The Five Way Tire Swing

A Month of German Inspiration

This is one of the mist engaging pieces I saw in Germany. (Completely against the ASTM safety rules in the US.) This 5 sided wood pole swing structure lets kids swing toward one another and makes for a very dynamic and social swinging experience.

A Month of German Inspiration

Introducing the bug hotel, built by high school students to house bugs near their garden. It is also beautiful and artistic.

Play in Unlikely Places

A Month of German Inspiration

A reminder not to take myself to seriously! These hand rails on the stairs provided a bunch of play value too. Kids seem to find something to entertain themselves no matter what.

Water Channels

A Month of German Inspiration

This hand pump and water channel were by far the most popular event in this very busy schoolyard. You can see the boulder water channel that continues into the playground. I am not sure what the vision was, but when we were there the water never got further then 20 feet from the pump. This left the serpentine boulder 'creek bed' dry. In the end I think it was more of an obstruction to running and chasing in the rest of the play area.

Little Forts: In, On and Around

A Month of German Inspiration

There are so many types of little forts, houses and play buildings. Kids use every inch (and side) of these spaces. At this school the roofs were getting just as much use at the inside. Remember this when you decide what is surrounding your fort or house. Make the spaces safe for climbing, jumping and falling.

Wild Play in the City

A Month of German Inspiration

In the heart of the Berlin, this long linear park gave kids a sense of wilderness even though it is packed between two 4 story apartment buildings. At first it seems kind of boring, lots of messy vegetation and undeveloped paths. But, this is the empty lot nature experience that urban kids need they can roam, build and manipulate to their hearts content.

A Month of German Inspiration

This neat little log wall separated the play area from adjacent uses. Large wood burned designs gave it a nice organic feeling.

A Log Without The Collapse Danger

A Month of German Inspiration

I really liked this piece because it was simple and afforded the experience of climbing on and in a log type structure. The steps and slide really enhance the active play options.

Fall Surfacing?!?!

A Month of German Inspiration

I am not sure that German kids are tougher then American kids, or less prone to falling. But, their play environments are not as focused on fall surfacing and use zones. It allows a freedom that we don't see. On this hill a variety of climbing net activities were arranged above a cobble stone pavement. Not only was it stone, but it had a protruding stone every 24" or so. In the Us you would probably see poured in place rubber surfacing. I think the approach above fits the City landscape and has a stronger natural feeling while offering a more interesting risk for kids.

Climbing Play Spider

A Month of German Inspiration

This wooden spider and his accompanying net offered a fun climbing event for little ones. Custom wood creatures were found all over Berlin.

Build Your Own Fort!

A Month of German Inspiration

This adventure play area was fantastic! If I lived near this as a kid this is where you would have found me every day. Each kid can rent a numbered platform for 2 weeks and build their own fort. Two of my favorite management aspects were-
1. They were organized - see the tool rental cabinet above
2. They were creative - kids could pick up old nails and trade them in for new ones to build with!

Creative use of ping-pong tables

A Month of German Inspiration

This concrete ping pong table was everywhere! In so many schools I saw groups of kids using it creatively. Here a dozen kids walk in a circle around the table while the ball goes back and forth, turning a 2 person game into an active group event.

A Hidden Art Studio on the Playground

A Month of German Inspiration

 This rock with small bowl shaped divots, sat under a willow dome. It served as a quieter place on a busy schoolyard for a small group of girls to gather. The activity today was' tattoos' with a wet colored pencil. It actually worked really well!

A Month of German Inspiration!

I visited Germany, Berlin specifically, a few years ago and did a 4 day bike tour of nature playscapes. The spaces were amazing. Their outlook and approach to play are very different then the US. I returned feeling energized and hopeful. This month I want to share some of those images with you. I will focus on visuals with a little explanation rather then my regular depth into a topic.

This climbing wall was designed by the school children. they helped carve it out of native stone. There were about 8 large stones all lined up. It seemed to be one of the most popular spots on the playground! May of the schools we saw had carving rocks for the kids to use on the playground.


PS: If you get irritated with the frequent emails, stick with me. I will be back to my usual blog approach next month. :)

Nature Play Photos and Case Studies

Can't afford a trip to Germany to see all the wonderful playgrouds they have created? Germany is a hub for creative, adventure and alternative playgrounds. This series of case studies highlights many sites and examples. It is nicely organized in 9 colorful, photo packed case study docuents including:

1. Choice
2. Risk and Challenge
3. Nature with a capitol N
4. Play Machines
5. Sand
6. Shade and Seating
7. Topography
8. Variety and Texture
9. Water

These pictures instantly take me back to my travels in Germany. The photos and sites highlight many of the best aspects of Berlin's play spaces.

