Playing in Hullabaloo: Examining Young Children’s Phenomenological Experiences Through the Lenses of Flow

This chapter examines the phenomenological experiences of young children playing within the visual arts space at The Artground (TAG), focusing on Hullabaloo by visual artist Nur Aida binte Sa’ad. The children’s phenomenological experiences are examined through the lenses of flow using mixed methods approaches, with the findings discussed in rank order—how participants felt that it was fun first and foremost, and then wanting more of it, expressing that TAG was the best play space, and finally, feeling that it was challenging, but they could do it. Three main themes also emerged from the qualitative data: (a) environment, (b) enjoyment, and (c) evaluation. These three themes interrelate with each other to enable the phenomenological experiences of flow for the children—the environment plays a significant role in determining the level of enjoyment a child experiences, while evaluation of the challenges present in a space determines the length of time a child is prepared to invest in overcoming and conquering the obstacles. In turn, the direct relationship between evaluation of challenges in the environment and the level of enjoyment is critical in understanding how children’s spaces need to be designed to enable such phenomenological experiences.