The Play Make Learn (PML) Annual Conference is a place for collaboration and discovery in the design, research and practice of playful learning, games for learning and positive social impact, making and makerspaces, STEAM education, research/practitioner partnerships, and arts in education (formal and informal spaces). PML creates an inspirational space for preK-12 educators, designers, developers, innovators, librarians, museum professionals, makers, and researchers to tinker together, share knowledge, and celebrate one another’s work.
The PML 2025 Conference will be held August 21st & August 22nd, at the Memorial Union (800 Langdon St.) in Madison, WI. For the first time ever, Play Make Learn will have a conference theme to bring together the work of all of the communities that come together for the conference. The 2025 Play Make Learn Conference theme is:
Innovations in educational design and play-based learning often emerge from moments of critical reflection, experimentation, and creative risk-taking. By embracing the processes of breaking and mending, we can foster enhanced inclusivity, deeper relevance in teaching and learning practices, and greater belonging in educational spaces. This year’s conference theme invites educators, researchers, scholars, librarians, and practitioners to critically examine the acts of breaking and mending as pathways to systemic transformation, resilience, and creative growth. Whether through playful experimentation, critical deconstruction, or thoughtful rebuilding, we explore how “messiness” can lead to meaningful change and stronger, more human-centered learning environments.
Play Make Learn is hosted by the UW-Madison School of Education’s Department of Curriculum and Instruction and the office of Professional Learning and Community Education (PLACE). This partnership was made possible by the generosity of the School of Education’s Impact 2030 Initiative. The conference is also sponsored by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, and is made possible in part by funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
News
2025 Conference Registration & Pre-con Information Available
Registration is open NOW for the 2025 Play Make Learn Conference (PML)! PML aspires to foster a learning community that has a diversity of perspectives and practices. Are you a first-time participant, young person, or practitioner considering attending Play Make Learn, and need additional support? Reach out to our planning team at: conferences@education.wisc.edu.
Visit our website here to register!
For anyone who submitted a presentation proposal: notifications about will be sent out in April 2025.
If you have any other questions, feel free to email Chris Baker, Public Library Consultant with the DPI Library Services Team at Chris.Baker@dpi.wi.gov.
Wisconsin Connections
Wisconsin is fortunate to be a growing hub for these topics and resources. Here is a short list of some free example resources. Find or share more in WISELearn Resources.
Field Day
Our design and research lab at UW-Madison creates and studies games. All of the games we create are free to play.
- Our collection of games covers a range of subject areas and grade levels. Play them here.
- Join a Field Day Fellowship to help co-design a new game or work with other educators to develop strategies for using our current games with students.
- Learn about the research Field Day is doing to better understand how games can be used for teaching and learning.
- Read about Headlines and High Water, which won two awards as part of the Games For Change Festival.
- More at fielddaylab.org!
Filament Games
Filament's mission is to "create playful experiences that improve people's lives." Although most of their content has a cost, free resources include::
- Explore iCivics - a suite of games for inspiring and learning about civics.
- Play Robot Champions on Roblox, a game that teaches engineering and robotics concepts.
- Check out the Hero Elementary games made in collaboration with Twin Cities Public Television, featuring STEM-based learning adventures.
- Check out the Smithsonian Science Education Center Game Collection, featuring select games from Filament.
- Find resource roundups - like this one on game-based learning and STEM - on their blog.