DOUBLE TAP TO ZOOM WITH PHONE OR TABLET There are many ways to incorporate plants, water, natural light, and fresh air into your building. Outside, the landscaping on your playground should get as much attention as the equipment and toys you place there. Provoke Wonder, Curiosity, and Intellectual Challenge Do you recall the thrill of discovering a rainbow you created while out- side playing with the garden hose? Or trying to find the source of a musi- cal sound that caught your attention when a light wind stirred the air? Children are intensely fascinated with the physical world and how it works. You can simultaneously honor childhood and promote a love of learning by adding a wide range of engaging attractions and discoveries to your environment. This is especially effective when you include materials that provoke a sense of mystery and wonder so children become curious and intellectually engaged with objects in the world and what can be learned by manipulating them. Examples include items that play with light and its relationship to color, or pieces that reflect, sparkle, spin, make sounds, and move or are otherwise transformed by moving air. You can use natural light, air, projectors, and other simple technology to build these features into your environment. Consider various ways to discover and explore the wonder of colors. Give children opportunities to dismantle and study the parts of bro- ken appliances and technology, help with bicycle repairs, and use real tools to build things they see in books, on the web, or have drawn themselves. Children also love finding treasures—shells, feathers, rocks, coins, keys, flashlights, baubles, and beads. Rotate a supply of these and other intrigu- ing objects in attractive baskets and boxes or as curiosities on a table or low shelf-top mirrors. Create nooks where you can place rocks that glitter or Cutting off the plugs and removing any dangerous components, this center regularly offers children a variety of old technology and appliances to explore and study. The children are taught safety guidelines and invited to share their discoveries and questions. Children’s Studio, Bellevue, WA 26  [   Chapter 1 COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL