Center for Transformational Play

Using Generative AI in the Battle Against Invasive Plants Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University, together with scientists at a conservation ranch in Montana, developed a method that trains machine learning models to detect invasive species more effective...

Our friends over at Carnegie Mellon University School of Computer Science are doing their part to ensure that we never have to worry about Triffids... (and other, actually real invasive species either) 🌿🔬 🧪

‘The way a child plays is the way they live’: how therapists are using video games to help vulnerable children Minecraft and other creative games are becoming recognised as powerful means of self-expression and mental health support, including for traumatised Ukrainian refugees

Games like Minecraft can be more than just a fun place to play. For some people, especially vulnerable children, they can serve as a powerful means of self expression and mental health support. 🧱♥️

The best flight sims on PC Take to the skies, blast off into space, dogfight or sight-see—here are our favorites from each variety of winged sim.

July 24th is Amelia Earhart Day, marking the 1897 birthday of the famed aviator. Why not celebrate by taking flight from your desktop? Check out the linked ranking of flight simulator options for your PC …and tell your boss you’re just practicing for a “smooth takeoff” on that next project.🧑‍✈️🛩️

Our friends over at Tekko are gearing up for a weekend filled with gaming, fashion, music, and more! Pittsburgh’s Japanese pop culture convention runs through Sunday at Lawrence Convention Center.

K-Pop Demon Hunters in Fortnite? Game Devs are Fighting for a Collab In K-Pop Demon Hunters, Rumi, Zoey and Mira saved the world and captured hearts. Now, the Honmoon between the silver screen and the video-game battlefield is bl

How fast can a pop culture sensation be turned into a playable experience? In the case of one of the hottest movies streaming on Netflix the answer might be a matter of months. (No matter where they end up, that soundtrack will be 🔥)

Donate to Empower Youth Voices in Climate Science, organized by Harlin Hayley Steele We are living in an era in which world leaders use models of the climate … Harlin Hayley Steele needs your support for Empower Youth Voices in Climate Science

The unique climate science research of our friends over at Davis Data Driven Change @ucdavis.bsky.social has been accepted to Scenarios Forum 2025! They would be the youngest research team ever to attend!

Visit their fundraising page to learn more about their work and to make a donation.

Trivia Time! Our neighbours to the north are celebrating Canada Day - in honour of a day of fun and games, can you name *both* of Canada’s official sports? Chances are you keep your stick on the ice… but what’s the other one? (If you want the answer, visit tinyurl.com/5bzcn87u eh?)🏒🍁 🎆

We’re totally stoked to celebrate June 27 as the day Tony Hawk landed the first ever 900 in competition at the 1999 X Games. That same year Pro Skater debuted on the PlayStation and launched one of the best-selling video game franchises of the early 2000s. Gnarly. 🛹🎮🤸

Workshops - Center for Transformational Play - Carnegie Mellon University Workshops and training opportunities offered by the Center for Transformational Play

Time is running out to register for our July workshop! Whether you’re designing apps, building services, managing teams, or shaping product strategy, Building Joyful Products is designed to help you infuse more delight into the things you make. Click the link to secure your spot today! 👷🎉

Retro tech museum finds new home near Pittsburgh A former municipal building is rebooting as a museum of retro electronics.

An old municipal building in Penn Hills will reboot into a new home for retro games and electronics. #TheBloopMuseum will fill the site with vintage gaming consoles, arcade machines and other throwback gadgets. Wonder if they have a Game Shark… 🎮📺🔌

Top 10 Mountain Climbing Games Below is my Top 10 list of mountain or rock climbing games. These are games that meet substantially all of the following criteria: (1) climbing game; (2) focusing on rock or mountain climbing; and (3)...

On 6/13 1913 a mountaineering party reached the true summit of Denali (a.k.a. Mt. McKinley), the highest peak in North America. Not ready to slap on a pair of IRL crampons? Check out this list of tabletop games from @boardgamegeek.com to start your ascent at home! 🏔️🧗🥾

Dear Archibald - Center for Transformational Play - Carnegie Mellon University The Center for Transformational Play is looking for people to help playtest Dear Archibald a new journaling game experience.

😃PLAYTESTERS WANTED!⌨️
Are you interested in:
- Role-playing games (RPG’s)
- Text-based games
- Interactive fiction?
Participate in a research study at Carnegie Mellon University exploring identity through gaming. Follow the link to learn more!

Workshops - Center for Transformational Play - Carnegie Mellon University Workshops and training opportunities offered by the Center for Transformational Play

Registration is 🎉OPEN🎊 for the CTP’s July workshop! Designing apps? Building services? Managing teams? Shaping product strategy? CTP Director Dr. Jessica Hammer will help you learn how to infuse more delight into the things you make. Space is limited so click the link and secure your spot today!

Krista Kay and Marcella Spear build a lego creation

Our Pittsburgh Pals Krista Kay and Marcella Spear are still alive on Season 5 of LEGOMasters! We have our bricks crossed that this Project Baseplate alum and her Steel City Lug pal will make it through another round. Watch the action at 8 pm on FOXTV (streaming next day on Hulu) 🧱🤞👷

Man with over 24,000 videogames has largest collection ever Avid video game enthusiast Antonio Romero Monteiro from Richmond, Texas, USA, has taken his videogame collection to another level with a collection spanning over 23,000 games!

