
ChildFund will share the toy collection from around the world in major U.S. locations including:
Where we'll be
- Oct. 4, 2011-Feb. 26, 2012
- Providence Children's Museum
- Providence, RI Learn More
View Providence Children's Museum Blog
Where we've been
- Idaho State Historical Museum
- Boise, ID
- New World Stages
- New York, NY
- Denver Press Club
- Denver, CO
- Children's Museum
- Boston, MA
- Page Bond Gallery
- Richmond, VA
- National Press Club
- Washington, DC
- Museum of Tolerance
- Los Angeles, CA
- The Breman Museum
- Atlanta, GA
2011-09-28
Providence Children’s Museum in Rhode Island is the latest stop for ChildFund’s traveling exhibit, The Power to Play: From Trash to Treasure. From Oct. 4, 2011 through Feb. 26, 2012, visitors to the museum can discover how children from developing countries create playthings from the little they have on hand: a doll from leaves, a guitar from cardboard, a ball from discarded plastic bags.
Says ChildFund President and CEO Anne Lynam Goddard, “The toys they made offer dramatic proof that – through it all – children can retain their sense of wonder, their desire to play, their indomitable spirit and their ability to imagine and create…if they are given the support they need.”
What better place to see toys made by children from around the world than at a children’s museum?
Creativity and passion
ChildFund International has long recognized that play is essential to the healthy development of children. Play helps them discover and explore, solve problems and test new ideas. Through play, children experience friendship, cooperation and teamwork.
The self-confidence and enthusiasm built through the power of play will transition with children into their adulthood, helping them become leaders of enduring change.
In celebration of our 70-year history of helping children, we communicate their strength, fervor and imagination with 350 hand-crafted toys in an exhibition entitled,
The Power to Play: from Trash to Treasure
Children from around the world have contributed to this collection. Some toys are unique to their place of origin. Others tell the story of social, economic or political conditions in which these children often find themselves in the middle.
And some are as universal as a soccer ball or kite, connecting children across all three regions via similarities in their type of play and crafting techniques.
Whether it's a toy boat from an old flip flop or a truck from an empty spray can, children have a remarkable power to create and play.
A showcase of the collection will be traveling to major museums and other locations across the United States. To ensure the toys arrive safely at each of their destinations, ChildFund is partnering with UPS for shipping.
Our traveling exhibition will enable thousands of people to appreciate the resourcefulness of the children who created each toy and to understand how important for a child's development is "The Power to Play."
Click on the links below to read children's stories about their toys and how they are made and click on the videos to learn more about the exhibition and the making of the toys.
Warsito and Ade
Central Java, Indonesia

My name is Warsito and I am the youngest in my family. I am 13-years-old and studying the fifth grade in elementary school. One of my favorite activities after school is playing "egrang" (stilts) with my friends.
Read moreAdriana, Nollan and Tyrel
Mexico, Honduras, Dominica

In my community we make toys out of recycled materials such as plastic, wood, metal bottle caps, strings or rope and work with hammers and nails.
Read moreArdyan and Yudis
Central Java, Indonesia

With coloring items, vibrant string, some paper and bamboo, 12-year-old Ardyan successfully crafts one of his favorite toys: a kite.
Read more"The Power to Play" - By Eric Severson
YouTube

Eric Severson was insprired to write a song about ChildFund's Power to Play program. Enjoy this music video!
Power to Play : Asia Slideshow
YouTube

Children who are deprived, excluded and vulnerable have an amazing ability to face adversity with creativity and passion...
Power to Play : Africa Slideshow
YouTube

...That resiliency is reflected in an exhibition of handcrafted toys by children from around the world...
Power to Play : Americas Slideshow
YouTube

...Experience ChildFund's "Power to Play"