Play during a Pandemic

What a joyful place the Children’s Museum of South Dakota is even during a pandemic. While things are restricted to the outside prairie (as they call their facility), it felt good to be around the random laughter of kids - of all ages - splashing in the water and oohing over a mechanical dinosaur.

I had fun meeting and interviewing Kerrie Vilhauer, who leads the team’s marketing and communications. She shared how they were tracking on their counterparts in Hong Kong and what they were doing to reopen. Kinda funny to think how unusual it was to consider masks and temperature checks was in January. But, here we are.

Their team has pivoted from in-person experiences to creating kits and packages for parents to share with their children and periodic virtual events. For a place that already had a strict cleaning regime in place, they have increased it even further. It is a wonderful operation that sparks imagination and encourages play.

After a cup of coffee, I hit the road south to Sioux Falls where I checked in and took a much needed afternoon nap. I woke up and headed to the downtown area where the namesake Sioux Falls inspired awe of its own. Of course, I followed Kerrie’s food recommendation and feasted on a Vietnamese Fried Chicken at Bread & Circus before strolling the downtown streets.

I did some laundry and washed my car of the thick wool blanket of dead insects that dedicated their lives to this documentary. That’s natural in the prairies. It was great to get to bed without driving late into the night.

What are you doing to encourage play in your life?