Take flight with ZipKrooz™

Posted on May 8, 2014 by PlayLSI

Zip lines have become the fastest growing recreational sport in the world, and now one of our newest innovations brings that adventure to the playground! ZipKrooz™ is our inclusive zip line for playgrounds, and when paired with its accessible companion, ZipKrooz Assisted, it provides a truly inclusive play experience.

ZipKrooz lets kids zip from one end to the other, and back again for nonstop fun. With three lengths of track available, ZipKrooz and ZipKrooz Assisted can accommodate any playground or all three can be installed to offer users a graduated experience. Even better, when installed together ZipKrooz and ZipKrooz Assisted provide children of all abilities the feeling of flying side-by-side.

Learn more about ZipKrooz and ZipKrooz Assisted and see it in action below.

[youtube=http://youtu.be/1yzSXxAvG4Y]

Celebrating Kiwanis One Day 2014

Posted on April 4, 2014 by PlayLSI

Tomorrow is Kiwanis One Day 2014, an event when Kiwanis members unite to complete hands-on community service projects around the globe. To celebrate all the work Kiwanis members do on One Day, and throughout the year, we’re reflecting on how our partnership has already allowed us to make a difference in many communities.

In June 2013, we worked together with Kiwanis and their collegiate service organization, Circle K International (CKI), to install playground equipment at two elementary schools in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Additionally, we awarded $25,000 in playground equipment to the Iola Kiwanis Club in Iola, Kansas, as part of our Make a Difference Through Play contest. The club will install the community’s first inclusive playground this month!

Learn more about our partnership with Kiwanis International, and connect with your local Kiwanis club to learn about volunteer opportunities and more.

Supporting inclusive play

Posted on March 21, 2014 by PlayLSI

Last week, we were honored at the Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) Foundation’s 1st Annual Banquet of Champions. Held at the Inverness Hotel and Conference Center in Englewood, Colo., the event brought together people to help raise funds for research towards understanding behavioral and brain differences in children with SPD. Additionally, the Foundation celebrated individuals and organizations that have supported the SPD Foundation.

We were presented the Champion of Partnership award for partnering with the SPD Foundation to bring “The World’s Best Sensory Playground” to the STAR Center. The inclusive and sensory-stimulating playground equipment is used as a therapy tool for kids receiving treatment at the STAR Center.

We’re proud to work with the SPD Foundation and support their research in sensory processing disorders, and honored by this recognition. Learn more about the SPD Foundation and the STAR Center, and go here to read more about our commitment to inclusive play.

Honoring champions of inclusive play

Posted on March 12, 2014 by PlayLSI

On Saturday, March 8, Shane’s Inspiration held its annual Gala Celebration at the Beverly Hills Hotel Crystal Ballroom. Themed An Evening of Motown, attendees came together to help raise funds for Shane’s Inspiration and their inclusion programming in addition to celebrating three amazing champions of inclusive play.

Former Vice President of Ecuador Lenin Moreno was presented with the Inspiration Award for his work in advancing social inclusion and bringing the first inclusive playground to Ecuador. The 8,880 square-foot inclusive playground, which opened on Nov. 22, 2013, features playground equipment specifically designed to promote integration among children of all abilities.

Additionally, Universal Studios Hollywood’s Discover a Star Foundation received the Community Leadership Award for its work of providing financial assistance to neighboring nonprofits linked to children’s causes and homeless intervention, and Richard D. Kessler was honored with the Humanitarian Award for his strong community involvement and support of Shane’s Inspiration.

Congratulations to all of these champions of inclusive play!

Guest Blog: Preparing for our community build

Posted on March 6, 2014 by PlayLSI

In June, we awarded the Iola Kiwanis club in Iola, Kan., $25,000 in playground equipment as part of the Make a Difference Through Play contest. We’re happy to share another update from Michael Ford, member of Iola Kiwanis and community resource officer for the Iola Police Department.

Our last update was in mid-December, and plans for our inclusive playground have been moving fast since then. Our fundraising got a big boost at the end of 2013 through a couple of grants and individual donors, and now we’re moving quickly towards the installation.

We’re hoping to install the playground on April 5-6, during Kiwanis International’s One Day—weather depending, of course. And will build the playground with the help of community volunteers. Groups within the community have come to us to ask if they can participate. We’ve got volunteers from a local bank and church, the police station, the M.O.M.S. group as well as their friends and family, and the Iola Kiwanis Club. Even more than helping with the manual labor, people are offering to help with lunches and even the Girl Scouts are hoping to be there to help cheer on the rest of the volunteers.

Our playground consultant from ATHCO, L.L.C. and the Iola Parks and Recreation Department have helped coordinate the installation, and we’re targeting a two-day build. Following the build, we’ll tackle the site work and surfacing installation. Everyone in Iola—from kids to adults—is excited to see this project come together and looking forward to playing on the inclusive playground this spring.

More to explore while using less

Posted on February 27, 2014 by PlayLSI

After observing kids at a local childcare facility, we realized that 2- and 3-year-olds are reaching specific developmental milestones. They’re on the move (to say the least), and are stimulated by things that move! That’s why we created Smart Play: Motion, a new playstructure with lots of moving parts that’s scaled just right for developing toddlers and preschoolers. Kids get plenty of developmentally appropriate challenges with 16 interactive play events.

From a shape-and-fit table to a sensory station, every bit of Smart Play: Motion has some aspect of interactivity to it. Instead of creating just a handrail, our designers incorporated moveable puzzle pieces to create more engagement. And there’s a race car track that encourages cooperative play and interaction. Even more, this compact playstructure is completely accessible to welcome children of all abilities.