The Risk and Challenge Document highlights some of the same concerns we have in US playgrounds.
- Fire and water (although I have never seen fire actually being considered in the states)
- Heights
- Trip Hazards
- Supervision
- Loose Materials
- Thorns and Berries

See the full case studies here, A Case Study in Playground Design : Berlin Playgrounds.

Climbing High into A Nest :Creative Elevated Natural Play Structures

I am not sure what this is: a castle, a nest? But that makes it even more intriguing.

I love the giant cat tail forest and elevated nest!

I was recently turned onto KuKuK, a group of German designers that does wonderful play environment design. Their spaces make me want to work harder and push the envelope here in the US. They use a lot of wood logs, crazy wood nests, and netting tubes to keep kids from falling. Their work actually looks pretty safe while being extremely challenging and inviting! Unfortunately the website is in German, but like they say a photo is worth a thousand words.

Here is a different view of the same sight. It looks so organic it could have washed up on the shore all by self!

Beautiful giant swing

 From what I can gather from the website translation they are a group of artists, designers, and architects. Their work is obviously custom and their organization as a design build shop helps them carry the design intent through to construction.

You can climb through the ladder tube into the elevated nest then across the enclosed suspension bridge. I wonder how they attached this to the tree?

Wild Playgrounds

Can we bring ourselves to detach from the sterile play chips and rubber of the playground? Can we remove ourselves from the concept of intensive maintenance, mowing, and clear sight lines?

Large, flat, and clean! From Landscapeonline.com

I know it can be a scary concept for some, but letting our playspaces go wild may have value for kids beyond our imagination. I talk a lot about nature play, but even the very concept of nature play varies from person to person. At the bare minimum it contains nature! Nature is varied. It often looks messy and it is alive and changing. If we can move these concepts into our play spaces we have begun to allow nature a foothold in play. After seeing countless playgrounds in Germany I started to see how their view on vegetation and playgrounds was so different from what I have seen in the US.

Alastair Seaman of Grounds For Learning in Scotland had similar realizations while visiting these German Playscapes. You can view a short video clip that addresses this and other issues he observed.

Sand migrates

Willow and bamboo create rough paths and forts

Plants (and weeds!) grow up, around, and through play elements

Plants and People Co Exist

I think these spaces are inviting, wild, and fun. They prove that nature play and plants do not have to mean higher maintenance. They may just require higher tolernace for the wild!

10 feet off the ground, hammer in hand, and an amazing sense of achievement

I could have an entire blog about the schools and parks I saw in Berlin. They were inspiring and really opened my mind to the wide world of play. I have since realized just how different the safety standards are in the EU and the US.

This Adventure Playground in Berlin has it all; animals, soccer field, indoor gathering area, bicycle mechanic shop, art studio, and much more. The piece that I thought was amazing was the fort building area.

Kids rent a numbered platform for two weeks where they can build their own fort. Tools are rented on site. Old nails can be pulled from stacks of old boards and traded in for new nails. This also helps keep the grounds clean and safe(er).

Each fort is connected by a long series of elevated decks. In the summer there are overnight events where you sleep in your fort!

 

If adventure play like this had been available when I was a kid I would have never left. I think it is sad that the legal state of affairs in our country keeps creative endeavors like this from happening. I consider these calculated risks that older children should be able to take if they choose. There is a learning value, level of brain development, and social interaction here that can not be matched by a classic US playground structure.

Sustainable Schools in Berlin

Berlin is an amazing city in many ways; architecture, transportation and learning landscapes! In June 2010 I had the opportunity to join Frode Svane's study trip of Berlin Playscapes. It was an inspiring 4 days with thousands of new photos and ideas. I would highly recommend any of Frode's study-trips if you are interested in nature playgrounds, green schools, and adventure play. You are sure to have a good time while visiting the sites!

Reinhardswald Grade School in Berlin was perhaps my favorite. The school had everything; stormwater treatment, eco roof, solar panels, a great natural playground in a forest setting, and happy kids. The stormwater that flows off the school's roof is collected in underground cisterns for reuse in the school. The highlight is that the overflowing cisterns create a stream that runs through the playground into a wetland feature in the middle of the site. During hard rains the principal said that students run to the windows to see the 'stream' appear from under the earth. What a great way to get kids outside in the winter! Here are some of my favorite site photos.

The stream source doubles as a play piece in the summer.

Even the dry stream channel offers opportunities for play!

This pavilion overlooks the central wetland feature where stormwater is cleaned and infiltrated back into the groundwater. The pavilion is open for community use evenings and weekends.

This tunnel and sand play area were fenced off.  I assumed something was broken or perhaps the area was not meeting safety standards. But, the designer explained they fence off certain portions of the playground to allow the grass to grow back. This action also re-excites the students about the space when the fence comes down.

This TV in the school hall shows how much energy the school is producing from the solar panels and using for lighting, heating etc. Students can get a current snapshot of their energy footprint any time, any day.

You can visit the school's website here.