Over the last two years, we’ve introduced some amazing products like the Smart Play® Tree Tops®, BeachComber® and Billows®. Those playstructures have been hits with kids and caregivers alike—they love each and every piece! That’s led us to create three awesome new climbers—the Vine Climber, Tidal Wave Climber and Mobius® Climber—to include in your PlayBooster® playstructure designs. These new climbers are a great new way to add a modern aesthetic to your more traditional playground designs.
Vine Climber
Vine Climber Achieve great heights on the PlayBooster Vine Climber. Kids ages 5 to 12 will climb on the steel frame for sure footing or navigate the cables for more challenge. GripX steps at the six-foot level provide a perch to take in the view, change direction or hang out, while the SwiggleKnots™ Bridge integrated below was added for more wiggly fun.
Tidal Wave Climber
Tidal Wave Climber Kids ages 5 to 12 will love surfing the wave! The Tidal Wave Climber provides over and under play with a variety of materials for different challenges. The upper belting and cables form a wavy, wiggly bridge, while the lower belting is a great spot to crawl through or hang out and watch the action.
Mobius Climber
Mobius Climber The well-loved Mobius Climber is now available as a PlayBooster component! This uniquely designed Mobius Climber tests the agility and strength of courageous climbers ages 5 to 12. Twists and turns in the panels challenge kids to adapt their body position as they climb up to the 72″ deck.
Playground design has been evolving to become more inclusive and inviting for children and their caregivers of all abilities. Play is not only fun, but it’s also an essential part of a child’s development and critical for the successful growth of both the brain and the body.
That’s why we’ve drawn on the expertise of child development professionals to help us explore new avenues that allow for all children to fully participate in play together. Our work doesn’t just focus on playstructures and activities that are accessible to children with physical disabilities, but also those who may have sight or hearing impairment, intellectual disabilities and developmental disabilities.
Symbol Communication Sign
For individuals who are non-verbal, speech-challenged or early-learners—or perhaps are non-English speaking—their inability to share ideas, feelings and needs can be frustrating and may keep them from socializing with others at the playground. That’s why we’ve introduced the new Symbol Communication Sign to be placed at the entrance to play areas, which will ensure every child, family member and caregiver is allowed to further their expression, interaction and communication.
With guidance from experts in Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) and Inclusive Design, we developed the Symbol Communication Sign to include pictures representing nouns/pronouns, verbs, feelings, activities, and playground events as well as letters and numbers. The graphics are universally understandable and easy to use, arranged left-to-right as one would build a sentence and use industry-standard colors representing different types of words. The DigiFuse® graphics are printed on both sides of the Symbol Communication Sign.
We’re committed to providing play experiences for children of all abilities. Our inclusive play design philosophy, which addresses the accessibility, age and developmental appropriateness, and sensory-stimulating activity, and other inclusive play product innovations like the We-Go-Swing®, We-Go-Round®, We-saw™, OmniSpin® spinner and Sway Fun® glider, we’re helping bring children with and without special needs together to play, learn and grow on the playground. Learn more at playlsi.com.
We’re excited to announce that the Chisholm Kiwanis Club of Chisholm, Minn., is the winner of the Legacy of Play H2O Contest and will receive an AquaSmart™ Package valued at US$50,000.
Chisholm is a mining town on the Mesabi Range in Northern Minnesota with a population of less than 5,000. While the town is built around the 158-acre Longyear Lake, it is not fit for swimming and several nearby open pit mines are not monitored or safe for swimming. That’s why the Chisholm Kiwanis Club was focused on bringing an option for safe water play to the community.
The club will install the splash pad equipment in Memorial Park, a space that already offers football and softball fields, sand volleyball, bocce ball and pickleball courts, as well as the summer recreation program. The addition of the splash pad will encourage even more community members as well as surrounding communities to visit and enjoy the beautiful town of Chisholm.
