“Sense of place.” What does this mean? Putting it simply, it can refer to a meaning attributed to a place as influenced by our interactions with it. We, in partnership with Learning and Engagement at deCordova, have been thinking and collecting observations of the children as they make this unique museum and sculpture park a place to call their own. We’ve spoken about how we’ve observed the children drawn to those “spaces in between”, the taken for granted elements of this environment that hold interest for the children.
We’ve also discovered however, that a particular “place” holds strong in the hearts of the children in Studio Purple.
“It’s where we play Cheetahs. That’s where there are lots of acorns.” -Spencer
“It’s at the tunnels…” -Eleanor
“Where we go up the building and where we’re down and the tunnels are up.” -Madeline P.R.
“We go up the stairs and then down the other stairs and then it’s a really long staircase so at the end of the stairs at the little circle space and there’s a bench.” -Eleanor
