Why Creativity Isn’t Just for Kids: The Science of Adult Play

And why your inner child is texting you in all caps that they need a break. 

Somewhere between adventures after school and back-to-back meetings, the belief that adults have lost their imagination starts to creep in and take over. You blink and suddenly you’re someone who thinks creativity is reserved for kids, “artsy people,” or anyone who miraculously has weekends free. That belief becomes heavy. It’s not boredom, not idle hands, but the myth that creativity has an expiration date. The idea that adults should behave, stay polished, discuss deliverables, and pretend they don’t want to make something weird and joyful again.

We constantly hear iterations like 

“I don’t have imagination anymore” 

“I’m not creative”

“Art is not my thing”

“I’m not going to be good at this”

Your imagination didn’t evaporate. It got buried under everything else. The work, bills, stress, errands, obligations, etc. Adults don’t lose imagination and creativity, they forget they have it. You could call it creative amnesia. And reminding every adult that attends an event or workshop that they are inherently creative is crucial to us. 

Our mission is simple:
Give adults back curiosity. Grant permission to play without judgment. Instigate trying something out just to see what happens. 

Let’s sprinkle in some science to make your inner skeptic calm down.

1. Creativity Lowers Stress

Studies from Stanford, Drexel, and various “we actually measure cortisol for a living” researchers show that hands-on making reduces stress levels fast. They further explained how it helps everyone. Their research showed that there were no differences in health outcomes between people who identify as experienced artists and people who don't. So that means that no matter your skill level, you'll be able to feel all the good things that come with making art.

2. Using Your Hands Boosts Mood

Neuroscientist Kelly Lambert has found that hand-based work activates reward pathways and lifts mood. This means your hands are emotional reset buttons. Push them often. Lambert further explains that hands-on making floods the brain with rewarding chemistry (those buzz words and hormones we hear all the time now: dopamine/oxytocin), promotes flow, and builds resilience to low mood.

3. Play Keeps Your Brain Healthy

Creative hobbies are linked to stronger memory, flexible thinking, and long-term brain health. Research shows play increases brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which stimulates new neuron growth and supports learning. A craft session today, sharper neurons tomorrow.

4. Creativity Builds Connection

Shared creative experiences increase bonding and belonging. According to psychiatrist Stuart Brown, MD, a leading play researcher and founder of the National Institute for Play, adulting playing and sharing in that play with others is an antidote to the loneliness epidemic.
That means that making things together makes people like each other more. Even coworkers. 

So yes, crafting is biologically soothing. 

Science approves your art supply of choice.

We are creative instigators who design and lead art workshops FOR ADULTS, to remind them that their creative wellness is our priority. We focus on igniting that spark that happens when you start making a mess and using a material you haven’t touched in quite some time. The human connection part happens naturally, sometimes with a little nudging, but leave that to us. 

Here’s the truth behind what FoOL actually creates:

• Moments that remind adults they are still alive inside.

• Space to use their hands again.

• Room to laugh, sometimes at yourself, without effort.

• Time to feel present for the first time in too long.

FoOL exists so people who thought they lost their imagination discover it was never gone  just waiting for them to return.

Every experience is guided so guests don’t have to think about a thing.
They show up, drop their shoulders, relax their eyebrows, and let themselves be led for a while.

They get permission to:

• make a mess

• try something new

• feel that flicker of childhood again, the version of themselves who wasn’t obsessed with being perfect

FoOL builds sensory experiences that pull people back into their bodies. Using tactile supplies. Relying on sight, sound, touch, smell, and even scent to curate the whole event.
The simple act of touching materials wakes something up in them.

Each event is designed to make adulthood feel a little less tight and a little more alive.

With FoOL, they don’t just get “a craft night.”
They get a chance to claim back a part of themselves.
To reconnect.
To explore.
To remember what it feels like to create for no reason but to see what happens. 

Because grown-ups deserve to play too.
And sometimes, that’s exactly what being alive feels like.