Knowledge at Play: The University of Bologna at Play 2025

From 4 to 6 April, the University of Bologna will take part in PLAY – Festival del Gioco, Italy’s most important event dedicated to analogue games, which will be hosted for the first time at BolognaFiere. Open to everyone—from enthusiasts to young children—the festival’s sixteenth edition revolves around the theme of Evolution. This theme aligns perfectly with the University of Bologna’s presence in the Science Area, where playing goes hand in hand with learning. Games take many forms—whether sports, board games, role-playing games, miniatures, live-action, outdoor, card-based, or science-related—and they are not just about fun. They are also powerful educational tools.

Many researchers at the University of Bologna have explored games from different perspectives: as a means of disseminating knowledge, as a key tool for assessing, developing, and refining skills, and as an opportunity to foster social interactions and psychological well-being. At Play 2025, the University will showcase research and educational games developed in its Departments, where academic innovation and play have come together to enhance learning.

“The University of Bologna is delighted to welcome the first Bologna-based edition of Play – Festival del Gioco, as it offers a renewed opportunity for dialogue between our academic community’s outstanding research and citizens of all ages. Our researchers will engage festival attendees in hands-on experiences spanning a wide range of social and scientific disciplines, exploring the theme of play and highlighting its vital role in making knowledge more accessible and enjoyable,” says Professor Maria Letizia Guerra, Delegate for Public Engagement at the University of Bologna. 

Among the featured games are Endless Evolution and Stemmunity, developed by the Department of Biological, Geological, and Environmental Sciences and the Department of Education Studies. These games offer an engaging way to explore evolution and adaptation, making them particularly suitable for primary school education.

Visitors will also find puzzles and programmable robots designed to enhance logical reasoning skills in primary and secondary school children. Numbers and Pieces, presented by the Department of Mathematics, turns play into a fun and interactive way to develop mathematical skills. Meanwhile, Learning to Play 7 Wonders Duel Without Human Supervision applies mathematics to train artificial intelligence in gaming. Digital games  will also be featured, including those developed by the “Enzo Canestari” Department of Psychology to help young children in early childhood education develop social and transversal skills , such as the multy-activity kit La valigetta delle attività nella scuola dell’infanzia.

Finally, the University will present research findings on the benefits of outdoor play—especially for children aged 0-6—conducted by the Department of Psychology and the Department of Education and for Life Quality Studies.