March 2016 - Parks & Recreation - 82

Operations
Building Dynamic Playgrounds
By Michelle A. Kelly, RLA, CPSI

laygrounds by their very nature are fun and should inspire kids to
play. The quality of that play is inherently linked to the design of the
playground - its layout, play equipment, amenities and aesthetics.
Using research-based evidence, the concept of dynamic play guides
playground design with nine easy-to-understand criteria in an effort to get children playing longer, socializing more and getting more exercise.
Research on play and childhood
development comes from universities, nonprofits, governments and
corporations. Articles from as early as 1986, such as, " Preschoolers'
Play Behavior in Outdoor Environments: Effects of Traditional and
Contemporary Playgrounds " in the
American Educational Research Journal, to more recent works from 2013
in the Journal of Adventure Education
and Outdoor Learning's " A Comparative Study of Active Play on Dif-

ferently Designed Playgrounds, "
highlight the way design affects play.
This research, along with more than
20 years of designing playgrounds,
helped to form the nine key criteria
and coined the term " dynamic play "
for this method of design.
The idea is to incorporate as
many of the nine criteria in a playground as possible. Not all will
work for all sites or users, so customization is key to fitting to a specific playground.

Space
Create spaces beyond just safety use zones so that kids can run,
jump and play. This allows for unstructured play areas and spaces to
socialize. Extra space can be part of
the safety-play surface area or adjacent spaces with lawn berms, shaded
shelters, a garden space or short ledge
with a view to the play area.

Diversity
A diversity of play types is key
to encourage the physical, cognitive, social and sensory exploration
within a playground. Multiple levels
of activities with a diversity of play
events keep kids interested and increases physical activity. The physical play pieces with swings, slides
and climbers can be complemented
with social play houses, shelters,
talk tubes and cognitive play themes,
panels and sand play. Diversity of
play pieces can also help meet the
needs of many users with varying
physical and cognitive abilities.

Dynamic play spaces, like Chicago's Hiawatha Park, seen here, incorporate nine specific design criteria that help to maximize user experience
for children of all ages and abilities, as well as their caregivers.

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Circuits
Multiple loops and access points
provide paths of movement to explore and learn while encouraging
exercise through play. The most basic loop is an entry stair to a slide
and the path back to the stair. When
that loop is extended through play
pieces like pod climbers, monkey
bars, bridges, ramps, exterior paved
walks, a landscape bed or a climbing
rock ledge before getting back to the
slide, entry users have more opportunities to be active.

March 2016 - Parks & Recreation

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