mara

Check out this cool playground equipment that makes music as you play. http://www.accessibleplayground.net/?p=2903

Pictorial tour of Imagination Station, an inclusive playground in Oconomowoc, WI. It was built with hundreds of volunteers. http://www.accessibleplayground.net/?p=2854

I have seen it in a few accessible/inclusive playgrounds. Crea8play does all sorts of interesting stuff with sound.

Amy--It is actually surfacing with actual sound somethings built in. So when you jump on it, it makes music. So cool.

I am looking for more ideas of playgrounds for Wordless Wednesdays. If you can recommend a good playground and someone that has a good amount of pictures let me know. I am also looking for great stories how people developed accessible/inclusive playgrounds. The person would need to complete a short q & a and send me a photo of either themselves or their playground. Thanks for the recommendations! Mara

Wordless Wednesday--Take a pictorial tour of Brendan's Playground, an inclusive playground in O'Fallon, MO http://www.accessibleplayground.net/?p=2758

An update version will be available first of March. We will then be asking for public comment. It will be your turn to weigh in and make sure we didn't forget anything. I will post the link here once its up.

Thanks for posting this. I will add the playground to the directory of accessible playgrounds on accessibleplayground.net If other people know of playgrounds not in the directory, please let me know.

Not in this playground per se. A lot of manufacturers make a similar climbing net.

On accessibleplayground.net: Wordless Wednesday--a pictorial tour of Clemy Playground, a great accessible playground in McClean, VI http://www.accessibleplayground.net/?p=2738

Other countries get the importance of multi-generational play. Why don't we? Read about what I found in Tel Aviv and Budapest. http://www.playbyplayworld.com

Do all inclusive playgrounds need to be huge? I found a small playground in Tel Aviv that only had six pieces, placed on pour in place. I felt that it had something for everyone and made a nice neighborhood park. You can read the story at www.playbyplayworld.com and see the pictures at http://www.flickr.com/photos/63561882@N02/sets/72157627250130914

Read Let Kids Play's June Newsletter and learn about my wish list of places I want to go and play; International Mud Day, how you can help the Sensory Processing Foundation, and making the pledge to Play all five weekends in July. http://p0.vresp.com/JkKP85

If I could just drive around the country playing on great inclusive playgrounds, here is where I would go. Where would you go? http://p0.vresp.com/JkKP85

That was amazing. What a great job. It tells a wonderful story that everyone can relate to. I hope the playground and the boy can be happy really soon.

BUILDING A PLAYGROUND IN BRITISH COLUMBIA? Tire Stewardship BC, the association responsible for managing the provincial scrap tire-recycling program, is now accepting applications for its third annual Community Grant Program.

The Community Grant Program provides matching funds, up to a maximum of $20,000, for BC not-for-profit organizations, schools and municipalities that use BC recycled rubber in their projects.

The closing date for applications is April 29, 2011. For more information: www.tsbc.ca

PHOTO COURTESY OF PLAYWORLD SYSTEMS

It's time to rethink ramps.

Read the entire article in Recreation Management Magazine.

Do we really need ramps to make a playground accessible? Go and view the video and then let's have a conversation. http://ow.ly/2IeQg 

Pepsi Refresh Everything Project is supporting community projects all over the country.  Are you helping to make the decision of where the money goes.  You can vote every day for 10 projects.

Congratulations to the May winners of the Pepsi Refresh Everything project.  Here are the winners who are building playspaces:

Replace an unsafe playground & bring joy to 600 children! http://www.refresheverything.com/projectplaygroundcp

Boys & Girls Clubs of Schenectady: Craig Street Clubhouse Complete construction of playground. http://www.refresheverything.com/craigstreetplayground

Rebuild our indoor playground that was lost in the snow storm of 2010 http://www.refresheverything.com/kentislanddiscoveryzone

Now it is time to start voting for the June projects

Here are the links for the projects that you can vote for that help children of all abilities play in their communities.  There are hundred more amazing projects.  So make it a point to vote for your top 10 projects everyday.

