Monday, November 17, 2008

Plato’s Lesson

What’s Plato’s Lesson?

Simply this: “Life must be lived as play.” Not bad for the great Greek Philosopher who lived from 427 to 327 BCE. Actually, it’s quite an amazing statement. It could be translated as “Enjoy yourself – life is a one-time experience.” Or, in the Words of Reb Nachman of Breslav, “It’s a big mitzvah to always be happy.”

Plato’s statement is what led me to another amazing family museum while on the road from New York City to Niagara Falls: The Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester, NY. Rochester is probably best known for Eastman Kodak (George Eastman was a resident of the city and there’s a Photography Museum in his memory here – but that’s in next week’s article) and Xerox, which have their headquarters in this quiet and quite inhabitable city.


I figured I would whizz through this museum in two hours. Well, I was about as wrong about that as I have been about anything. It took me a whole day and I was not done. This is hands-on at it best. Yes, it is a museum geared for kids – and that’s what’s so unfair about it. I love playing! I love touchy-feely exhibits. I love putting my head into holes to discover what’s in them, or to push things that push back, squash things that un-squash, shape things and dance with things and sit on things and open things and close things. Man! This museum is fun! Playing makes me happy! And a museum about play is about as happy as I can get!

I got to bake with the Berenstain bears, and on Sesame Street I made a movie in which I counted with the Count (hah, hah, hah, rumble, rumble). I operated a pulley to move Curious George from window to window in his apartment building and I shopped for real-life-looking groceries in the Super Kids Market. Then I walked through the giant kaleidoscope in the Field of Play before walking down the Yellow Brick Road into reading Adventureland where my nieces’ and nephews’ favorite book characters had all come to life. I stepped into the past and dressed up in period clothes to pump water, churn butter and scrub some clothes, and although exhausted by this time, I still managed to meander through the National Toy Hall of Fame to see who/what the really famous toys are (you’ll be surprised how many of them are in your home right now!).

Many of the museum’s pavilion’s have “Make it and Take it” stations, that enable kids of all ages to express their own creativity and then take it home with them. It’s all included in the reasonable price of a ticket, and it’s one of the things I love about any museum – the individual experience.

The Strong National Museum of Play is not only a children’s museum, it’s a historical museum too. It has fun while teaching – the best way to educate. It’s experiential in the extreme and creates understanding of play and its positive impact on our lives.

Anyone who visits owes a huge debt of gratitude to Margaret Woodbury Strong through whose philanthropy this incredibly joyous institution was created.

“Life must be lived as play.” Thanks. Plato!

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