An Invitation to Child’s Play: Big Blocks and Wheelbarrows
By DIANE CARDWELL
Published: May 4, 2008
New York Times

It is the playground of the future, already in beta mode in New York City and coming soon to empty lots, day care centers and even suburban backyards across the country.

Instead of monkey bars and jungle gyms, there are blue and white blocks to stack into high walls or to connect as sluices and walkways.

In place of swing sets and seesaws, there are wheelbarrows and rolling carts to move materials about.

And while there are still the familiar elements of sand and water, they are no longer there to be shoveled and splashed so much as turned into landscapes of fanciful design.

The idea began with the architect David Rockwell’s desire to create a more engaging play space for his children — and others — on a parking lot near the South Street Seaport in Lower Manhattan. Construction of that playground is to begin in July. But the concept has expanded to include portable collections of Mr. Rockwell’s play gear that can be used in playgrounds around the city, starting with one in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn this summer.

Next, Mr. Rockwell plans to bring his novel approach to cities around the nation through a partnership with the nonprofit playground developer Kaboom.

“Play is on the decline in the United States, and frankly, kids’ creativity is on the decline in the United States,” said Darell Hammond, the founder of Kaboom, which is working with Mr. Rockwell to manufacture and distribute the custom-designed loose parts, which experts say encourage more imaginative, child-directed play than fixed structures do. “We’re betting our future on this concept, that this concept is going to — in generations or decades — make better kids.”

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Learn more about our partnership with the Rockwell Group and Imagination Playground!

FROM:  Rockwell Group

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ARCHITECT DAVID ROCKWELL & KaBOOM! COLLABORATE ON NEW GENERATION OF “FREE PLAY” SPACES TO BE BUILT ACROSS THE U.S.

Anticipate Over 1,000 Imagination Playgrounds Across the Country Within Five Years

Partnership to Encourage Play and Creativity – First “Playground in a Box” to be Installed In Brownsville, Brooklyn

May 5, 2008 (New York, NY) – Architect David Rockwell of Rockwell Group and KaBOOM!, the foremost national not for profit dedicated to bringing play back into the lives of children, today announced a partnership to develop and implement a new generation of playspaces across the United States, based on the play value concepts of Imagination Playground, the Rockwell Group’s design for a playground in lower Manhattan. 

The Rockwell Group created Imagination Playground, which will break ground this summer, to embody the concept of unstructured, child directed “free play,” where children direct their own activities, alone and with their peers.  The Rockwell Group has worked closely with the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation on the initiative.

“We have always hoped to make the Imagination Playground concept available to communities nationwide,” said David Rockwell, founder and CEO of Rockwell Group.  “We could not be more thankful to KaBOOM! for helping make that dream a reality.”

KaBOOM! has spent 12 years building playspaces using a community build model, where they partner with corporations, foundations and private donors.  Creating opportunities and tools for building playgrounds, KaBOOM! will extend their play platform by incorporating the Imagination Playground model into an expandable collection of its trademark parts to supplement existing playgrounds and form the basis for new playspaces. 

"KaBOOM! believes that play is a matter of national importance.  We can't wait to bring some of the most innovative, yet old-fashioned concepts in play back to children across the country.  By adding sand, water, loose parts, and play associates to what KaBOOM! already offers, we're going to revolutionize your neighborhood playground," said Darell Hammond, co-founder and CEO of KaBOOM!

By Darell Hammond
KaBOOM! CEO and Co-Founder

When we started KaBOOM! in 1995, I could never have imagined that we’d be partnering with CaliforniaVolunteers for the second year in a row to create ten amazing playspaces throughout the State of California in honor of César Chávez.  I am so honored to be a part of this program.  It holds a special significance to me because it serves to unite communities and stress the importance of service by highlighting the values of one of the nation’s foremost leaders in civil rights.

“Sí se puede,” or, “Yes, it can be done” are the words that Chávez used to fuel the passion of his fight, promoting idealism, hope and a strong belief in equality for all.  This message of empowerment was carried throughout each build, instilling in volunteers a drive to strengthen their community by working together to build a great new place for local youth to play. 