“Our club celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2020, and this project has been something we’ve been talking about ever since,” explained Shannon Kishel-Roche, Chisholm Kiwanis Club’s president. “A splash pad was a great solution to our lack of community swimming options, and it’s a great opportunity to commemorate our club’s centennial.”
While this is the first year that Aquatix®, Landscape Structures and Kiwanis International have sponsored the Legacy of Play H2O contest, we have partnered with Kiwanis to sponsor the Legacy of Play Contest focused on playgrounds for eight years.
We’re excited to introduce the Revi™ products, which includes the ReviRock™ Bouncer, ReviWheel™ Spinner and ReviWhirl™ Spinner. Each of the Revi playground equipment products, explained below, were created using a single sculptural form to deliver three different and thrilling play experiences.
The ReviRock Bouncer for ages 2 to 12 position on a large center spring bounces and rocks in all directions.
Designed for ages 5 to 12, the center wheel of the ReviWheel Spinner allows kids to spin themselves around and around.
Deliver an adventure in physics for kids ages 5 to 12 with the the ReviWhirl Spinner by offering spinning through perpetual motion or a push from the outside.
The Revi playground equipment products were designed with inclusion in mind. All three products are designed at transfer height, offer multiple ways to hang on, and provide plenty of room for kids of all abilities to lay down, sit, kneel or stand as they experiment with the motion. Even more, the ReviWheel and ReviWhirl spinners include a proprietary dynamic speed control to keep spinning at a fun yet controllable speed.
Adding freestanding play components is a great way to expand existing play spaces and freshen up the play experience. Placing one or all the Revi products together with other freestanding spinners, the ZipKrooz® or a selection of playground swings creates a play zone filled with thrilling experiences great for kids of all ages and abilities.
See the new Revi products in action and learn more about each one at playlsi.com/revi-play/.
Summit™ is the newest addition to the Smart Play® family of adventure-inspiring designs. Kids ages 5 to 12 will search for hidden animal tracks as they trek across the laser-cut climbing decks and three-dimensional nets. Plus, the cool color gradation matches kids’ ascents. Bring the mountains to your play area with Smart Play adventure playgrounds like Summit that welcome crowds of all abilities for fun, imaginative play.
Smart Play Adventure Playgrounds for ages 5 to 12
Our Smart Play playstructures offer social play and challenging adventures for kids ages 5 to 12. See below for even more innovative themes and concepts available:
Billows® – From the Alpine® Slide to the twists of the Flex Climber and Mobius® Climber, kids find a plethora of ways to bounce, climb and slide.
BeachComber® – Kids love creating seaworthy adventures as they sail across the Tidal Wave Climber and wind their way down curvy slides.
Tree Tops® – With wiggly bridges, an O-Zone® 3-ring climber and two different slides, kids love navigating through this abstract playstructure.
Smart Play Playgrounds for ages 2 to 5
Don’t forget about the toddlers and preschoolers of your community. Our pre-designed Smart Play adventure playgrounds are developmentally appropriate for each age group. See the coordinating options for kids ages 2 to 5 below, and browse all the designs at playlsi.com/smart-play:
Breeze™ – Kids can crawl, walk and climb their way up to the whimsical hot-air balloon ride among the clouds.
Motion – Kids ages 2 to 5 will find 16 activities including a race track, inclined tunnel and more to keep them entertained.
Sprig™ – This playstructure delivers a foliage-themed Marble Panel® and leaf slider all beneath a canopy of SkyWays® shade.
Request a Smart Play Catalog
Smart Play Digital Catalog
Learn all about our Smart Play family of playstructures in the Smart Play digital catalog. In addition to detailed information and designer-curated color combinations, this digital publication shows these compact playstructures in action. Experience it all in the 2022 Smart Play Digital Catalog. Then contact us to get started on your next playground design.
We’re excited to share all our 2022 playground innovations with you. They lead the way in encouraging kids to play outdoors, engaging their imaginations and bringing children of all abilities together to play. Check them out below, and comment to tell us your favorite.