http://www.refresheverything.com/angiedudzinskiwhiteplainschildrencenter

http://www.refresheverything.com/carderkoalarun

http://www.refresheverything.com/buildaplaygroundbuildahealthychild

http://www.refresheverything.com/actnowplayforever

http://www.refresheverything.com/cesplayground

http://www.refresheverything.com/siragusaschoolplaygroundproject

http://www.refresheverything.com/indiancreeklinnmar

http://www.refresheverything.com/nikeelementary

http://www.refresheverything.com/tilden

http://www.refresheverything.com/angiedudzinskiwhiteplainschildrencenter

http://www.refresheverything.com/suffolky

http://www.refresheverything.com/accessibleplayground

http://www.refresheverything.com/taylorsdream

http://www.refresheverything.com/specialneedsplaygroundblenheimsc

http://www.refresheverything.com/breainclusiveplayground

http://www.refresheverything.com/everythingmovesthesenses

http://www.refresheverything.com/communityspecialneedsfocusedplayspace

http://www.refresheverything.com/helphope

Last month was an incredible one for people who want more accessible playgrounds.  Fifteen barrier-free accessible playgrounds opened or were dedicated in May from Rhode Island to Texas.  Not all of the playgrounds meet the accessibleplayground.net criteria as some are not open to the public and others use engineered wood fiber.  So you won’t find all of them in the directory, but we know how hard these communities worked hard and we wanted to celebrate with them.   Some of these playgrounds took many, many, many years for the community to raise the money.  The stories are varied, but they all in common that parents wanted a place where all children could play together.

We are accessibleplayground.net congratulate these communities and the people behind the playground effort for their success.  The kids will be having fun this summer!

Colorado Springs, CO–Swing High Playground

Berea City, KY— Located at the Berea City Park Expansion 450 North Broadway Street behind the Folk Center. The structure is fully ramped. . The new playground includes 5 Slides, 4 educational Panels, overhead climber, a free standing climbing and boulder wall and more!  . The surfacing is engineered wood fiber.

Belvidere, IL—Bloom Playground in Belvidere Park

Marshfield Township, MA–The Marshfield Kids at Play Park

Bellingham, MA– Kasper Playground located in  Kasper Park at Silver Lake on Cross Street. Includes both a tot area and an area for older children. The playground has accessible swings. Surfacing is engineered wood fiber.

Valhalla, NY–Mount Pleasant Blythedale School at Blythedale Children’s Hospital

Westerville, OH—Millstone Creek Park

Manchester Township, PA—Inspiring H.O.P.E.

Boyertown, PA

Providence, RI— CVS Caremark Boundless Playground at The Marshall Family Park

Temple, TX–Rotary Playground in Lions Park

Humble, TX–Foster Elementary School

Virginia Beach, VI—J.T.’s Grommet Island

Harrisonburg, Va.– The Dream Come True playground

Spokane Valley, WA–Discovery Playground

Read more blogs from accessibleplayground.net

Here is a description of Common Ground Playground in Lakeland, FL by guest Blogger Pam Page.

In 2009 the City of Lakeland opened its first inclusive playground featuring unique play experiences for children of varying physical and cognitive abilities.  Our field of dreams, Common Ground, utilized Forever lawn synthetic turf to cover over 25,000 square feet of play zones to connect our barrier free play elements.  From Gopher Mountain to Adventure Canyon, from Sculpture Gulch to Rockslide Gap and from Sway Valley to Butterfly Meadow children run, crawl, roll, creep, sit  and slide on Forever lawn, synthetic turf.

Forever lawn safety surface was selected for our community playground because it creates the natural looking green environment so critical to our design while providing barrier free safety fall zones that protect our children.  Common Ground is situated in central Florida.  Forever lawn enables us to maximize our children’s outdoor play time.  Our play surface drains almost instantly even after a tropical torrential rain and it remains cooler than other safety surface options.  Integrated planting beds placed throughout the play elements increase the tactile, olfactory, auditory and visual sensory perception of children; artificial turf surrounds the natural beds and accentuates the flower and vegetative color while enabling the children to interact with the landscape.  Forever lawn allows even transition from hard paved sidewalks to the cushioned safety surface with barrier free edging.

