Alumni News Archive

On December 18, 2014, Wooster School's Lower School students celebrated a day of creative play with their new Imagination Playground. Donated by renowned New York Architect, David Rockwell, the Imagination Playground is a breakthrough playspace concept designed to encourage child-directed, unstructured free play - the kind of play that experts say is critical to a child's intellectual, social, physical and emotional development. Comprised of an assortment of loose parts, including foam blocks in uniquely designed shapes, Imagination Playground empowers children to constantly reconfigure the space around them and design their own course of play.

The gift was facilitated by Ridgefield, Connecticut residents and Wooster parents John '81 and Bonnie Edelman. "The imagination playground is pure genius. It allows children to play, create and make something new and different each time they play. They develop skills in managing a "team", taking on rolls as leaders, workers or "creative consultants". Each child creates his or her very own experience with it," said Bonnie Edelman.

This is not the Edelman's first time inspiring children to invent, create, and make at Wooster. Over the summer, they made the lead gift to design and build Wooster's Makerspace. Tom Curley, Director of Innovation and Technology, and the teacher who oversees teaching and learning in the Makerspace at Wooster is very excited to have the Imagination Playground. "The Makerspace is a place to tinker, to hack, to prototype, to invent -- to do just about anything -- and students are learning at the highest level. The Imagination Playground brings even greater opportunity for Wooster students to invent and to learn."

Bonnie Edelman summed everyone's sentiments perfectly, "We feel so fortunate that David Rockwell personally donated the imagination set, after hearing how special Wooster School is to us. Learning through play has never been more fun!"