A Day of Play: Shaping Their Start in Victoria

Join us for a free family celebration of play, learning and kinder at the State Library Victoria. Stay and play for minutes, or hours.

A Day of Play: Shaping Their Start in Victoria is a free family event celebrating the power of play in early childhood education.

Hosted indoors at State Library Victoria, this colourful, hands-on activation invites children and families to explore how play helps shape the start of a child’s life, building important skills like communication, creativity, confidence, problem-solving, coordination and social connection.

Whether your child is already in kinder, starting soon, or you’re simply curious about early learning, this event is a fun and engaging way to experience how kinder helps children learn through play.

Through fun activities for children aged 2 to 5, families will see how two years of kinder can shape children’s learning for life, building strong cognitive, social and emotional foundations through expert-led, play-based learning at no cost to families.

Why play matters

Play is how young children learn about themselves, others and the world around them.

At Kinder, qualified early childhood teachers and educators use play-based learning to help children build the skills they carry into life, from language, confidence and creativity to social connection, early literacy and numeracy, problem-solving and emotional regulation.

A Day of Play will help families see this learning in action, showing how two years of Free Kinder can support every child’s learning journey and build a strong foundation for life.

See here for more information about Free Kinder.

What to expect

Designed as a free, all-day drop-in experience, families and children can explore a range of play-based activities together and discover how everyday moments of play support children's learning and development.

Activities may include:

🎨 Play Mural Station: Children can add their own drawing, question or idea to a growing collaborative mural, creating a colourful celebration of creativity and play.

💭 Create Station: Children and adults can experiment with creating shapes and structures with an array of materials

🌈 Parachute Station: Educator-led activities using a colourful parachute will encourage movement, coordination, turn-taking and teamwork.

🔎 Little Scientists Investigation Table: Children can explore materials using magnifying glasses encouraging observation and early problem-solving.

Photography and filming

Photography and videography may take place at the event.

As part of registration, attendees will be asked to complete photography/videography consent and waiver forms through the event Terms and Conditions. Children with completed consent forms will receive a wristband on the day so they can be easily identifiable.

For families who attend without pre-registering, staff will collect photography consent and waiver forms on arrival before participants access the activation.

Accessibility

State Library Victoria is a family-friendly venue with accessible facilities. More information about accessibility at the venue can be found on the State Library Victoria website.