A primary feature of the playground is Gopher Mountain.  This eight foot above grade surface with its tunnels and climbing ports is covered with Forever Lawn.  Since the first hour of open play, children have automatically moved to this feature to experience sliding, rolling, and running up and down its natural slopes.  No other covering could provide the same natural experience as successfully, or stand up under the rigorous demands on these varying slopes designed to challenge different ability levels.

Read more...

Here is a follow up on the story about the Winter Olympics in Vancouver where community groups worked to leave behind three accessible playgrounds for the children of the area to play on.  The playground in Richmond was built as part of the Middle Arm Greenway improvements which included in addition to the playground, public art, dyke upgrades and state-of-the-art play stations for children.

At the south end of the Greenway, Shane’s Inspiration and Cre8play worked together on an innovative playground.  The playground is designed to look like a real sized Tug Boat.  It includes 2 slides, an observation deck, a control room, a log ADA transfer station,interactive sounds, a bell to ring and it is all accessible by a wide ramp.  You have to try the sounds out, they are really fun.

Below are pictures of the playground thanks to Cre8play and the City of Richmond.

Tug Boat Playground in Richmond

Tug Boat Playground in Richmond

Extra tactile play items throughout the playground

Three world-class, accessible playgrounds are being built in Vancouver, Whistler and Richmond,  the venue cities for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.  So once all of the athletes, media and visitors leave this beautiful area with their medals and memories, the children of Vancouver will be left to PLAY!

Treehouse at Whistler's new Accessible Playground

The playgrounds are thanks to Legacy 2010, Ronald McDonald House Charities of Canada and the Let’s Play Project, a partnership of the Rick Hansen Foundation and the Province of B.C.

The Vancouver playground will be located at Kitsilano Beach Park; the Richmond playground will be located along the Middle Arm Waterfront Greenway, close to the Olympic Oval; and the Whistler playground is being built at the Celebration Plaza.

The first phase of the 60 Whistler playground opened just  in time for Games at Celebration Plaza.  The second phase will go in after Olympics. The playground in Vancouver will be finished later in 2010.

The playground in Richmond was built as part of the Middle Arm Greenway improvements. Opened just in time for the games,

New equipment at the Whistler Accessible Playground

the Greenway has public art, dyke upgrades and state-of-the-art play stations for children.  At the south end of the greenway there are three innovative accessible play spaces, supported by the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Canada. These include a sound garden with drums, parabolic dishes and other sound equipment. Other spaces feature a play tugboat, and a playscape with soft, tactile elements and rolling pathways.

Pictures thanks to The 2010 Whistler Accessibility Blog (The WFTD Society)

Read about many other playgrounds at www.accessibility.net

“Architecture is evangelism.” I heard it said in the context of church buildings. The speaker was making the point that a ramp at the back of the sanctuary might comply with ADA standards, but it isn’t exactly welcoming to individuals in wheelchairs. I’ve been trying to think of an equally pithy way to state this truth for the rest of the world. “Architecture sends a message” doesn’t have quite the same ring to it, but the point stands. The way our buildings, homes, and public spaces are constructed says everything about which people we want to see in those places.

Last week, my mother and I took my kids to our first Boundless playground, a playground intentionally designed to include children with a variety of strengths and abilities. I noticed the swings first—a few that looked the same as every other playground, and two with full back support and harnesses, big enough to hold an elementary-school aged child. Our daughter Penny, age four, has Down syndrome, and I remember the days when she could only spend 60 seconds in a swing before needing to get down. That low muscle tone made it hard to hold her head up, so the enjoyment of swinging was limited by the design of the swing. At this playground, those bright yellow swings stood out as an invitation for any child to swing with abandon.

And then I noticed that the path up to the slide was quite wide. Wide enough, in fact, for a wheelchair. Along the way up, we discovered “stations”—Braille on one plastic board, a xylophone elsewhere, knobs and different textures lining the walls. Penny and William, our 18-month old son, didn’t seem to notice anything different. They just thought it was fun to slide and swing and seesaw, play peekaboo, run and climb and spin.

