Is a baby actually learning something when he knocks down a stack of blocks? What happens in a toddler’s mind when she “feeds” her teddy bear? Why does it take just as much work to bake an imaginary cake as a real one? This program explores the process through which young children begin to reason, plan, and solve both concrete and abstract problems. Emphasizing that babies are driven to make sense of the world in the same way that they are driven to walk and talk, the video shows how this urgent need to learn is fulfilled through play, which relies on both action and observation. Basic discussions of memory and cerebral cortex development are included.