If you’ve ever watched your kids playing with the big blue blocks at Port Discovery and wondered how you could let loose and fold a little more play into your day, look no further than Playful: How Play Shifts our Thinking, Inspires Connection, and Sparks Creativity – a book about play and imagination for adults. Author and creator of the big blue blocks, (formally known as Imagination Playground), Cas Holman, isn’t just passionate about creating playful spaces for kids, she also wants adults to know that play is restoring and essential for us, too.
At Port Discovery, we don’t want play to stop with your child. We want the whole family involved. And if you, as a parent or caregiver, sometimes struggle to leave your worries at the door when you arrive at our museum, you’re not alone. Many adult visitors experience this. Life is tough out there! You may be worrying about parking validation, safety, where you’ll find lunch, and probably have a running to-do list in your head…always. We get it.
For many adults, shifting into play mode is hard because so much of daily life is structured around productivity, deadlines, and expectations.
Here’s the thing, the science is in: incorporating silliness, imagination, and play into your daily life – yes as an adult – both improves mental well-being and helps build important skills like creativity and problem solving, which will ultimately help you adapt better when life throws you a curve ball. Not in the science, but definitely an added bonus! Being a playful adult will make your kid think you’re super cool, too.
If you’re unable to attend one of Holman’s legendary play workshops, no worries. We got you covered. Here are 6 ways to B’MORE playful, as written by Cas Holman, with Baltimore-specific practice suggestions:
Drop Self-Judgment and Fear of Looking Childish
This one is tough, that’s why we recommend practicing at Port Discovery first! Bring your kid and follow their lead. One of our key values here at Port Discovery is kindness and belonging, so you will only see celebration and support from staff members while you go down the slide, splash around in Wonders of Water, or do a silly puppet voice in The Playhouse. You never know, you might just inspire another parent to get a little sillier, too. Congratulations, you just took your first step towards being a more playful adult.
Reconnect with your Past Playful Self
Take another baby step towards being MORE playful and think back to your kid self. How did little you like to play? What games or toys could you spend hours with? What kinds of spaces made your imagination go wild? These are powerful clues to what may still light up your playful self as an adult.
Dig out your old board games, dolls, or Magic cards and introduce them to your kid. Invite them to play together. You might be surprised how an object from your past magically transports you back.
Forget Goals: Play is the Point
Holman defines play as freely chosen, open-ended exploration with no expected outcomes.
For many adults, shifting into play mode is hard because so much of daily life is structured around productivity, deadlines, and expectations. These deflate the play mindset.
To help yourself shift, even for just a few minutes at a time, decide which activities feel most playful for YOU. Remember, these have to be chosen specifically by you and not have a particular goal – for this to truly be play, the activities you pick are worth doing just because they feel good and fun! The play is the point. Not the outcome.
It might help you to think about which play style resonates most with you. Some examples include: creative play, imaginative play, rough and tumble play, dramatic play, deep (risky) play, object play, nature play, social play.
Find Play in Your Everyday Tasks
Where do you actually want to waste time, but feel like you never have permission? At which part of the day do you run out of steam, and maybe need to shift into playmode for a few minutes for a mini de-stress break? These are perfect places to build in little play breaks.
Try reframing everyday tasks that feel mundane. Ask yourself: what would this look like if it were actually fun? If walking the dog daily feels like a chore, how can you make it a game? See if you can skip all the cracks on the sidewalk. Tuesday night and time to take out the trash again? Ask your kid to take the recycling bin, and make it a race to the end of the driveway.
The 3PM slump at work hits most of us hard: blood sugar is dropping, and your body says it’s time for a nap. Instead of white-knuckling your way through another afternoon, Holman suggests listening to your “play voice”. Do a quick refresh for you brain and body: grab 2 coworkers and play the Exquisite Corpse drawing game or see what everyday item you can use to play a short game of hacky sack. Remember to release self judgement in the name of fun: your colleagues might thank you.
Adopt a ‘What if…’ Attitude
Holman recommends approaching situations with curiosity. Look at what’s stopping you from embracing the fun. Is it fear of wasting time, being less efficient, or being different from others? Again, listen to your play voice – it might be soft at first, but it’s still there. When it speaks up, instead of shutting it down right away with excuses, give it a chance.
If you see a situation, like a piece of chalk sitting alone on the sidewalk as you walk down the street, your play voice might quietly say “What if I…picked up the chalk?” Instead of dismissing it as silly or time-wasting, pay attention. Pick up the chalk. Then see what happens. Your play voice might continue. “What if I drew a tic-tac-toe board?” See what happens. It’s all an experiment.
Think of Play as a Mindset, Not an Activity
Cas encourages us to build “the conditions of play” into our daily lives so eventually play happens organically. Modern adult life doesn’t naturally create conditions for play. But small moments of curiosity, silliness, and experimentation add up. Listen to your play voice. Ask ‘what if?’ Follow the impulse to play – even briefly.
Play doesn’t have to look a certain way, and it definitely doesn’t require being “good” at anything. It can be loud or quiet, silly or creative, spontaneous or intentional. The important part is giving yourself permission to embrace joy, curiosity, and connection in a world that often asks adults to be serious all the time. At Port Discovery, we believe play is for everyone, not just kids. So the next time your play voice speaks up, listen to it. Say yes to the silly idea. Pick up the chalk. Build the fort. Dance in the kitchen. Ask “what if?” Because a more playful Baltimore starts with all of us.