A few years ago, it took courage for me to take Penny to a playground. I wondered what questions I might get, particularly, “How old is she?” and then a surprised look when I said “Two,” and they watched her take those tentative early steps, watched her tiny body navigate whatever treacherous structure loomed ahead. I worried about older children knocking her down. I wasn’t even sure she would have fun, since she couldn’t run and jump and climb like other kids her age.

Read the rest at http://www.accessibleplayground.net/?p=766

This article was written by By Amy Julia Becker who blogs at Thin Places, at www.amyjuliabecker.blogspot.com.  The article was orginally published in BLOOM–Parenting Kids with Disabilities (http://bloom-parentingkidswithdisabilities.blogspot.com/)  Used with permission

Landscape Structures Inc., a Delano, Minn.-based commercial playground manufacturer, introduced A Higher Level of Inclusive Play™, a revolutionary playground design solution that will provide new sensory play experiences for children of all abilities, and establish new standards for inclusive playgrounds worldwide. Landscape Structures’ goal with its Inclusive Play solution is to include children with autism and sensory disorders, and lead the creation of a new generation of inclusive playgrounds.

As part of this solution, Landscape Structures launched a suite of Sensory Play products that will

Sensory Play Center

create welcoming play environments for all children especially those with autism or sensory processing disorders. The five new products were designed to provide rich tactile, proprioceptive, vestibular, visual and auditory experiences, as well as help develop motor-planning skills and increase social/imaginative play opportunities. In addition, with the help of industry experts the company’s team of in-house playground designers has developed Sensory Design Criteria that now guide all inclusive playground designs.

Designers of inclusive playgrounds strive to serve children of all abilities and, until now, their playground designs have largely focused on accessibility and developmental appropriateness. With its Inclusive Play solution, Landscape Structures contends that each playground should address the sensory needs of all children and welcome those with autism and other sensory processing disorders into the play environment.

Read the rest of the blog and see more pictures at accessibleplayground.net

There are many different ways to encourage people of all abilities and ages to play together.  When I was at the National Parks and Recreation (NRPA) Congress, I saw a unique table that I would encourage anyone who is building an accessible playground to add.  It is a fun way to promote inclusive play.

The table is an ADA picnic table, meaning there is a seat left off the design, so that a person using a wheelchair can wheel right up to the table.  There are hundreds of these tables available from many manufacturers.  Depending on the size of park you are building you may be obligated to add ADA picnic tables.

This table is different from all of the others.  It adds play value in addition to a place to sit and eat.  As you can see from the picture there is a checker/chess board and backgammon game on the surface of the table.  We have all seen pictures of people playing fast chess on tables in parks.  This table lets a person who uses a chair to join in the play.

Read the rest at accessibleplayground.net including how KaBOOM can help you make a table.

Here are some great links to sites that show how to make paper airplanes that actually fly.  I thought some of you would like to see them to use with kids you work with.  Paper airplanes are really math in disguise : )  Have fun!

KEN BLACKBURN's PAPER AIRPLANES 
http://www.paperplane.org/'
 
Ten Original Paper Airplane Designs that fly well
http://www.bestpaperairplanes.com/
 
http://www.paperairplanes.co.uk/

Amelia Grace Place in Rockport, MA was built with true love. After Amelia died at age 10 from Angelman's Syndrome, her entire family got behind her mother's efforts to build a playground in her memory.  Read all about it at http://www.accessibleplayground.net/?p=486

I am pleased to announce that the September addition of the Let Kids Play Newsletter has just been published.  This month's featured playground is Morgan's Wonderland.  It will be a 26 acre accessible playground in TX. You have to read it to believe it.   There is also an article about our new website www.accessibleplayground.net which includes a directory of accessible playgrounds throughout North America.

The link to read the newsletter is http://hosted.verticalresponse.com/461203/fa05dd30ed/1681501428/46164d8a11/

If you enjoy it, make sure you visit www.letkidsplay.com and sign up to receive it on a regular basis.

Mara