The Pemberton Community Centre has created a weather-proof drop-in play space in the Great Hall every Saturday from 10-4.

What I love most about this poster promoting it is that they’ve officially demanded that Parents Play Too.

Yes, folks. Just because you’re a sleep-deprived grown up, doesn’t mean you can forget how to play.

Why are we driven to play as mammals? Stuart Brown explains that play is a wasteful thing—it consumes a lot of time, burns a lot of energy, can cost a lot of money, and can be dangerous. If it didn’t have major benefits biologically, it would have faded out with evolution.

 Scientists say there are two main reasons we play: first, it’s preparation. It allows us to practice skills that we will need in a safe environment where we can fail with few consequences, so we can apply those skills when they are really needed. Bears in the wild who play as cubs have a much higher survival rate than those who don’t.

Play is also necessary for brain growth. In fact, studies in mammals show a nearly identical match in growth curves between brain size and playfulness during childhood.

Play is a state of mind where we feel challenged, focused, creative and alive. 

80 percent of us are unhappy with our work, and that’s crazy. There is not enough play, passion, and love in our daily routine. If we don’t take the time to play, and learn to integrate it into our jobs, as Stuart Brown says, we face a joyless life lacking in creativity. The opposite of play is not work, it’s depression.