Vanderbilt University Hands-On Play Lab

07/08/2026

Want to do a week-long summer camp and research study at the JCC? Join Peer Partners Movie-Making Club and research study!  
 
The Hands-On Play Lab at Vanderbilt University is recruiting participants for a fun new study! Our study aims to understand more about how children’s social skills and peer relationships change as they work together towards a common goal.  
 
We are looking for children in 1st through 5th grade, or around 6-11 years old. The study would involve five 3-hour long sessions of a movie-making club where your child works with their peers to create a short film under the guidance of our trained lab members. The study would take place in the morning, and children would attend regular JCC camp programming in the afternoon! If you are interested in learning more about the study, please feel free to contact us at [email protected] or call (615) 343-1079

Full out our interest form here (link in bio as well!): https://redcap.vanderbilt.edu/surveys/?s=DF3YY7FNKX9A4PHC

07/08/2026

Want to do a week-long summer camp and research study at the JCC? Join Peer Partners Movie-Making Club and research study!

The Hands-On Play Lab at Vanderbilt University is recruiting participants for a fun new study! Our study aims to understand more about how children’s social skills and peer relationships change as they work together towards a common goal.

We are looking for children in 1st through 5th grade, or around 6-11 years old. The study would involve five 3-hour long sessions of a movie-making club where your child works with their peers to create a short film under the guidance of our trained lab members. The study would take place in the morning, and children would attend regular JCC camp programming in the afternoon! If you are interested in learning more about the study, please feel free to contact us at [email protected] or call (615) 343-1079.

Link to interest form:

05/29/2026

Drum up discovery in an exciting new study through Vanderbilt University! Your child will complete a few different activities, including drumming, while we safely measure their brain waves. Trained lab members will put a non-invasive cap on your child’s head that will allow us to examine underlying brain activity. Your child will receive 8 weeks of drumming lessons through Musical Bridges Music Therapy, which will begin after the first or second visit to the lab. We are looking for participants between the ages of 7 and 12 that have been diagnosed with Down syndrome. If your child meets these requirements and you are interested in learning more about the study, please fill out this interest form and we will contact you with more information! https://redcap.link/3ijlo3jt

Study PurposeOur study aims to investigate whether learning to drum has a beneficial effect on cognitive and behavioral outcomes in children with Down syndrome. DescriptionThe study involves two in-lab visits where your child will complete a few tasks while we measure their brain activity using EEG....

02/25/2026

The Hands-On Play Lab and LAND Lab are excited to announce that we are beginning a new study looking at how infants develop early hand skills! The study involves 4 in-lab visits where our trained researchers will do different hands-on activities with your child. For the first lab visit, we are looking for participants who are 9 months of age who are typically developing. The following lab visits will be scheduled for when your child is 12, 18, and 24 months old. If you are interested in learning more about the study, please feel free to contact us at [email protected] or (615) 343-1079.

linktr.ee/handsonplaylab

09/05/2025

Drum up discovery in an exciting new study! Your child will complete a few different activities, including drumming, while we safely measure their brain waves. Trained lab members will put a non-invasive cap on your child’s head that will allow us to examine underlying brain activity. Your child will receive 8 weeks of drumming lessons, which will begin after the first or second visit to the lab. We are looking for participants between the ages of 7 and 15 that have been diagnosed with Down syndrome. If your child meets these requirements and you are interested in learning more about the study, please contact us at [email protected] or (615) 343-1079.

The parent of a participant shared that her son really enjoyed his drumming lessons. They had a positive experience during their on-campus visits to Vanderbilt and looked forward to seeing the research assistants there. She is glad that she and her son participated in the study and said that it was a good experience for him.

06/30/2025

On Saturday, September 27, Gigi's Playhouse is hosting their annual Get Down for Down Syndrome Dance-A-Thon—a high-energy, inclusive dance party and fundraiser that brings our community together to celebrate individuals with Down syndrome while supporting GiGi’s free programs!

03/17/2025

Join us at our upcoming My PlayClub event this Sunday, March 23rd from 1:30pm until 3:30pm at Granny White Park☀️Hope to see you there!

10/26/2024

Hi everyone! Unfortunately, we had to cancel My PlayClub for today. We were not informed of the Pig Fest that was going on today around the playground! There is no parking near the playground, but in case anyone is here, we have a video on our story showing you how to get to us. We’ll be doing an abbreviated version of the event in case anyone was already on their way. We hope to still see a few of you if you’re able to make it!

So sorry for the inconvenience!