LEAP: Learn, Explore and Play

LEAP: Learn, Explore and Play

Four-class session: Thursdays, May 2, 9, 16 & 23 (Sold Out!)

Join us for a morning of connecting with nature through play! We’ve created an immersive, sensory-rich play space for children and adults. Explore the natural world by meeting animals, building, drawing, climbing and making music at your own pace. The choices are up to you!

May 2, 9, 16 & 23
Join us at the Pritzker Family Children’s Zoo. Learn, explore and play in the company of the black bears, red wolves and smooth green snakes that call Lincoln Park Zoo home.

9:30–10:30 a.m.
$56 ($48 for members)
For children ages 2–3 and an adult

The Benefits of Nature Play

Think back to your childhood. What are some of your fondest memories of play? For millions of Americans, those memories are of playing outside and with nature.  Free from adult supervision, you were able to explore, experiment, take risks and discover the world on your terms. Today, our children are spending less time engaged in play outdoors and more time watching TV and interacting with electronic media indoors.

But play has powerful impacts on our growth and development, and losing it will influence how our children progress into adulthood. Play in nature engages all our senses at once. It helps us learn how to problem-solve, fosters creativity and helps us concentrate. When playing, we feel happy and joyful, and by playing outside we learn to love nature and thereby develop lifelong conservation values.

At LEAP, you will notice many different activity areas designed to help your child make those discoveries and begin that process of exploration in nature. Let your child decide when, where and how to play; then join in.  There are no rules about what you need to do or learn. During LEAP, you don’t need to visit every station either. Feel free to walk the rock path, build a fort or dig in the dirt. Just play and have fun!