The Play Conference, as it is commonly known, is an annual educational conference presented by the US Play Coalition. The latest research and practices in the field of play are presented at the conference, which brings together play researchers, educators, health scientists, architects, landscape architects, designers, planners, park and recreation professionals, business and community leaders, psychologists, physicians and parents from across the U.S. and beyond. The 2022 Conference on the Value of Play: THE NATURE OF PLAY explores play across the lifespan, play in the workplace, play in the classroom and address universal issues of access, equity, inclusion and more. The conference features weekly live headliners and networking events, dozens of recorded educational and research presentations and much more.

The 2022 Health & PLAY Institute is a special series featuring leading health professionals and researchers from across the country.

Recorded live at the 2022 IN PERSON Conference on the Value of Play: THE NATURE OF PLAY, the second annual Health & PLAY Institute (HAPI22) builds on the 2021 inaugural Online Health & PLAY Institute.

This year, the institute examines the synergies between play and health through the lens of the conference theme, THE NATURE OF PLAY.

 
The second annual "Health & PLAY" Institute features sessions by leading healthcare professionals and researchers examining the synergies between play and health.

Speakers include:

Michael Suk, MD, Chief Physician Officer
Geisinger System Services
Brooke Buckley, MD, Chief Medical Officer, Henry Ford Wyandotte Hospital
Stuart Brown, MD, Founder of the National Institute for Play
Deborah A. Cohen, MD, Research Scientist, Kaiser Permanente Research and Evaluation
Meghan Talarowski, PLA, ASLA, CPSI, Founder and Executive Director, Studio Ludo
Matthew Browning, PhD, Asst Professor & Director of the Virtual Reality & Nature Lab, Clemson University


Four incredible thought leaders tackle the 2022 theme, THE NATURE OF PLAY, for our annual Power PLAYer Panel:

Fran Mainella - Chair Emeritus, US Play Coalition & Former National Park Service Director - "The Value of Play"
Debora Wisneski, PhD, University of Nebraska at Omaha & past-president of The Association for the Study of Play (TASP) - "The Nature of Play in Education"
Deepti Adlakha, PhD - Director of the Natural Learning Initiative, NC State University - "A Call to Action - Designing for Outdoor Play and Healthy Childhoods"
Sarah Milligan-Toffler - President & CEO of the Children & Nature Network - "Nature Play Spaces - Transforming Cities into Centers of Well-Being"