We kicked off the program at the Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust with 340 eager volunteers ready to build one of the largest playground projects that KaBOOM! has ever led.  This was a tremendous kick-off to a program that produced nine playgrounds and one skatepark, requiring 136 tons of concrete, 2,290 cubic yards of Engineered Wood Fiber and 109 gallons of paint!

Here at KaBOOM! we say that it only take a single spark to start a fire.  At each build this ethos was brought to life with the traditional United Farm Workers’ clap – a tradition started to demonstrate solidarity and unity.  Slow and singular claps quickened, growing louder as more claps joined in unison, soon becoming a roar that motivated crowds of volunteers, providing them with a great momentum to push them through the day. 

As Linscott Charter School parent, Karen Lowell, noted, “the soul of the day wasn’t in the building details; it was in the people.”  Throughout the program, KaBOOM! was joined by 11 Chavez Family members, 15 California Volunteers Build Captains and 3,542 volunteers – an astounding turnout! 

The 2008 KaBOOM! César Chávez Playground Build program proved to be a monumental homage to a great leader, as well as a moving example of how KaBOOM! helps strengthen communities by empowering them to build playgrounds. 

Thanks again to First Lady Maria Shriver whose incredible dedication to this program truly reflected her vision and commitment to service.  Special thanks to all who joined us to donate their sweat, passion and laughter to a great program we hope to continue for many years to come.   

Sí se puede!

Learn more about the Cesar Chavez Day of Service

Some Thoughts on Playground Safety
Posted by Erik Wemple on May. 2, 2008
Washington City Paper

In today’s Slate, Tom Vanderbilt does good work in attacking the blight of playground equipment on America’s lawns. You know the landscape: Brightly colored swingsets and slides, no kids on them, sitting on a pitch of grass. They’re eyesores, they never get used, and they become a big environmental liability when it comes time to dispose of them.

So good on Vanderbilt there.

Bad on Vanderbilt here:

In her book American Playgrounds, Susan Solomon notes how the fear of injuries and their litigious consequences forced the closing, or banal “post-and-platform” retrofitting, of many playgrounds. Gone are the kinds of things that defined my own childhood: terrifying metal “monkey bars” pitched over a pit of hard gravel or the towering, twisting, all-metal “tornado slide,” as we called it, which was at once the most exhilarating and the most dangerous thing in my young life.

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Let’s take this thing point by point. I’ll admit I haven’t read Solomon’s book. But I can tell you this: I have a couple of very young kids and wherever I am, I’m always in the market for a playground. I haven’t had trouble finding them, either. So if there’s a big trend toward closing playgrounds, perhaps there were too many to begin with.

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Clearwater's playgrounds are disappearing
By Mike Donila
St. Petersburg Times
April 29, 2008

CLEARWATER — Astra Dialinakis used to walk her 2-year-old daughter, Fotini, to the Country Hollow Park playground almost every day.

But on a recent morning, they were greeted by a wrecking crew in the midst of taking down the youngster's favorite swing set.

Dialinakis consoled the teary toddler, telling her the city would build a new one.

Not true.

The small playground was coming down for good.

And as more playgrounds in Clearwater age, they will follow.

"I had to lie to her and say we'll get another one," said Dialinakis, 31. "With the little vocabulary she knew, she tried to tell her dad that they took away the swings. It was devastating."

Now the family drives to a playground behind the Countryside branch library. But that, too, is set to close.

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Become a Playmaker: Raise your voice for play!

View photos from Design Day

Following the children’s portion, more than 30 adults from the community met to learn about the KaBOOM! planning process and sign up for committees responsible for construction, food, safety, youth involvement, and volunteer recruitment. The enthusiastic group also established the planning committee’s weekly meeting time and created their own ‘wish list’ of items for the new playground to be constructed on June 14.

Partners for this special build are the Gulf Coast Community Foundation, Fannie Mae, the Foundation for the Mid South, the Hancock Housing Resource Center and the City of Bay St. Louis.