Smart Play: Motion not only provides smart design to help create smart kids, but it’s manufactured with a smart use of materials. The manufacturing of Smart Play: Motion—similar to the manufacturing process of all our playground products—is focused on getting as many components as possible out of the smallest amount of material.

Learn more about Smart Play: Motion, and check out the video of this playground design below.

[youtube=http://youtu.be/XbIrAGkc31o]

First inclusive playground opens in Russia

Posted on February 13, 2014 by PlayLSI

On Monday, Feb. 10, we celebrated from afar the grand opening of the first inclusive playground in Russia. The inclusive playground was installed in association with the 2014 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in Sochi.

We worked with our partner in inclusive play, Shane’s Inspiration, to design the inclusive play space. In addition to being fully inclusive, the playground offers a nature-inspired play experience with log steppers, climbers that mimic logs and boulders, and a tree house. The nature-inspired features along with the sensory- and accessible-focused playground components help to welcome children of all abilities.

This is the second Olympics-related inclusive playground in which Shane’s Inspiration and we’ve been involved—the first was installed in Vancouver for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

Get Inspired!

Posted on January 20, 2014 by PlayLSI

We’re excited to introduce our new Playground Inspirations book and app! With our 2014 new products, bold signature design ideas and age-appropriate playground environments, you’ll find loads of inspiration to create new play environments that will welcome the entire community. Even more, we’ve paired the Playground Inspirations book with the new Playground Inspirations app, which brings designs found in the book to life with images, videos and renders.

Request your copy of the Playground Inspirations book or browse it virtually. And be sure to download the Playground Inspirations app, available for iPads and Android tablets, for a truly interactive experience.

Looking for playground component-specific information? Request our Playground Components book along with the Playground Inspirations book for inspirational and functional playground planning. Then contact your local Landscape Structures playground consultant to get started.

Happy New Year!

Posted on January 1, 2014 by PlayLSI

With the arrival of the New Year, it’s a great time for us to look back on 2013. We’re honored, along with our playground consultants, to collaborate with you on playground projects and proud of what we’ve accomplished together. Check out just a few of the happenings from 2013 in the following list:

Introduced exciting new products—Pulse™, We-saw™ and three site furnishings collections—in January.
Steve King, cofounder of Landscape Structures, unveiled his book A Legacy of Play, which documents the more than 40-year history of the company.
Announced our new partnership with Kiwanis International, and kicked off a contest to help bring play to communities around the world. Our winner was the Iola Kiwanis club in Iola, Kan., which is currently fundraising for their inclusive playground.
Barb King (1946-2008), cofounder of Landscape Structures, was inducted into the Minnesota Women Business Owners Hall of Fame, which honors women entrepreneurial leaders who represent 150 years of Minnesota business history.
Introduced new signature designs including the Eclipse Net® Plus, Hillscape Adventure and GeoNetrix.
Hosted occupational therapists for a playground tour throughout the Twin Cities metro during the AOTA Specialty Conference.
Collaborated with Washington D.C. Parks and Recreation to renovate playgrounds throughout the city.
Completed our 18th inclusive playground project with The Miracle League.
Installed a SpongeBob-themed playground at Enterprise Elementary School in Enterprise, Fla., which was the grand prize of the 2012 Nickelodeon “I Wanna Play” Sweeps.
Reconnected with, and met new, parks and recreation professionals at our party at Lucky Strike Lanes during the NRPA Congress & Exposition in Houston.
Attended the ASLA Annual Meeting & Expo in Boston at which our booth, featuring GeoNetrix, was voted by landscape architects as Best Visual Appeal.
Celebrated with our partner, Shane’s Inspiration, the grand opening of the first inclusive playground in the country of Ecuador.

In less than two weeks, we’ll continuing celebrating a great 2013 with our playground consultants from around the world when they arrive in Minnesota for our Annual Sales Meeting. Stay tuned for announcements of our new catalog, products and more in the upcoming weeks! Want to be the first to hear about them? Sign up for our e-newsletters or subscribe to receive notifications of new blog posts by email.

Guest Blog: The importance of inclusive play

Posted on December 18, 2013 by PlayLSI

In June, we awarded the Iola Kiwanis club in Iola, Kan., $25,000 in playground equipment as part of the Make a Difference Through Play contest. We’re happy to share another update from Michael Ford, member of Iola Kiwanis and community resource officer for the Iola Police Department.

The M.O.M.S. group has been a great help in planning the inclusive playground. They’re excited about the playground, but even more excited for the opportunity to educate the community about their children with special needs. During a recent fundraiser, each of the moms brought something to display about their child. Then in the presentation, they talked about how the inclusive playground would benefit their child with special needs in addition to their typically developing children.

Iola is a town of 5,600 people in a county of 14,000. And out of the three surrounding counties, we’re the only one with a Wal-Mart. People from the tri-county area visit Iola for many reasons—a shopping trip, our parks, swimming competitions. And soon, our new inclusive playground. The nearest inclusive playgrounds are in Wichita, Kansas City and Joplin, all of which are about a two-hour drive away. So when parents hear about our inclusive playground, I definitely think they’ll visit Iola to give their kids a chance to play.

I don’t want to say “If you build it, they’ll come,” but I think that’s the case. With the way the design is, every kid can play on this playground. I think people will be coming here; Iola will become a stop for many families.

Michael, the Iola Kiwanis club and the entire community of Iola have been busy fundraising for the inclusive playground since winning the Make a Difference through Play contest. And congratulations to the entire team are in order. As of earlier this month, Iola Kiwanis secured two additional grants—one from the Kansas Health Foundation and another from KaBOOM!—for the playground to bring them within about $15,000 of their fundraising goal!

Stay tuned for another update from Michael next month. He’ll talk more about the benefits of the partnership between Kiwanis International and Landscape Structures.

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Category Archives: Inclusive Play