor Bigelow Tea and Team Sponsors Members Credit Union and Outdoor Sports Center. This special free admission day of play is a component of the museum’s Open Arms Accessibility Initiative.
Make the most of this day-long worldwide movement all about the power of play. For more information about the Worldwide Day of Play event at Stepping Stones, visit www.steppingstonesmuseum.org/dayofplay.
For a list of all participating Our World: Worldwide Day of Play events and more information about the initiative, please visit www.childrensmuseums.org/dayofplay.
