Kathy Hirsh‐Pasek is the Stanley and Debra Lefkowitz Faculty Fellow in the Department of Psychology at Temple University and a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution. Her research examines the development of early language and literacy as well as the role of play in learning. With her long-term collaborator, Roberta Golinkoff, she is author of 17 books and 250+ publications, she is the recipient of the American Psychological Association’s Bronfenbrenner Award, the American Psychological Association’s Award for Distinguished Service to Psychological Science, the Association for Psychological Science James McKeen Cattell Award, the Society for Research in Child Development, Distinguished Scientific Contributions to Child Development Award, the APA Distinguished Lecturer Award, the Kay Lokoff Yellow Rose Award as a national advocate for young children, and the Association of Children’s Museums Great Friend to Kids award in 2023.

Dr. Roberta Michnick Golinkoff is the Unidel H. Rodney Sharp Chair and professor in the School of Education at the University of Delaware. She also holds joint appointments in the Departments of Psychological and Brain Sciences and Linguistics and Cognitive Science. Dr. Golinkoff is also founder and director of the Child’s Play, Learning, and Development Lab. Dr. Golinkoff also co-founded the Ultimate Block Party movement to celebrate the science of learning. The first event (2010) in Central Park in New York City attracted over 50,000 people, and subsequent Block Parties were held in Baltimore, MD, Toronto, CA, and Norwalk, CT. Dr. Golinkoff also co-founded Playful Learning Landscapes to transform cities into playful learning centers for children to prepare them for success in a global world. These installations marry the science of learning with architectural design. From supermarkets to parks to laundromats, learning science is made to come alive.