For the better part of this year, the Children’s Museum of Oak Lawn has offered more than exhibits for its young attendees.
Since January, Executive Director Adam Woodworth says the nonprofit museum has been offering Wee Ones Wednesdays, a one-hour opportunity for young children up to age 3 to play among other children.
The impetus came after the museum reopened in January, and Woodworth said parents of children 12 to 18 months were saying their child had never played with other children or gone on regular outings.
“What we found after the very first session is that parents are talking to one another and it’s become a support system for them,” Woodworth said. “Parents have made friends here.”
He heard parents ask each other about when their young children first started talking and other developmental milestones. He figured the museum could offer professional advice, something a little more trustworthy than Google but with the same sort of general information the internet might provide.
Woodworth is introducing children’s therapists into the mix monthly to hang around the museum and informally answer any questions parents might have about childhood development.
The new addition to the 8:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. Wednesday time slot is part of a partnership between the museum and Imagine Pediatric Therapy, which offers occupational, physical and speech language therapy for children.
Children’s museums have long been resources for parents and children, though the museums are still relatively new features in many communities. Many museums are only a few decades old — the Oak Lawn museum turns 20 next year — but child development experts see them as a place for both play and education.
In a study of the Children’s Museum of Manhattan, three researchers wrote “the results indicated that unstructured free play with peers provides a unique and rich learning opportunity for an important but frequently overlooked aspect of school readiness: developing both the language and social skills that constitute social competence in the classroom.”
Woodworth said very young children, the 3 and under set, don’t play with each other so much as they play near each other. He called it parallel play. Children learn social cues and rules by observing, so being near other kids their same age is important.
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He said because many very small children didn’t play around anyone last year, some parents had developmental concerns.
“We thought, why not partner with some professionals like occupational therapists, behavioral therapists and those types of folks,” Woodworth said.
The museum decided to bring in a professional from time to time, perhaps monthly or twice a month.
“We’ll have a physical therapist in the building to talk about your child’s physical development or maybe a speech therapist to come and talk about where your child should be in speech at this point,” he said.
The events aren’t intended to be formal lectures or presentations. Rather, a therapist will roam the building and answer parents’ questions one-on-one.
So far, it’s been a hit among parents and caregivers. Mary Kay Baldridge stopped by with her granddaughter, Molly O’Conner, this past Wednesday. They’ve been coming for months and she said her granddaughter always has a good time.
“She can run around here,” Baldridge said. “It’s a nice distraction.”
Carrie Matkaitis was also at the museum with her daughter, Maeve. She said she’s watched her daughter learn to share and other valuable lessons at a time when, due to the pandemic, options had been limited.
“It’s been a nice place to go since the pandemic started,” she said. “It’s nice here because it doesn’t overstimulate her and they keep it very clean.”
With the professional therapists now on board, now parents can learn a few things, too.
“It’s good because my daughter had a couple of questions about Molly’s talking in sentences, but she’s on the right track,” Baldridge said.
Woodworth said he’s excited to offer additional resources to Oak Lawn parents.
“Being able to partner with Imagine is amazing for us,” he said. “It’s a big deal because it gets us started on the right foot. And were offering something to families we couldn’t offer before.”
The hourlong event is $5 a person and children 1 and under are free. So far, the Wednesday morning event has drawn crowds of up to 60 people.
“It’s been humbling to see it grow and its humbling to see people come back week after week,” Woodworth said.
While the Wee Ones Wednesday is every Wednesday morning, Woodworth suggests parents consult the museum’s website, cmoaklawn.org, to see if therapists will be available at any given event. He also urges parents to register for the any Wee Ones Wednesday they plan to attend as the museum does have capacity restrictions due to COVID-19.
The museum also offers monthly sensory friendly nights and therapists to work with children and young adults dealing with autism, behavior issues and disabilities available. Those are from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. the second Wednesday of the month and $7 per person.
Jesse Wright is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.