Media Contact: Vicki Voelker, Gambel Communications (504) 324-4242 | [email protected] UPDATED 1/29/13 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Louisiana Children’s Museum and Imagination Playground Donate Transformational Play Set during Super Service Saturday Donation brings safe, creative “Places to Play” to New Orleans New Orleans, LA (February 2, 2013) — Today during the Super Bowl XLVII Host Committee Super Saturday of Service, the Louisiana Children’s Museum and Imagination Playground in alignment with Let’s Move!, the NFL’s Play60 and Fit NOLA announced Places to Play in New Orleans promoting health and wellness in the city. The two-part announcement included the creation of the Places to Play in New Orleans book and the donation of an Imagination Playground to the City of New Orleans. Present at the event were Julia Bland, executive director of Louisiana Children’s Museum; David Krishock, president of Imagination Playground; Mayor Mitch Landrieu; City Councilmember LaToya Cantrell; Anna Isaacson, Play60; and, Karen DeSalvo, commissioner of New Orleans Health Department. With a focus on very young children, the multifaceted campaign explores the role of play in developing lifelong healthy habits, and demonstrates the role the Louisiana Children’s Museum plays in shaping the community. Places to Play in New Orleans At the forefront of the campaign is the Places to Play in New Orleans book featuring a foreword by First Lady Michelle Obama and letters from Mayor Landrieu and Karen DeSalvo speaking to the power of play in early childhood development. Places to Play in New Orleans is a compilation of illustrations and narrations by four-year-olds from four local nursery schools and child care centers. With attention to detail and creativity, the young authors take readers into their whimsical world as they explore the role of play in their daily lives. “We are thrilled to have so many great partners committed to Places to Play in New Orleans,” said Julia Bland, executive director of the Louisiana Children’s Museum. “Active engagement of young children is the beginning to building a healthier community. Places to Play is an extraordinary example of organizations coming together to institute change at a fundamental level, and the role children’s museums can take in shaping their communities.” During Super Saturday of Service, Places to Play in New Orleans called attention to the importance of childhood play in building healthy communities where families can happily live, work and play. “During the Super Bowl when all eyes are on New Orleans, it is important to promote the message that New Orleans is a family friendly city with lots of green space, parks, playgrounds and organizations, such as the Louisiana Children’s Museum, who dedicated to making learning and growing fun,” said Bland. Places to Play in New Orleans, page 2 Imagination Playground Places to Play in New Orleans comes full circle by pairing play education with access to safe, creative play spaces. One aspect of the campaign is the installation in New Orleans of an Imagination Playground, a transformative play system designed by the Rockwell Group that allows children to create their own imaginative space using large blue foam blocks. During the NFL’s Super Saturday of Service, Imagination Playground and Louisiana Children’s Museum donated a play set to the city for public use, while another was installed at the Louisiana Children’s Museum. “We are thrilled to donate an Imagination Playground to the City of New Orleans and provide a much needed community resource for childhood creativity and play,” said David Krishock, President of Imagination Playground. “We hope this will take Places to Play a step further by encouraging children to use their imaginations to build a car, a house, a spaceship, tear it down, and start all over again.” The Louisiana Children’s Museum, located at 420 Julia Street in New Orleans, is open Tuesday through Saturday from 9:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. and Sundays from noon – 4:30 p.m. Access to the Museum and the Imagination Playground is open to the public with admission, $8 per person and free for Museum members. For more information and a calendar of events, visit www.lcm.org or call (504) 523-1357. About Louisiana Children’s Museum Since 1986, the Louisiana Children’s Museum has engaged children and families in memorable, interactive experiences that make growing and learning fun. It also goes beyond its walls to deliver creative, educational resources that impact the greater New Orleans community. The Museum is located at 420 Julia Street in New Orleans’ warehouse district. General admission is $8.00 for adults and children one year of age and older. Museum members are admitted free. More on Imagination Playground: Imagination Playground blocks are sold in sets suitable for a variety of outdoor and indoor sites, offering a cost-effective way to give children of multiple ages access to new forms of creative play. Manufactured in the United States, the waterproof foam blocks are resistant to mold, mildew, corrosion, and microorganisms. Introducing breakthrough technologies, these highly durable parts are biodegradable and can be returned to the manufacturer for recycling. More on Rockwell Group: Rockwell Group is an award winning, cross-disciplinary 150-person architecture and design firm specializing in cultural, hospitality, retail, product, and set design. Based in New York, with satellite offices in Madrid and Shanghai, the firm crafts a unique narrative and an immersive environment for each project. David Rockwell’s interest in theater has informed much of the firm’s work, including: W Hotels in New York, Paris, Singapore, and Vieques; the Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center at Lincoln Center; The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas; Maialino at the Gramercy Park Hotel; Adour Alain Ducasse at The St. Regis New York; set design for the 2009 and 2010 Academy Awards ceremonies; exhibition design for the future National Center for Civil and Human Rights, opening in 2013 in Atlanta; Canyon Ranch Miami Beach; the Dolby Theatre, Los Angeles; Nobu restaurants worldwide; set design for Broadway’s Hairspray and Catch Me If You Can; and the Imagination Playground initiative. For more information, please visit www.rockwellgroup.com and www.facebook.com/RockwellGroup. ###