Art and Play: A Photographic Exhibition
Friday 25th October, Sunday 3rd November
Ellen Melville Centre
This multi-media window installation invites passersby to experience the creativity of loose parts play as seen through the eyes of school children.
The Urban Room in conversation with Tim Gill – Urban Playground
Friday 25th October 8.45am-10am
Online
Join The Urban Room in conversation with Tim Gill, author of Urban Playground: How child-friendly planning and design can save cities.
Out and About - Pop Up Play
Saturday 26th October, 10am-1pm
Myers Park
Head a long to Myers Park and have a go at one of the games and activities on offer by the Pop-up Play team. The team encourages people of all ages and abilities to have a go, improve their skills and have fun.
Play in the Square – Te Komititanga
Sunday 27th October, 10am-3pm
Te Komititanga Square
Head to Te Komititanga Square for a full day of outdoor play activities for all ages. Jump into the mini-soccer Hunger ball arena, stretch your imagination with the expansive loose parts playground, sit down with the folks from The Open Fort at their Play Cafe.
Street Games Design Workshop
Tuesday 29th October, 6-9pm
Silo Park
Join the game designers from The Open Fort for this one-off special event inside Silo 6 in the Wynyard Quarter. Aimed at families and adults, they will take you through a fun game design process – designing, prototyping, playtesting and playing imaginative outdoor games using their giant kit of game props.
Mahjong
Wednesday 30th October, 11:30am-1:30pm and 6-9pm
Freyberg Square/ Ellen Melville Centre
Come learn Mahjong with the 1-Missing 3-Lonely Wobbly Table Mahjong Club! The friendly & experienced teachers will take players of all ages through the basics and teach some tips and tricks to experienced players.
Play Urban Design Workshop
Wednesday 30th October, Time 4.30pm - 7pm
Isthmus Office Queen St
Get your creativity flowing and join this open studio workshop with interactive engagements to explore, test and consider with what a Playfull City could look like. The event will be bookended with Pecha Kucha talks from 4 innovators working in this space towards creating a Playful City here in Tāmaki Makaurau
Auckland Conversations
Thursday 31st October, 5.30pm - 7.30pm
Aotea Centre
Play is essential for tamariki wellbeing, and playful environments are welcoming and joyful spaces for everybody – but play hasn’t always been at the top of the list of considerations when designing urban spaces, or when thinking more generally about what makes a city a good place to live, work, and visit.
Dungeons & Dragons
Friday 1st November, 11:30-1:30pm and 6-9pm
Freyberg Square/ Ellen Melville Centre
Ever want to delve into the realm of your imagination, escape the office and be the hero for a change? Come experience what the fuss is all about and join in a game session with the master storytellers from Questbook.
Mas-wrestling
Friday 1st November, 11:30-1:30pm
Freyberg Square
A member of the Kazakh community will bring a Mas-wrestling stick to EMC and demonstrate how this traditional sport is played. Mas-wrestling is a strength-based sport where competitors pull on a wooden stick to try and unbalance their opponent.
Play in the Square
Saturday 2nd November, 10am-3pm
Aotea Square
Taking over Aotea Square for a full day of outdoor play activities for all ages. Jump into the mini-soccer Hungerball arena and test your skills in this fast-paced communal game of frantic footwork. Stretch your imagination with the expansive loose parts playground from Junky Monkeys and Conscious Kids. Sit down with the folks from The Open Fort at their Play Cafe and make some new friends while playing games, running around on some secret treasure hunts or buzzing as bees in their giant Bee Garden game.
Out and About
Sunday 3rd November, 10am-2pm
Myers Park
Finish off play week by exploring Myers Park for a play session focused on nature and the environment delivered by the Conscious Kids team
The Auckland city centre Play Week programme is supported by Auckland Council and the city centre targeted rate, and all activities and events are free to attend.
