The National Institute for Play is a 501c(3) non-profit public benefit corporation committed to bringing the unrealized knowledge, practices and benefits of play into public life.

We envision a near term future where all existing scientific research related to human play — currently scattered across a range of scientific disciplines and only partially identified as human-play-related — is integrated and the field of Human Play is a credentialed discipline in the scientific community.

The NIFP is following what nature wants us to know about play. We are looking to what the biological, social and physical sciences can tell us, so we can help unlock the transforming power of play.

Play is the gateway to vitality. By its nature it is uniquely and intrinsically rewarding. It generates optimism, seeks out novelty, makes perseverance fun, leads to mastery, gives the immune system a bounce, fosters empathy and promotes a sense of belonging and community.

Help support our efforts towards scientific research related to human play. Your investment in the National Institute for Play will move us closer to the day that the field of Human Play is a credentialed discipline in the scientific community. We envision a future in which the science of Human play enables individuals, parents, teachers, leaders, and organizations to harness the power of play to create transformational differences in their individual, family, school and organizational lives. A future in which school systems have used the knowledge of play to topple the current morass in K-12 education and a future in which public and private sector leaders have used play practices to reform organizational policies and create organizations capable of producing innovative products and services.