Smart Play® Summit™
Summit™ is the newest addition to the Smart Play® family of adventure-inspiring designs. Kids ages 5 to 12 will search for hidden animal tracks and camping gear as they trek across the laser-cut climbing decks and three-dimensional nets. Plus, the cool color gradation matches kids’ ascents. Bring the mountains to your play area with this condensed-footprint, giant-play-value playstructure that welcomes crowds of all abilities for fun, imaginative play.
Our Revi™ products are an adventure in physics offering spinning, bouncing and rocking through perpetual or self-propelled motion. The ReviWheel™ Spinner, ReviWhirl™ Spinner and ReviRock™ Bouncer (pictured above) were all designed with inclusion in mind and can be used by one or many kids for endless thrills.
Symbol Communication Sign
Pictures and symbols are an effective way for non-verbal, speech-challenged, and early-learning individuals to communicate with friends and caregivers. Placing a Symbol Communication Sign at the entrance to a play area ensures that everyone can express themselves.
From subtle statements to bold impacts, we have new colors to suit your space! With the addition of four new Permalene® colors and two polyethylene colors, all inspired by nature, we’re continuing to change the world of playground design.
Our approach to design and play hasn’t changed. And that means everything keeps changing. It’s why designers discover ingenious ways to create new, innovative landscape environments. Together, we’ll create environments to be newly fresh and exciting upon every visit. Because that’s what creates return visitors to our playgrounds… and our 2022 PLAY Book. By design.
We build unique play value into each design. The result is layers of possibility, the development of new skills and an opportunity to evolve with children’s changing needs. See all the unique designs of the PLAY Book in action below.
In the U.S., we don’t always grasp that most of us will experience aging and varying abilities. The design of our public spaces often reflects that lack of understanding. Not everyone can easily navigate and use these spaces, including the veterans who serve our country and return home with a disability or change in ability.
Ingrid Kanics
However, there are bold minds who do consider the full range of ability in our society—and how we can build environments where everyone thrives. Army veteran Ingrid Kanics is one of these people.
Ingrid uses the World Health Organization’s definition of disability: “the interaction between individuals with a health condition and personal and environmental factors (e.g. negative attitudes, inaccessible transportation and public buildings, and limited social supports).”
In other words, disability is not an individual’s problem—it’s about how they are supported as they engage with the world. Ingrid helps people of all ages and abilities transcend barriers and build healthier lives by creating inclusive indoor and outdoor spaces where everyone can play.
The founder and owner of Kanics Inclusive Design Services, LLC, Ingrid is a powerhouse who combines a wide range of personal experiences and interests: a Master of Occupational Therapy and Master of Interior Architecture; a deep understanding of sensory play; a never-waning sense of wonder and curiosity.
At 29, however, Ingrid was on a different path, joining the Army with plans to train as a physical therapist and help soldiers rehabilitate. Everything changed when she sustained a profound injury to her spinal cord during basic training.
After emergency surgery and 18 months in rehab, Ingrid learned to walk again, but when she shifted her professional focus to occupational therapy, she truly found her stride. She decided to go “bimobile,” using a wheelchair part-time to manage her energy more efficiently. She became more active and started playing sports again.
During this time, Ingrid was working in maintenance at a sensory integration clinic. As she cleaned and organized the clinic, she got to know the children and families in treatment and developed a deep empathy for them. Her conversations and observations helped build a foundation for her future.
Ingrid earned her first master’s and worked with Pittsburgh’s Center for Creative Play before founding her consulting business in 2010. One of her first consultant roles came with Landscape Structures.
We-Go-Swing™
On projects with Landscape Structures, Ingrid collaborates throughout the product development process with everyone from engineers to the sales team. She prioritizes several factors. First, are they meeting an unfilled need? Before the team developed the We-Go Swing™, for example, there were extremely limited swing options that allow children and adults of all abilities to join and actively contribute to the play experience.
