






Cast your mind back, to those hazy summer days. Let your imagination push through the cobwebs in your mind. What pops from your hidden chamber of memories? Is it secret hiding places or mud pie creations, secret clubs you created or obstacle courses you designed, families of soft toys and dolls vying for the few measly pieces of clothing available, forts made from pillows, sofa cushions and sheets or dress up time as a doctor bandaging your poor broken teddy. Is there someone in particular, a parent or grandparent that you will forever remember as attached to a specific memory, maybe it's merely from the time they offered you, or an educational introduction to something that will now be forever attached to them in your memory ? These lists of fun times are endless, and while you ponder, take note of the smile on your face as memories and emotions flood to the forefront, memories of times when we were truly happy, engaged and present.

All of these fond memories of non-directed play have been valuable and powerful to you as you grew. Children induce meaning by collecting these rich interconnected experiences and add them to their growing bank of knowledge and understanding of how the world works. In children's museums exhibits are designed to create opportunities for emotional significant learning and provide environments that foster these encounters.

We all want the best for our children, we run from scheduled play date, to school, to camps, to afterschool activities in a frenzied desperation to stimulate and socialise our children, while trying to offer as much as we can afford, both monetarily and in terms of time. I live this life, I watch as my child grows and worry that in years to come I will look back with a sense of loss at all that I missed, concurrent to the thoughts of whether time spent with me would be more valuable than all these structured activities. But life is frantic, making it increasingly difficult to achieve a balance between work and personal life, which puts all the more emphasis on the benefits of taking a couple of hours to explore open ended play with your child, watching as they discover, create and simply become what they see in everyday life, all of this nurturing important family relationships and creating memories that can ease a troubled mom's heart.

The world changes so quickly, Sandyford being the prime example, so what of the future? What will it look like? Well now that Imaginosity is the ripe old age of 7, we can surely say that the future is bright! We are learning, growing, educating and engaging our community and its children in our own very special, distinctive and magical way. We will continue to watch children grow, learn and experience through our amazing exhibits and interactive imagination inspiring programming. We will strive to win even more awards, create wonderful partnerships and generate a greater understanding of the value and benefits of visiting this amazing educational facility. Above all we will strive to nurture children's imaginations and will, we have no doubt, become that memory that your child and mine will bring with them in a hidden box, in a cobwebbed corner of their mind. The box that helped them grow, discover and understand this crazy, fast paced world around them.