There are tons of communities transforming their playgrounds to be more educational, fun, and customized to their landscape. What’s a better way to personalize a playground than to use the landscape around you? With the geography in, let’s say, California, it’s very rocky and full of mountains. So a significant aspect that they use throughout their playgrounds is mountain climbing and themed like the national parks that are all around them.
It’s time to bring your customization to your playground. Make it a vibrant and playful place for kids to learn and express themselves. You can still have a fully equipped playground. Just add a few custom pieces that remind people where they’re from. Let’s dive into some ways that you can customize your playground for the families in your community.
Custom Paths & Surfaces
The first of many great ways to personalize your playground is to include custom surfacing. One of the most fun things for kids is a rubber floor. They can bounce on the spongy consistency, and it is a safer place for them to play than jumping on bark or wood chips. You are even able to customize it into different colors and shapes. Some other parks have animal prints in their custom rubber flooring. This is beneficial in many ways because kids love animals, and if they see a particular animal in the rubber flooring, they’ll stop to look at it.
Design a Playful Experience
Another great way to personalize your playground is to include custom play sculptures. You can find structures that are lightweight and durable. Other added materials will make the structure different colors and more realistic looking. For example, some community parks are designing structures that involve animals native to that particular area. The idea is to make them more extensive than you’d find them in the wild; that way, the kids have a fun jungle gym to climb around. They are unique, eye-catching, and the children have a lot of fun playing with different animals.
Natural Surroundings for Custom Experience
Some designers encounter challenging landforms when creating a new park or playground. While some may see these as barriers to their design, others embrace the natural landscape and utilize it as part of the space.
For example, a landscape architect designed a park in Utah that wanted to embrace its natural and hilly geography. This made the a complete playground so much more interactive and added another element of fun and adventure.
In the end, use nature to your advantage. It will be worth it. There are a million ways that you can utilize the space around you. You don’t have to destroy nature when you’re building/designing a playground. Embrace nature and give the kids in your community a learning opportunity with a fun landscape park. They will love it and also be learning something new at the same time.
Austin Stanfel 