A couple of years ago I attended this conference as a speaker to discuss the developmental needs of children in play environments. I went into the conference as an instructor but quickly became the pupil. All of the attendees were professionals dedicated to play and children’s outdoor environments, who have, and are, doing great things. This three-day conference is a great experience for anyone involved with design and management of outdoor play environments.
–Chad Kennedy, ASLA, Officer and Past Co-Chair of the Children’s Outdoor Environments PPN

2018 Conference on the Value of Play: The Many Faces of Play
Call for Presentations Deadline: 11:59 PM EST, Sunday, October 15, 2017

The US Play Coalition is now accepting proposals for Educational Sessions, Poster Presentations, and the Play Research Symposium at the 2018 Conference on the Value of Play: The Many Faces of Play. The conference will be held April 8-11, 2018 at Clemson University in Clemson, South Carolina. “The Many Faces of Play” will explore play from across the globe and address universal issues of access, accessibility, inclusion and more.

At the Conference on the Value of Play, we have long relied on scholars, practitioners, and industry leaders to share their expertise on various aspects of play. Submit your application to present in one of the following theme tracks (detailed on the call website):

• International/Global Play
• Multi/Intergenerational & Adults at Play
• Accessible & Inclusive Play
• Health, Recreation & Play
• Nature Based & Outdoor Play
• Education & Play
• Designing for Play
• Emerging Trends in Play
• Nuts & Bolts

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A couple of years ago I attended this conference as a speaker to discuss the developmental needs of children in play environments. I went into the conference as an instructor but quickly became the pupil. All of the attendees were professionals dedicated to play and children’s outdoor environments, who have, and are, doing great things. This three-day conference is a great experience for anyone involved with design and management of outdoor play environments.
– Chad Kennedy, ASLA, Officer and Past Co-Chair of the Children’s Outdoor Environments PPN

The US Play Coalition invites you to attend the 2017 Conference on the Value of Play: Where Design Meets Play, April 2-5 at Clemson University in Clemson, South Carolina.

The annual Conference on the Value of Play brings together leading play researchers, park and recreation professionals, educators, health scientists, landscape architects, designers, planners, business and community leaders, psychologists, physicians and parents from across the country.

The three-day event includes keynote and featured speakers, play institutes, PLAYtalks, research symposium, educational sessions, roundtables, grant opportunities, networking, and opportunities for play. LA CES credits also available!

We have already announced some incredible headliners for 2017 Conference on the Value of Play. Innovative Play Space Designer Matthew Urbanski, ASLA, will be a keynote speaker, sharing his lessons learned from designing play spaces. James Siegal, CEO of KaBOOM!, and Kimberly S. Clay, Founder & Executive Director, Play Like A Girl!^®, are among our PLAYtalk presenters (our version of TED talks). There are more speaker announcements to come…not to mention the dozens of educational session and research symposium presenters!

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