She also considers inclusivity and how products support different populations. In her occupational therapy role, Ingrid has worked with kids with a variety of health conditions and sensory needs. She thinks about how each kid would benefit from a new product, along with other kids of varying abilities, with a consistent goal of creating inclusive play spaces where kids of all abilities can interact face-to-face.
At Landscape Structures, Ingrid has been involved from the ground up with what she calls the “We” Collection, which includes the We-Go-Swing as well as an inclusive see-saw (the We-Saw™) that is easier to access and offers space in the middle for kids who want less movement. It also includes the We-Go-Round™, a modern take on a merry-go-round, that has room for kids and adults using mobility devices and allows them to help support motion.
All three elements are about cooperation, socialization and working together to have fun. And, all allow parents, grandparents and other adults with disabilities to play with their children. That’s important to Ingrid, who’s always thinking about Wounded Warriors who come home and want to remain vital members of their communities. Her life and experiences give her a firsthand understanding of the desire to stay involved and the vitality we all have to offer—and her work helps people live more fully, one play experience at a time.
Tap into Ingrid’s experiences and expertise! She’s available to present sessions about inclusion, inclusive play space design, multigenerational design and evidence-based playground design to your community or organization. Browse our education offerings, and schedule one today.
We’re excited to announce that the Kiwanis Club of Stuart, Florida, is the winner in the 8th Annual Legacy of Play contest. The club, which will receive $25,000 in playground equipment, plans to install the commercial playground equipment in Kiwanis Park in downtown Stuart, a place that has become a sanctuary for Martin County families. The Kiwanis Club Stuart Playground Project will provide an area for older children, completing the goal of giving children of all ages and abilities a safe and fun place to play.
The club has been working on this destination play space for five years. According to Kali Flood, who submitted her club’s application to the contest, they first built a barrier-free playground to ensure accessibility for the community. And in December, they’re expanding with a Tot Lot and Sensory Sensitive play area for children on the autism spectrum, along with reaching children with visual and auditory impairments.
Plans call for the Kiwanis Club Stuart Playground Project to be installed and ready for children by October 2022. The club, which has 45 members, will work together with the City of Stuart as well as other community groups to bring this destination playground to fruition. Read more about the winning club.
Learn more about our partnership with Kiwanis International at playlsi.com.
We all know the physical and emotional benefits to getting outdoors. Adding commercial shade structures benefits your outdoor spaces by increasing visitors to your community parks, playgrounds, sports and recreation complexes, and more. With the added protection of shade, play sessions can be extended making the benefits of play and outdoor activity even greater. We can help you add commercial shade sails to your outdoor areas with SkyWays® shade structures, which offers flexible and stylish options to make everywhere that people gather outside more comfortable.
To appreciate the commercial shade structures benefits, it’s important to understand the risks and long-term effects of UV radiation and sun exposure. Evidence from the Skin Cancer Foundation shows that sun exposure and sunburns during childhood multiply the risk of developing skin cancer. And according to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), unprotected skin can be damaged by the sun’s UV rays in as little as 15 minutes—even when days are cool and cloudy. SkyWays commercial shade sails provide critical protection, blocking up to 97 percent of the sun’s UV rays while making temperatures underneath up to 30-degrees cooler.
When adequate shade is added to playgrounds and surrounding areas, kids are protected from UV exposure, and parents and caregivers are more likely to extend play sessions. Families may be more likely to extend their picnic or family outing if they’re keeping cool and protected under a shade. Additionally, schools are utilizing shade sails and structures to extend their classroom space to the great outdoors. By adding SkyWays shade sails to existing courtyards or a new outdoor classroom space, schools can embrace the benefits of nature for outdoor learning and not worry about sun exposure or inclement weather.
Even more, commercial shade sails can help protect your investment. Integrating SkyWays shade into your playground design or adding it after your outdoor space has been completed will shield it from the intense rays of the sun and protect it from harsh winter weather. Shade structures help to prevent premature fading and deterioration by keeping the color of equipment vibrant and preventing cracking that happens over time from sun exposure.
