Nature As Playground (and School)

I obviously focus on formal play structures at this site, not for any philosophical reasons, really, other than that's what I'm interested in and that's primarily what the playgrounds in my neck of the woods (or deserts) have to offer.

But that doesn't mean I'm against much more informal play areas such as, well, other necks of the woods.  ("Necks of the wood?"  Hm.)  Some of my favorite play memories of my own youth aren't playground-related, they're play-in-the-woods-related.  (Though some are, too.)

It's not much a surprise to me that Vashon Island, Washington, whose Ober Park playground's secret weapon is an open grassy area surrounded by trees, is also home to a "nature preschool," the Cedarsong Nature School.  The mission of the school is "to provide opportunities for direct experience with nature."  In other words, it's to play outside.  Says the description for the preschool program, "Your child is invited to join us in running through the forest, discovering and decorating hide-outs, making dreamcatchers and musical instruments, creating magic wands and magic potions, learning about the plants, creating a unique nature journal, playing make believe, making up forest songs and dances, and telling stories around a campfire."

While they might be able to handle make-believe, somehow I don't think the Kompan or Rainbow systems would handle a campfire very well.

Irvine's Adventure Playground Needs a Bulldozer

OK, that's a misleading headline.  Somebody might read that and think I'm really proposing the demolition of Irvine, CA's Adventure Playground.  The playground looks more like a vacant lot than a fancy new playground with brightly colored equipment, but that's the point, really.  With mud, fort-like structures, movable parts, rope bridges, and the like, it sounds very much like a playground for creativity, an Imagination Playground on the cheap (not to mention more than 60 years ahead of its time, since the concept's been floating around since the 1940s).

Now there are moves afoot to tear down the playground, which has led supporters in the community to create their own Defend Adventure Playground website.  (I particularly appreciate the seige mentality implied by the use of the verb "defend.")

I'm not going to get into who's right and who's wrong here -- I've seen more than enough of these situations to know that it's very gray, not black and white, and even if you disagree, it's often a matter of perspective.  (I'll also note that it's not exactly a new issue.)

But I do wish that they had one of these near us.  There are just 3 (and since AP's been closed for a couple summers, just 2) of these in the US, as opposed to a thousand or so in Europe.  Wouldn't it be cool to see your kids tromp through the mud, construct a fort (repeatedly), and cross a rope bridge?  Maybe even -- we can dream, right? -- pretend to operate a bulldozer?

(Hat tip: KaBOOM!)

Richard Scarry's Playground

I've enjoyed dipping into Richard Scarry books as a parent.  More so than possibly any author, I think Scarry's work was more diffused into American kids' memories of a certain time and age.  This book is my wife's from when she was a child, but I had a copy as well.

What's interesting to me as I scan what Scarry chose to include in his "At the Playground" set of pages above is that fixed playground equipment isn't the primary focus.  Sure we see classics like seesaws, slides, swings, merry-go-rounds, jungle gyms, and sandboxes, but just 15 of the 36 animals on the page are using those features.  I would hazard a guess to say that the ratio for the best playgrounds is somewhat similar.  If the kids are just using the fixed features, I tend to think that the kids will move on to playgrounds when they (and their caregivers) find something new.

Richard Scarry's Best Word Book Ever (Golden Bestsellers Series) [Amazon Associates link]

Day of Play... or Something Like That

All I ask, when I hear about a day for something, is that people agree on what that day is and what it should be called.  KaBOOM! calls it 2010 Play Day, but is sort of vague on when it is (it would appear to be this weekend through next weekend, Sept, 25th).  It's basically a day (held in conjunction with National Public Lands Day) designed to encourage people to play outside and maybe help spruce up a playground or park.

Nickelodeon and its sibling channels and websites, on the other hand, have a similiar in concept (but apparently unrelated) day called the Worldwide Day of Play, which is scheduled for Sept. 25th.  On that Saturday, the channel will, in PR terms, "empower kids to get up and get active when its TV channels and websites go off the air and offline."  (From noon 'til 3 PM, screens will go dark, with a message encouraging folks to go outside and play.)

I get the purpose of the days, although the idea that Nick would be promoting turning off the TV set and computer makes about as much sense to me as REI telling people to stay at home and watch Two and a Half Men.  And I'm not going to make the argument that "every day should be a day of play," because that's not the point here -- they want a single day to raise visibility.

The problem is that it's probably still not visible enough.  National Public Lands Day is a (relatively) big deal 'round these parts, but there doesn't appear to be a single Play Day event in the Phoenix area.  Maybe it's more visible elsewhere, and if it is, good on them.  But there's room for improvement, no doubt.

As for me, I think I'm going to a playground on Saturday.  And it has nothing to do with this.  Perhaps I'll ask if others are aware what day it is...

Rebecca Mead on Playgrounds

This website's focus thus far has been on reviews of actual playgrounds, and not so much playground theory.  I think that someone will have a pretty good idea pretty quickly of what makes a good playground, at least in part.  (For example, shade.  Benches.  Funky stuff.)

If you're enmeshed in the world of playground design, you certainly were aware of Rebecca Mead's article in the New Yorker a couple months ago.  She spent a lot of time talking about the recently-opened Imagination Playground at Burling Slip in South Street Seaport in New York City.  The basic conceit of Imagination Playground is not fixed equipment but rather movable pieces -- to me they sound like foam blocks on steroids.  She also spends a lot of time talking about how kids use playgrounds in ways their designers never intended.

If you're not enmeshed in the world of playground design and aren't a New Yorker subscriber, it's not so interesting that I'd recommend that you track down the article (though it's certainly a pleasant read).  In lieu of reading the article, I'd recommend listening to the podcast of maybe 15 minutes or so, which you can do so here.

Why PlayMapped?

When our daughter (known here as Miss Mary Mack) was about 3 years old, we went on a family vacation to San Diego.  Our big "splurge" day was a trip to Legoland.  It was not the perfect day at a Southern California amusement park -- she cried, was a bit timid, and, well, none of us had a lot of fun.

Except at the playground.  We spent well over $100 for a day at Legoland, and all our daughter wanted to do was play at the playground.  If I had known that, I could've easily saved $100 and a day's worth of aggravation.

Ever since then, our vacations, both near and far, have tried to include at least one trip to a playground.  And we've generally found that our times at playgrounds have been among the most enjoyable parts of our trips.  Miss Mary Mack and her younger brother (Little Boy Blue) have fun, we the parents get a break, and we also get the experience of seeing what is typically a non-touristy part of a location -- we all get a better feel for the place.

And that place can even be down the street in our own hometown.  There is value in visiting playgrounds in our own spread-out city, seeing different kids and families, trying new things.

So, yeah, playgrounds = good.

The problem is trying to find good playgrounds.  There is the occasional weblink to an article listing the best playgrounds in a particular city or region, but the usefulness is mixed -- sometimes the articles are out-of-date, they often lack pictures, and for an outsider looking in, it's often impossible to figure out exactly where this awesome playground with the 3-story-tall slide is.

So this is my small attempt to solve that problem.  I want to review playgrounds, not just from my city, but from all around the country.  I want to talk about what I as a parent enjoy in playgrounds for my kids (as opposed to the viewpoint of the playground designer, which is also important, but not my focus given my total lack of formal education in the subject).  And I want this to be comprehensive, so that playgrounds from all around the country get their time in the sun.

How that's all going to work will be revealed here shortly.  For the moment, though, thanks for stopping by, hope to see you again soon.