Learning For all ages
Playday
Join us for UK Playday, an annual celebration of playfulness. Explore the rich and lively culture of children’s play throughout the building.
Playful interventions and drop-in activities will transform the museum into an immersive, creative studio for experimentation, making and hands-on play for all ages and abilities.
This summer the exhibitions are brimming with playful designs, fashion dolls, dollhouses, toys, games and puzzles. Designer Enzo Mari valued play and playfulness as vital ways to understand the world, and believed strongly in the capabilities of children. As a young father in the 1950s, he noticed that many toys and games did not encourage creative thinking or autonomy in children. He went on to design some of the world’s most iconic childrens’ puzzles and books, and his work and ideas offer up the potential for new social contracts with children.
As a Playday Champion, the Design Museum is committed to the child’s right to play – on Playday and every day. National Playday is celebrated each year across the UK on the first Wednesday in August. It is a celebration of children’s right to play, and a campaign that highlights the importance of play in children’s lives.
Find out more about our current exhibition Enzo Mari curated by Hans Ulrich Obrist with Francesca Giacomelli and its related free display Grazi Enzo: Contemporary Response to Enzo Mari.
Learn more about National Playday here, coordinated by Play England, Play Wales, Play Scotland and PlayBoard Northern Ireland.
Share your day at the museum using @designmuseum and the hashtag #Playday2024
Book Online
Pre-booking is required.
• Please ensure you only book if you plan to attend and please cancel your booking in advance if your availability changes
• This event is for families. Suitable Age 3+. Children under 16 must be accompanied by a responsible, ticket holding adult
Tickets are non-refundable and non-exchangeable. Visit our Terms & Conditions page for further information.
Pay-What-You-Can supports visitors who might find the standard ticket price a barrier.
From just a couple of events in 1987, Playday grew to around a dozen in London by 1989, went national in 1991 and is now the biggest celebration of children’s play in the UK. Taking place on the first Wednesday in August, Playday is a celebration of children’s right to play, and a campaign that highlights how play is fundamental to their health, wellbeing and development. Coordinated by Play England, in partnership with Play Wales, Play Scotland and PlayBoard Northern Ireland.
What's On
Background image 'Grazie Enzo: Contemporary Responses to Enzo Mari' display. Artwork Animal Off Cuts by Studiomama by Studiomama photographed by Eva Herzog .
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