I’m heading to the United Nations for a convening on games and the Sustainable Development Goals with Games for Change. My brief talk tomorrow will advocate for “Low-Tech Beyond Our Walls.” My pitch is that all cities and towns should be able to make their own games for engagement in public space. The vision is […]
Video and learning guide for public libraries with WebJunction
We are proud to release the video recording of our lecture for librarians on “Engaging Beyond Our Walls: Libraries connecting communities through outdoor games and stories.” More than 900 librarians signed up for the original event on Sept. 26 hosted by WebJunction, and thousands more are expected to watch as part of professional development. We […]
A Visit with the Local Designers: Spencer County, Kentucky’s Playful Challenge to Survive 1824
For this story we flew to Kentucky to interview the makers of an amazing story game that was created as part of our EBOW program (Engaging Beyond Our Walls). Written by Eric Schoenborn, a PhD student researcher at American University. In July 2024, I visited our EBOW partners in Spencer County, Kentucky. I got a […]
A Visit with the Local Designers: Brookings, South Dakota (and Wilmot!)
For this story we flew to South Dakota to interview the makers of an amazing story game that was created as part of our EBOW program (Engaging Beyond Our Walls). Written by Eric Schoenborn, a PhD student researcher at American University. It was said When Wilmot Brookings, the namesake of South Dakota’s fourth largest city, […]
Webinar with WebJunction/OCLC on “Engaging Beyond Our Walls”
Register to join us on September 26th, 2024, at 3pm ET for a webinar with WebJunction — one of the largest hubs for library practitioners. This is a new effort to share our findings from the EBOW Project: Engaging Beyond Our Walls. Tens of thousands of libraries rely on WebJunction for resources and professional development […]
Join us at Games for Change 2024
This month at the Games for Change Festival in NYC, we will be giving a talk and hosting a birds-of-a-feather around “Playful Cities – neighborhood games and interactive stories” — especially with libraries and cultural institutions. June 27-28, 2024. (1) Featured talk: “59 Cities with History” Benjamin Stokes will give our talk on “59 Cities […]
Peabody Awards: Broadening Recognition
Last week included a historic night on the stage at the Peabody Awards — and for the field of interactive! In brief, I flew out to LA on June 9 to attend the red carpet award show. I was there as a member of the jury, and specifically the Interactive Board. Here we are pictured: […]
MET Fest and Youth Gamers: Creating Wider Trajectories at the Local Level
On June 1st of 2024, I was proud to join with thousands of youth gamers at the Mystics home stadium in Washington, DC. It was the launch of MET Fest, a new event backed by the city. High school fans and families turned out for open game play, Esports tournaments, industry, college programs with scholarships […]
Coverage from PLA: Outreach and building community
This nice write-up of our PLA session last month by Jason Wieder was published in Public Libraries Online: A Publication of the Public Library Association: “The 2024 Public Library Conference was the experience of a lifetime. Along with the opportunity to network with peers, I met my library hero, Mychal Threets. I also attended several […]
Museum presentation at AAM with Smithsonian and DC Public Library
We presented in Baltimore on May 17, 2024, at the American Alliance of Museums (AAM)’s annual meeting. AAM’s Annual Meeting & MuseumExpo brings together museums of all types and sizes—from art and history museums to zoos and botanic gardens—to share ideas and make connections that are transformative. Our talk was on “Remembering in a Gentrifying […]