“Play is the highest form of research,” said Albert Einstein, aptly describing the aim of action-oriented learning: to playfully awaken creativity, open up new perspectives, and thus enable discovery-based learning.
In this spirit, on July 17th and 18th, 2025, educational professionals from Brandenburg and Berlin immersed themselves in the world of play together in the jumblr practical training course “Discovering Play Spaces.”
Discovering play spaces together
Paper airplanes competed with AI-generated images, classic board games met innovative game ideas: in the collaborative project between lmb and wannseeFORUM, participants experienced a diverse program that gradually transformed them from participants into active contributors . The games presented ranged from short warm-up games and card games to complex gameplay. Whether indoors, outdoors, or digitally, all types of games were not only presented but, above all, tried out – and the question was always present: How can these approaches be directly implemented in (media) education work with young people?
Day 1: Input and Inspiration
The first day focused on presentations by Annette Ullrich (wannseeFORUM) and Isgard Walla (lmb eV): on the one hand, on the general learning potential of games and the "rules" that determine a game; on the other hand, on digital game formats such as jumblr-Tours, a game app for youth work in Brandenburg that enables a playful exploration of topics such as sustainability or artificial intelligence. This was complemented by playful forms of experimenting with and reflecting on AI at the wannseeFORUM.
Day 2: Exchange and collaborative learning
The second day, held in a Barcamp format, focused on peer exchange and playful learning from one another. A digital companion pad documented all the games and methods, allowing the content to be used beyond the workshop. The mix of active methods, practical exercises, and open discussion and reflection ensured that all participants left with a wealth of methodological tools and renewed motivation.
reflecting on games as learning tools
In extracurricular cultural and political youth education, free play and playful methods play a central role. Whether in analog form – such as card or board games – or in digital game formats, they open up access to learning objectives such as team building, inspiration for creative work, action-oriented experimentation, and knowledge transfer – always combined with fun. Therefore, specific applications in practical educational work were discussed .
Freedoms and rules
Play creates space for diverse forms of learning, fostering creativity and opening up new perspectives. At the same time, games provide a framework of clear rules, the adherence to and reflection of which can be understood not only within the game itself, but also as a metaphor for social processes and individual responsibility.
Game development itself can also become a method for engaging with the content. For example, games developed by young people were able to be tested at the wannseeFORUM. Possibilities for game development workshops for young people were also discussed.
Continue playing
Continue playing
With such a wide range of games and their associated learning opportunities, time flew by and the desire for further training on the topic grew, because "Playing is an activity that can never be taken seriously enough." (Jacques-Yves Cousteau)
