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Playgrounds at MoMA's Century of the Child Exhibit
The MoMA playground symposium is now sold out, but if you can't be with us take a look at the tumblr for the Century of the Child exhibit. An object from the exhibit is posted each day, including...
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London Open for Play 2012 Report
Thanks to all those of you who came to the first ever "Open for Play" event in London Wednesday evening! I forgot to take any photos, but we had a packed room full of professional play makers, workers...
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Modern Czech Playground Design, c. 1960
Zdenek Nemecek: functional sculpture Model for playground, 1960. I'll post a full summary of the interesting conversations from London Open for Play soon (including tales of those hardy souls who...
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Den-building frames for natural playgrounds
I've talked before on the blog about making provisions for den-building, which can be as simple as providing a three-point frame or a pole that the kids can lean branches against and attach tent...
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Construction of the Turtle Rock Preschool Natural Playground, Irvine...
Natural playground makers will also enjoy this time-lapse video of the construction of the playscape at Turtle Rock preschool in Orange County California.Natural Playground Construction Timelapse from...
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The 38-children-a-minute Playground Slide, c. 1905
That's some fast slidin'....even for a "merry health giving exercise"! Found at the Kansas Memory Project; the slide was produced in Kansas by the Parker Amusement Company for installation at the...
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Play Tents Community Art Installation, Noa Meir and Tali Buchler, Zichron...
There is more than one way to build a den, and I love the tents constructed by Noa Meir and Tali Buchler, whose playful design work has been featured here at Playscapes before. "The idea behind this...
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Loose parts on the Playground, Now and Then
During London Open for Play, I photographed (again!) the wooden blocks for construction play at the Kate Greenaway Nursery playscape.They reminded me of the Alexander Kemp playground in Cambridge,...
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Build An Adventure Playground on a Vacant Lot in Philadelphia with Public...
If you're in the Philadelphia area, don't miss the chance to join my friend Alex Gilliam of Public Workshop TOMORROW, Saturday October 13, from 10 to 2 to build a pop-up adventure playground in a...
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St. George's Play Yard, David Aronson, New York City, 1967
There's an article, only partially tongue-in-cheek, in today's Slate magazine on 'the danger of monkey bars'. An interesting counterpoint is the Play Yard of St. George's Episcopal Church, on East...
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Child in the City of Play: MoMA Playground Symposium Details
Saul Bass, Model Playscape 1961, as published in Graphis 97I'm looking forward to meeting readers at the Child in the City of Play symposium at MoMA this Friday. Just to clear up some confusion, I am...
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Cow Hollow School Natural Playscape, San Francisco California, Surface...
This compact playscape in San Francisco's historic Presidio manages to tick alot of boxes in a small space: rolling topography with circuitous paths, a circular meeting space for outdoor class,...
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Riverside Park Playground (as it could have been), Isamu Noguchi, 1961-1964
If you're in NYC getting ready to attend the MoMA symposium and thinking about playgrounds, don't fail to combine it with a visit to the Isamu Noguchi Museum. His beautiful, bronze playground models...
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Recraforms: mid-century play sculptures by Mary Preminger
I had an amazing weekend amongst the playgrounds of New York City, and was pleased to meet many of you readers! Detailed posts about the MoMA symposium and assorted playground visits are in...
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Thoughts on Playground Preservation, Central Park, New York City
As some of you know from my other, infrequent, blog about garden history, I am also a historian of landscape (having taken a sabbatical from nanotechnology to get a master's degree in the subject from...
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Grant Park Playground, Monash Australia, Grant Tefler, and more thoughts on...
With thoughts and prayers going out to my new, now drenched but apparently all safe, friends on the East Coast (just a week ago it was such a sunny day on the playground!), I'd like to continue to...
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Playground Preservation, cont'd: The Case of Tommy the Turtle
Thanks for your patience while I've had to devote myself to science for a bit! But now back to playgrounds, and specifically to our discussion of this idea of playground preservation.Fully realized...
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A Bale of Playground Turtles
A group of turtles, I have just learned (thank you google) is called a 'bale'! The inherently playful form and friendly mien of the turtle means it vies with the elephant (my personal fave) as the...
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Roly-Poly Playground, Monstrum, Gentofte Denmark, 2012
From reptiles to crustaceans...Playscapes favorite Monstrum's latest playground installation is based on the roly-poly, which is about the only 'bug' (I know, they're not technically bugs!) I wasn't...
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Would you like to be a Playscapes correspondent?
Dear readers,Playscapes is growing fast, and will transition to a new comprehensive website at the first of the year. It's just a reflection, really, of the dramatic increase in attention to...
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