The Gulf Coast Community Foundation is the administrator of the Mississippi Hurricane Recovery Fund, which was established by Governor Barbour days after Hurricane Katrina made landfall. This project is one of 17 that will be completed in the lower six counties this year using funds from the Hurricane Recovery Fund. Fannie Mae and the Foundation for the Mid South are also providing matching funds for each project. The Hancock Housing Resource Center (HRRC) is an initiative of the Hancock Community Development Foundation. The main role of the HHRC is to find ways to address housing needs in Hancock County.

“A major part of developing housing is community participation,” said Sherry-Lea Bloodworth, Director of the Hancock Housing Resource Center. “What better way to build close community ties than through a KaBOOM! playground build? I can’t think of a better way to stimulate community participation and reinvigorate weary residents as we continue to rebuild. After all, the KaBOOM! process not only builds playgrounds, it brings communities together. We are so thrilled to be partners for the KaBOOM! 100th playground.”

The first Operation Playground project took place on December 17, 2005 at Carol Vegas Park in Bay St. Louis. More than 600 volunteers gathered on that day to help build the first new playground in the Gulf Coast after Katrina and Rita devastated the landscape. Since then, KaBOOM! and our partners have built 95 playgrounds in towns from Houston to Mobile, bringing play back to the lives of children living in these areas and giving neighbors old and new the chance to build a sense of community lost in the storms.

While KaBOOM! will continue to build in the Gulf after the 100th playground, this important milestone will allow us to celebrate our success with friends, draw attention to the ongoing needs of those living in the Gulf and remind people about the importance of having safe and fun places children can play.

• As planning gets underway for this important build, we want to hear from you! Share your story of how you helped bring play back to the Gulf Coast.
  
  
• Be a part of the movement and join us for this special project. Volunteer for the 100th build!
  
  
• Take a walk down memory lane with us! Check out pictures from all of our Operation Playground projects.

Learn more about Operation Playground.

Kids help raise funds for playground
San Carlos children holding joint birthday party for Burton Park

By Mark Abramson, San Mateo County (Calif.) Times

April 27, 2008

Two San Carlos children are holding a joint birthday bash Sunday to help raise funds for a new playground in Burton Park.

Chase Wienckowski and Natalie Williams, along with 30 of their friends, will set up lemonade stands during their 11th birthday party in the park. They plan on holding a competition to see which stand can sell the most lemonade and raise the most money for the playground.

"They wanted to help," San Carlos Parks and Recreation Director Barry Weiss said. "We are getting close."

About $76,000 is still needed for the new playground, Weiss said. The city has contributed $415,000 for the $850,000 project, another $253,000 has been raised by selling naming rights to parts of the future playground and an additional $106,000 has been collected.

...

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Among her many accomplishments, listed in this article, is helping to coordinate a KaBOOM! playground build at Gautier Elementary School on Jan. 19, 2008.

Volunteers put playground up
Students had role in design
By Jay Hughes
Sun Herald
Apr. 26, 2008

Excerpt:

Jerry Jackson, a team leader in electrical design engineering at Chevron, said his 12-year-old son graduated Cherokee last year and his 5-year-old will attend next year, so he didn't mind giving up his scheduled day off to help mix cement.

"It was the right thing to do," he said. "I'd take a day off to do it. It's that important."

Students were part of the process, also. Each had the chance to place one piece of tile in a mosaic under construction, and Bankston said they also painted trash cans and bricks for a walkway.

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April 24, 2008
Victoria L. Coman
The Birmingham News

Epic Elementary will sparkle with colorful pieces of plastic, metal bars and the spirit of volunteers Friday as it gets a playground in one day.

KaBOOM! is coming to Epic to help return playground equipment to the south Birmingham school's campus. The new playground will include swings, ladders and a climbing wall.

In March 2007, parents and faculty tore out the wood and rubber equipment and began raising money for a new playground. The old equipment had been around since at least the 1970s. Children were getting splinters, and nuts and bolts were coming loose, said Principal Vickie Stokes.

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On Feb. 14, the school's students, parents and faculty came up with ideas for the playground. Officials from KaBOOM!, the Junior League of Birmingham and the Charity League of Birmingham also gave ideas, Stokes said. Such idea sessions are common practice for KaBOOM! projects.

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