On March 9th 2026, a group of fathers from Hutchinson Correctional Facility had a chance to meet their children outside prison walls through the Kansas Children’s Discovery Center Mobile Play Free program, giving children and their fathers a safe space to connect and spend meaningful time together. During this three-hour visit, what was an empty building on the Kansas State Fairgrounds came to life with hands-on play experiences that gave children and dads the chance to laugh, bond, and create lasting memories.

Play Free is a play-based education program for children and their incarcerated parents, and in some cases, grandparents. The program creates child-centered opportunities for families to connect both at the museum and in community settings through the Discovery Center’s Mobile Museum. Play Free began in 2018 in partnership with Topeka Correctional Facility, inviting mothers to visit the museum with their children for a full day of playful learning. In 2024, the program expanded to serve fathers and juvenile parents across the state of Kansas.

More than five million U.S. children have had at least one parent in prison. Research has linked having an incarcerated parent to a wide range of childhood health problems including asthma, depression, anxiety, acting-out behavior, grade retention, alcohol and drug abuse, and higher numbers of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). Prison-based programs frequently focus on building parenting skills, with comparatively few programs serving the children themselves and fewer still actively promoting bonds between children and their incarcerated parents (Murphey and Cooper, 2015).

A special thank you to Kansas Department of Corrections Information Officer David Thompson for beautifully capturing Mobile Play Free during our session with Hutchinson Correctional Facility.

The Play Free program, including its curriculum, materials, and data, is the proprietary work of the Kansas Children’s Discovery Center. Stories, language, or data may not be reproduced, used, or adapted without prior written permission. We welcome collaboration and are committed to supporting partners who wish to responsibly reference or adapt Play Free in their own communities. If you are interested in consulting, training, speaking, or requesting permission to use Play Free data or stories, please complete our request form.