Rochester Public Library Wins Play Everywhere Design Challenge

Press release from the City of Rochester:

February 9 2021

The Rochester Public Library received $32,000 for winning the Play Everywhere Design Challenge. This grant, generously supported by the Ralph C. Wilson Foundation, will be used to redesign the Secret Room at the Central Library of Rochester and Monroe County.

“We are grateful to the Ralph C. Wilson Foundation for the opportunity to participate in this exciting and innovative challenge,” said Mayor Warren. This grant will help increase educational opportunities by creating a safe, unique and advantageous space in our Central Library for our city’s youngest citizens by cultivating their developmental and learning skills through play.”

The goal of the reimagined Secret Room is to deliver a sense of awe and wonder for children and be a place where happy memories are built for future generations. Families will be able to experience this space year-round to enjoy educational programs and increases access to play in a free and safe public space designed to help children from birth through age twelve reach their full physical, emotional and cognitive development.

As members of the Early Childhood Development Initiative (ECDI) and ROC the Future, library staff are working to ensure developmentally appropriate play and participating on play-based teams throughout the region so they can become play experts. The Secret Room can function as an interior bookend to the Corridor of Play initiative, a previously funded Play Everywhere grant project which connects the Strong Museum to the Genesee River.

About Play Everywhere Design Challenge Award

The Play Everywhere Design Challenge invited communities to submit creative design ideas that make it easier for families to incorporate play into everyday moments. Winning projects will bring play into public spaces in unconventional ways in neighborhoods that have experienced significant disinvestment.

Media Contact: For more information, contact Adam Traub at Adam.Traub@libraryweb.org or (585) 428-8051.

This press release was produced by the City of Rochester. The views expressed here are the author’s own.