Conference Presenter: Linda Stanek

Making Learning Fun

Kids today are a new breed. They’ve been called “digital natives” because they have grown up in a digital world. They learn differently, socialize differently, and connect with the world differently than previous generations. In our presentation, Jen and I will share with you new research that shows that puzzles (think crosswords and more) are an effective way to reach and teach this generation, as well as older generations. 

“People of all eras, all cultures, and all kinds of educational backgrounds have made and solved puzzles,” says Marcel Danesi, author of The Puzzle Instinct. Now, research shows that the disfluency of puzzles, as well as the emotional response people have to them, actually promotes the processing of information into long-term memory. In addition to learning about the scientific research, we’ll walk you through the puzzle making process, so that you will leave with a puzzle for your institution, and the ability to make more of them later.

At 1:30-3:00 on Monday, February 20^th, we (children’s authors and puzzle specialists, Jen Funk Weber and Linda Stanek) will present Make It Fun! Creating and Using Puzzles to Engage, Teach, and Reinforce the Learning of Your Visitors where we’ll explore this research and how you can harness the power of puzzles to further the mission of your museum. Hope to see you there!