Pulling The Thread with Elise Loehnen Remembering How to Play—Even When We're All Grown-Up (Cas Holman)
Mar 12, 2026
Cas Holman, a world-renowned designer of playful learning and creator of Rigamajig, explores how play supports communities, resilience, and civic action. She discusses prototyping public play, designing environments that encourage collaboration and sharing, and ways adults can reclaim age-appropriate play through craft, tinkering, and small norm disruptions.
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Adults Already Play If They Remember How
- Adults do play, but often need help remembering how to access that playful mindset.
- Cas Holman shifted focus from designing objects to shifting adult mindsets because mindset, not a product, often enables adult play.
Play As Daily Sustenance In Crisis
- Play sustains communities during prolonged crises by creating routine interactions and small joys.
- Holman describes New Yorkers braving cold and snow to go to museums or play in parks as resilience through play.
Teach Evolving Ownership With Framing And Language
- Resist making everything perfect or abundant; design for shared use and evolution.
- Posters and parental language can teach kids to let creations evolve and to add to others' builds without claiming sole ownership.
