Urban Thinkscape Watch video

Transform a public space in your community into a joyful learning opportunity.

Urban Thinkscape is a project of Playful Learning Landscapes that groups 3 low-cost activities together to generate high-quality interactions between children and caregivers in an urban environment. Playful Learning Landscapes provides 4 templates that communities can choose from to develop their set of 3 urban activities (Puzzle Wall, Jumping Feet, Giant Ruler, Analogy Stepping Stones). Commun...

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Urban Thinkscape is a project of Playful Learning Landscapes that groups 3 low-cost activities together to generate high-quality interact...

Read more

Join the communities already benefitting from starting a Urban Thinkscape

You'll get guides and resources on how to bring this idea to life.

There is no funding available for this idea in France, but these resources will still help to make your project happen!

Not in France? Change your region
Start an Urban Thinkscape

"Our community was looking at how to help children build their math, literacy and science, then how do we tie these pieces together to help them with their education? Urban Thinkscape holds the promise of giving them a fair shake. This project was...

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Urban Thinkscape
Bettye Ferguson
President / CEO of Belmont Alliance Civic Association PA

How to start a project on ChangeX

  • 1

    Create your project page

    Click the green start button to register and set up your project page. It’s quick, free and easy.

  • 2

    Complete a 30 Day Challenge

    Complete simple steps in 30 days to get your project off the ground.

  • 3

    Activate your project

    Follow the 5 Step Guide and your action plan to bring the project to life.

  • 4

    Share impact

    Share impact by posting a summary and photos and completing a survey.

Great for

  • Someone who is passionate about playful learning
  • Someone who is excited about the opportunity of using public space to create playful learning opportunities
  • Someone with experience of starting / managing a community project

Urban Thinkscape project essentials

5 Step Guide

  • Start with an idea and a site for creating joyful learning experiences for a community
  • Identify partners and build a team
  • Plan for needs
  • Communicate with the broader community
  • Launch your Urban Thinkscape

Time

Suggested: You'll need to dedicate a half day per week to getting the project up and running in your community.

Resources

More information on how to get started and any resources shared by the Urban Thinkscape

321 Urban Thinkscape projects have already been started

See where

Meet the Social Innovator

Welcome to Playful Learning Landscapes Action Network on ChangeX! It’s time to reimagine how the ordinary can become extraordinary. Imagine a supermarket that doubles as a children’s museum, a bus stop outfitted with puzzle walls and cognitive games, or a human-sized board game where children intuitively solve math problems. Find out here how you can create playful learning in your communities.

Dr. Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, Founder of Playful Learning Landscapes

321 Urban Thinkscape projects have already been started

See where

Members

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Why a 30 day challenge?

    The 30 Day Challenge was developed by our Team based on our experience working with communities. We’ve learned that the first weeks are critical to build momentum and get off to a good start with any community project. Teams who complete these steps within the first month are much more likely to successfully complete their project!

    The Challenge is a series of simple steps that each applicant has to complete to get their project off the ground and unlock funding, if there is funding currently available for that idea in your region. Steps include watching a video and/or reading content, having a call with a ChangeX team member, forming a team so that you have support, having your first team meeting, sharing a team photo, and sharing a project action plan.

  • What can funding be used for?

    Once funding is received it can be used to cover direct set-up costs of the new community project. For example space rental, insurance fees, seeds and planting materials, tools, training fees; pretty much any materials you might need for a project that benefits your community.

    Funds cannot be used for the costs of work that has already been carried out, costs unrelated to the setup and maintenance of the new project, payments to group members for their work on the project. Funds can’t be used for the promotion of religious causes, non-charitable activities, sponsorship or fundraising events. Please read the terms and conditions for further details.

  • How do I know if there is funding available?

    On idea pages, if there is funding available for the idea in your region you will see “Funding available” and the region listed in the turquoise box. When you first login you will also see a green banner at the top of the screen saying “live funds near you” if there is funding available in your region. The ChangeX homepage will feature those live funds near you.

    A note on the waitlist: when all the funding has been allocated to applicants, new applicants will go on a waitlist. If some applicants that are in the fund don’t successfully complete the 30 Day Challenge their funding will be released and can be then allocated to those on the waitlist. To see if you are going on a waitlist check the main fund page, ideas fully allocated will have the note “Join the waitlist” instead of “Apply to start”.

  • What is ChangeX?

    ChangeX is a platform that connects communities to proven ideas and funding.

    By empowering local changemakers with proven ideas from social innovators and accessible funding from our partners, we aim to build healthier, more inclusive and sustainable communities. Our work is aligned to the UN Sustainable Development Goals and together with our partners, we aim to impact 1 billion people globally by 2030.

    • Communities: Get the funding, resources and support you need to start impactful projects in your community.
    • Social innovators: Connect with local changemakers, access funding to scale your idea, and impact more communities globally.
    • Funders: Fund the themes and regions they care most about, with measurable impact, and at global scale.

    We believe that by bringing the best social innovations and the world’s changemakers together in a shared community, we can accelerate the spread of innovations across the world and have a bigger impact. Together we aim to unleash the potential of changemakers by enabling collaboration, by sharing knowledge and resources, by connecting changemakers across different disciplines and innovations and by opening up access to the world’s best proven social innovations to everyone.

Other ideas in the Nickelodeon Our World US Community Fund

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    From launching your garden committee to hosting a school-wide ‘dig day’, learn how to start a school garden for education, eating, and fun.

  • Open Orchard

    Organise an Open Orchard to bring people together, provide free fruit to local residents and green our urban environments.

  • Recycle Across America

    Start recycling right with standardized recycling labels for your school that will help you to improve recycling and save your school money.

  • Neighborhood Forest

    Growing the Indoor Forest – Building, Sharing, and Caring for Indoor Plants

Start an Urban Thinkscape
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