Wednesday, April 16, 2008

The desire to play comes naturally to all children and its value is undeniable. The process of playing increases a child's self-esteem, opens a young mind to new possibilities, and develops social, verbal, and problem-solving skills. It is indeed as the old adage says: play is the child's work. Since its inception at the start of the 20th century, playground design in the U.S. has advanced dramatically from the traditional playgrounds of isolated metal pieces of play equipment to today's composite structures of imaginative play activities that are designed to high standards of safety and durability. Still, it is important to remember that the process and quality of play cannot be purchased. It is provided by the child's imagination and innate desire to play. Therefore, the goal of designing for play is simply to create an environment that will beckon to children and enrich their 'work' of play. Which to motivate them we have chosen the forest theme.
With slides and swings included, we have added big stuffy toys for the children to sit,lay down or aply with them.
But safety comes first, therefore we have chosen safe materials for our actuak playground but for our 3D model we've used recycled materials such as toliet paper roll, tissue, paper, ice cream sticks, cloth for our mats or the floor.
To reduce the risk of injury due to falls, playground equipment should be located above a shock-absorbing, or safety, surface. Each surfacing material has a Critical Height factor. The Critical Height of a material is approximately the height below which a life-threatening head injury incurred from a fall would not be expected. The Critical Height factor is directly related to the depth of the material: the thicker the material, the greater its shock-absorbency and its Critical Height factor. The proper material and depth of a safety surface is determined by installing a material at a depth at which the Fall Height of the playground equipment is less than the Critical Height of the safety surfacing. The Fall Height is the maximum height from which a child may potentially fall from a particular piece of play equipment.Poured-in-place rubber and rubber mats are becoming increasingly popular in their use as a safety surfacing in playgrounds.
The process of estimating the construction of a playground is similar to that of the construction of any environment. However, costs sometimes become more difficult to predict for playgrounds that are being built through volunteer labor using donated or at-cost materials. The cost of initial site work is also often substantial and should be determined early in the design process.
10:49:00 PM