Do you even game, bro? Probably not compared to Antonio Monteiro. With more than 24,000 titles, Monteiro is the current world record holder for the largest collection of video games. (But does he have a copy of E.T. for Atari? #IYKYK) 🏆🕹️

Nations urged to ‘pick up the ball’ after DEI research cuts Researchers say a lack of funding for studies that focus on sex and gender might also hasten a US brain drain.

“We’re going to start to see the worst effects of this ten years down the road.” CTP Director Dr. Jessica Hammer and other researchers @cmu.edu warn that a lack of funding for studies that focus on sex and gender might also hasten a US brain drain.

Get ready to get your brick on and cheer on friend and Project Baseplate alum Krista Kay! S5 of fox.com/lego-masters premiers TONIGHT at 8 pm on FOX (streaming next day on Hulu). Krista and Pittsburgh Pal Marcella Spear will go head-to-head with 10 other teams for the title of LEGO® Master. 🧱👷🏁

Start your engines! May 16th is NASCAR Day. What better way to celebrate than to get into an argument over the first NASCAR video game. Our official position: it's Richard Petty’s “Talladega” released in 1984 for Atari 8-bit computers. Disagree? We will come at you like a spider monkey 🎮🏎️🏁

Project Baseplate Alum to Compete on Season 5 of LEGO® Masters - Center for Transformational Play - Carnegie Mellon University An alumnus of the Center for Transformational Play’s Project Baseplate Brick-By-Brick® facilitator training has earned a spot on season 5 of LEGO® Masters. Krista Kay, along with fellow Pittsburgh LEG...

We are less than a week away from the premier of S5 of fox.com/lego-masters featuring friend and Brick Club facilitator Krista Kay. Learn more about this awesome Project Baseplate alum then cheer her and #Pittsburgh Pal Marcella Spear on starting 5/19 (8pm on FOX / next day on Hulu) 🧱🎉

Did you know one of the earliest video games was created in 1958? American physicist William Higinbotham designed “Tennis for Two” for the Brookhaven National Laboratory's annual public exhibition using an oscilloscope and two aluminum controllers. Bonus fun fact - Pong didn’t debut until 1972! 🎮🏓

The CTP is thrilled to share the news that one of our amazing Project Baseplate Brick-by-Brick® facilitator program alumni has been selected for Season 5 of fox.com/lego-masters 🤯 Krista Kay will compete with partner youtube.com/@BuildwMarcella against 10 other teams for the title of LEGO® Master!

Hand holding phone with Pokemon Go logo visible.

Did you know that May 2 marks the 25th anniversary of the U.S. government allowing public access to highly accurate GPS signals? Thus paving the way for all sorts of fun adventures … like discovering there’s a Pokémon gym next to your favorite campus coffee shop. 👾🤾🗺️

Do you have a “magpie mind?” CTP Director Jessica Hammer shares her thoughts on how to tell if a career in game design is a good fit for you: www.usnews.com/education/ar...

If you're searching for eggs this weekend, consider this: Did you know the earliest recorded versions of hide-and-seek date back to ancient Greece? Referred to as apodidraskinda or phyginda in various texts, the game was also found depicted in a second-century painting discovered at Herculaneum. 🫣

For Mustache Champ Adam Causgrove, Fame Is Right Under His Nose - The Piper - Carnegie Mellon University Around the CMU campus, Adam Causgrove is known as the guy with the dog. Around the country, he's the guy with the super 'stache.

We at the Center for Transformational Play love to celebrate the playful moments and people at CMU… So who IS this much-touted mustachioed man?? 🥸

Fun Fact Friday! The oldest playable board game is “The Royal Game of Ur.” Originating in Mesopotamia about 4600 years ago, the game’s rules were deciphered by a curator at the British Museum. (You can also buy an exclusive copy in their gift shop)👑🎲🏦

Spring Carnival at @cmu.edu is in full swing and we couldn’t resist another trip. While of course the CTP shouts out all the creativity shown by students with their booths and doghouses… #CTPScotty may have one or two favorites (see if you can spot him!)🎉🐾🎪

The CTP is all about playful experiences - and what’s more fun than stuffing a human being into a five-foot long tube and sending them hurtling down the street? Check out the #CMUbuggy showcase ahead of @cmu.edu's spring carnival. Good luck to all buggy teams. May the odds be ever in your favor! 🍀🏎️🎡

Using Virtual Reality to Connect Players With Ocean Ecosystems - Center for Transformational Play - Carnegie Mellon University Researchers with the Center for Transformational Play at Carnegie Mellon University have created a virtual reality experience called “Echo of the Abyss” - this VR technology takes players on an ocean ...

Did you know that more people have walked on the surface of the moon than have visited the deepest parts of the ocean? Researchers from the Center for Transformational Play @cmu.edu are hoping a virtual trip to the bottom of the sea will inspire a deeper connection to the planet’s ocean ecosystems.

LEGO Minifigs play a game in front of board game boxes.

Conventional wisdom is don't do serious things (like launching yourself on a new platform) on April 1st. But we are anything but conventional! We are the Center for Transformational Play. We make games and playful experiences that change people. Join us in the transformative power of play! 🚀🎉🎮