Collecting and Interpreting Playground Games

A Children's Museum Project

Abstract

This paper reports the activities and results of a project on children's games carried out for the Portland Children's Museum during the summer of 1986. The purpose of the project was to explore ways in which the Museum might develop exhibits and collections related to children's playground games. Several activities contributed to this broad aim - library research; field observation; interviews with educators, supervisors and children; video recording; the production of two video documentaries onthe project itself; and the development of two prototype video exhibits. This article describesome of these activities and several findings of the study. Finally, some of the Museum's plans in the area of children's games are set fort