The Playground
The Minerva Project • September 12, 2025
Science is like a playground. It’s born from the same childlike instinct to ask why—to take things apart, to wonder how they work, and to see what happens when they don’t. The laboratory, much like the playground, is a space of exploration where we learn by observing, testing, and imagining new possibilities. This curiosity that is fostered from birth drives our understanding of the world and ourselves.
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Yet on the playground, discovery never happens alone. The same wonder that drives investigations about the world is what connects strangers. The newness of everything as a child allows us to find curiosity in other people, building friendships and relationships with others. These curiosities coexist as science must center the people it seeks to serve. ​
However, this inquisitiveness has often morphed into apprehensiveness when we now face the unfamiliar. Traditional and historical precedents in clinical research are often defaulted to, most prevalently in limited and biased research in gendered healthcare. ​
To reimagine science as a playground is to reclaim curiosity not just as a search for answers, but as a practice of inclusion. It asks us to be curious about difference, to wonder how gender shapes physiology, care, and access. In healthcare, curiosity should not only ask why things work, but also for whom they work, and how they can work better for everyone.