Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and Boston Children’s Museum to Host Mini Ultimate Block Party, Early Learning Panel Discussion

WHAT:

The “Mini Ultimate Block Party,” hosted by global learning company Houghton
Mifflin Harcourt (HMH) and Boston
Children’s Museum,
is a free hands-on play festival for
children ages 2+ and their families, featuring activity stations
based on playful learning concepts and
designed to
demonstrate engaged early childhood education. Children can:

— Play “Simon Says” with Meagan Fuller, Miss Massachusetts 2015

— Have fun with characters like Curious George, the Man
with the Yellow Hat, and Curiosityville’s Pablo

— Build a personal play environment in the Imagination Playground
from play advocacy organization KaBOOM!

— Make music by joining a drumming circle led by music education
project Grooversity

Every activity at the Mini Ultimate Block Party will be rooted in
the science of how children learn, touching on language and
literacy, mathematics,
creative expression and 21^st
century skills. Each station will demonstrate the science behind
play at home, in school or in the community in order
to show
how simple and fun it is to create meaningful education
experiences for your child each day.

Following the Block Party, HMH and the Museum will host a
discussion on the importance of learning through play featuring a
panel of experts
? researchers, academics, practitioners ?
who will explore the impact of play on the developing child.

WHO:

— Susan Magsamen, SVP of Early Learning at Houghton
Mifflin Harcourt

— Anna Housley Juster, Senior Director of Child
Development & Community Engagement at Boston Children’s Museum

— Roberta Golinkoff, H. Rodney Sharp Chair in the School
of Education at the University of Delaware

— Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, Professor of Psychology at Temple
University and Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution

WHEN:

— 2:00 p.m. ? 5:00 p.m. ET: Mini Ultimate Block Party

— 3:30 p.m. ? 3:45 p.m. ET: “Simon Says” with Meagan
Fuller, Miss Massachusetts 2015 (available for comment)

— 4:00 p.m. ? 6:00 p.m. ET: Conversations in Early
Learning (expert panel discussion)

If you are interested in covering the Block Party, attending
the panel and/or speaking with one of our playful learning
experts, please
contact Leah Riviere at leah.riviere@hmhco.com.

WHERE: