Case Study: Creating an inclusive recreation destination

Posted on October 29, 2015 by PlayLSI

Client: City of Ankeny Parks and Recreation department, Ankeny, Iowa

Designers: Outdoor Recreation Products and Gabriel Cotten, Landscape Structures playground designer

Goal: Create an inclusive destination to welcome children and families of all abilities

Solution: To create an inclusive play environment, a PlayBooster® playstructure with an extensive ramping system was installed. The ramps allow kids using wheelchairs or other mobility devices to get to the highest levels on the playground, and there are playground activities like the Rollerslide and Sway Fun® glider along the way. Set apart from the main playstructures are even more opportunities for inclusive play. And to tie in with the nearby Miracle League baseball field, custom baseball roofs were included.

Visit playlsi.com to read more about how the City of Ankeny Parks and Recreation department partnered with community organizations to bring a unique recreation experience to the kid of Ankeny as well as surrounding communities.

Celebrating Sensory Awareness Month

Posted on October 15, 2015 by PlayLSI

October is National Sensory Awareness Month… a time for us to help spread awareness of sensory processing disorder (SPD). SPD, which affects both children and adults, is a condition that exists when sensory signals don’t get organized into appropriate responses. The causes of SPD are among the subjects that researchers at the SPD Foundation have been studying, and treatment often includes natural setting therapy like at home, school or the playground.

The benefits of sensory-stimulating playground activities—those that engage all their senses—affect children of all abilities. The more they engage all of their senses, the better they make sense of the world around them and their relationship to it. See our infographic below of five ways that children benefit from sensory play.

Fresh play experiences with freestanding play

Posted on October 8, 2015 by PlayLSI

Are you designing a new playground or freshening up an existing play space? Don’t forget to include freestanding play components! Playground activities set apart from a main play structure allows kids to step away for some quiet time or break into smaller play groups. Better yet, freestanding play components can bring children of all abilities and ages into the same space for collaborative play.

We have a wide variety of freestanding play events including the ZipKrooz™, TopsyTurny® and OmniSpin® spinners, Oodle® Swing, We-saw™ and a variety of playground net climbers. Even more, we have a line of nature-inspired products that can be included into your playground. Or you can create an outdoor learning environment by positioning a few pieces together. Watch below to see how B.T. Washington Elementary School in Tampa, Fla., designed their nature-inspired outdoor classroom.

Tell us how you’ve incorporated freestanding play into your playground designs. Then visit playlsi.com to see our full offering of freestanding play components.

Choosing the right outdoor fitness equipment for your community

Posted on August 20, 2015 by PlayLSI

Everyone seems to be talking about the importance of community wellness lately. The good news is that your park can do something to help improve it. Offering outdoor fitness equipment is a great way to increase park usage while also increasing the health of your community. Keep in mind these four considerations when purchasing outdoor fitness equipment:

Create an inclusive environment. Welcome teens and adults of all abilities to workout together with fitness equipment that is accessible and easily understood by first-time users.
Meet the needs of all fitness levels. Look for outdoor fitness equipment that will meet users at their level—whether that’s beginner or advanced.
Offer a variety of workouts. Provide equipment that targets various fitness areas such as muscle strength, cardiovascular health and balance/flexibility.
Design to fit your environment. Consider where your outdoor fitness equipment will get the most use—along a walking trail, next to the playground or ball field, or at a senior living community—and make sure the equipment’s size and aesthetic will fit the environment.

Check out the refreshed, contemporary design of the HealthBeat® outdoor fitness system, which fits the above criteria. Our resistance technology delivers a better workout, and signage includes links to instructional videos that can be viewed on a smart device while at each fitness station. Learn more at playlsi.com.

Promoting literacy through inclusive playground designs

Posted on July 16, 2015 by PlayLSI

Thanks to the collaboration of some very hard-working organizations, there is a new inclusive playground ready to welcome children and families of all abilities. On Saturday, July 11, Shane’s Inspiration along with First 5 LA, the Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks, Too Small to Fail and the Exceptional Children’s Foundation hosted a grand opening to celebrate the new Landscape Structures inclusive playground at Sepulveda Recreation Center in Panorama City, Calif.

The playground offers a train theme with custom play structures that mimic a train depot and train cars, and all of the structures are designed to welcome children of varying abilities. Even more, this playground is the first in the country to highlight Too Small to Fail’s “Talking is Teaching: Talk, Read, Sing” campaign to boost children’s early language development. The playground at Sepulveda Recreation Center incorporated the Talking is Teaching materials into playground signage to prompt fun conversations, stories and songs while parents and children play together.

We’re proud to collaborate with Shane’s Inspiration and Too Small to Fail to support families build a foundation of early literacy skills and help close the word gap.

Planning for inclusion on World Autism Awareness Day

Posted on April 2, 2015 by PlayLSI

Today marks the eighth annual World Autism Awareness Day. This day brings autism organizations around the world together to help raise awareness about the disorder affecting nearly 1 in 68 children. Because of these stats and the fact that there are one in seven children in the U.S. living with a disability, we took a close look at public playground requirements for children with disabilities by conducting a survey of nearly 900 parents of children 12-years-old and younger.

More than half (57 percent) of all parents asked about playground requirements for children with disabilities, mistakenly believe playgrounds are required to have elements designed for children with autism spectrum disorders, Down syndrome, and visual and hearing impairments. That means that people who think they’re designing an inclusive playground based upon ADA standards are really only designing to the minimum requirements and could be missing a huge need in their community.

Over the past few years, we’ve learned about a desire to include sensory play experiences and multigenerational opportunities for social interaction. Planners also want to make sure the community or school playground offers enough challenge for children who are typically developing as well so that there are opportunities for healthy interaction among children of all abilities. Our survey echoed that idea… nearly 75 percent of parents believe it is important that their children have an opportunity to play with a variety of children, including those with disabilities.

Overall, when planning an inclusive playground, inclusion should be used as a guiding principal—a checkpoint that you continue to question, “How are we fulfilling this need?” Learn more about inclusive play at playlsi.com, and see more results from our Inclusive Play survey.

One year of inclusive play in Russia and counting…

Posted on February 12, 2015 by PlayLSI

This week marks the one year anniversary of the opening of the first inclusive playground in Russia. Together with our partner in inclusive play, Shane’s Inspiration, we designed the fully inclusive and accessible playground to deliver a nature-inspired play experience. The natural playground design in addition to the sensory-stimulating and developmentally appropriate activities will welcome children and families of all abilities.

The installation of the accessible playground equipment was in association with the 2014 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in Sochi. Read more about this playground first here.

Fun, new playground equipment products for your 2015 designs

Posted on January 15, 2015 by PlayLSI

See how we’re designing exhilaration, challenge, imagination and community into our new playground products for 2015.

Eight new nature-inspired playground colors will stimulate kids’ senses and perfectly coordinate with the outdoors!

First there was Smart Play: Motion 2-5, and now there’s Smart Play: Cube 2-5! This play structure delivers 14 different activities perfect for 2- to 3-year-olds in a compact footprint.

We’re rocking community and school playgrounds again with our new Canyon Collection™, which provides a realistic rock climbing experience.

Our HealthBeat® outdoor fitness system has a fresh new design and three new stations—the Elliptical, Parallel Bars and the Hand Cycler.

Spin to good health! Our TopsyTurny™ Spinner encourages social interaction and collaboration.

Learn more about these innovative new commercial playground equipment products on the newly redesigned playlsi.com!

Help bring inclusive play to a Twin Cities community

Posted on June 13, 2014 by PlayLSI

Nearly 14 percent of American children have one or more special needs ranging from autism to cerebral palsy. Nationwide there’s a growing trend of communities, schools and organizations advocating for more inclusive playgrounds where kids of all abilities can play together. The Madison Claire Foundation is working diligently to raise funds to build Madison’s Place, the first all-inclusive and accessible playground in Woodbury, Minn.

They now have a chance to secure new funding through the “All-Star Fans Choose” grant. The $500,000 grant is supported by Major League Baseball, the Minnesota Twins, the Twins Community Fund and the Pohlad Family Foundation. Even better, you can vote for the Madison Claire Foundation and help increase their chance to win! Fans can vote once per day from now through Thursday, July 11, and the winner will be announced during MLB All-Star Week.

Learn more about Madison’s Place.

Creating an Inclusive Play Movement

Posted on May 22, 2014 by PlayLSI

Recreation Management kicked off its new Webinar Educational Series in February, which was designed to provide participants with an in-depth look at some of the top issues and challenges in the recreation industry. We’re proud to have sponsored the first webinar in the series, which discussed the best ways to bring inclusive play from imagination to reality.

Experts discussed methods for creating effective public/private partnerships, building funding and support for inclusive play, and ensuring that playground designs are truly inclusive—along with ways to facilitate playing together among children and caregivers of all abilities. Watch the recording, and then visit playlsi.com to learn more about our commitment to inclusive play.

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Category Archives: Inclusive Play