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The community celebrated the opening of the new Wendel Whisenhunt Sports Complex, with a ceremony and outdoor soccer fun Saturday, October 3. The sports complex is named after Wendel Whisenhunt, who served as the City’s Parks & Recreation Director from …

It's interesting to hear people talk about play. While we all know play when we see it, some speak of it as a way for young children to learn, as a catalyst to breed cooperation, interpersonal relationships, coordination, and as the very foundation for …

Slacklining is the act of balancing along a narrow, flexible piece of webbing which is low to the ground and usually anchored between two trees. Originating in the climbing world, slacklining has evolved into a cross-trainer, backyard activity and sport …

How does the hazard-based approach work? Our Objective “Playground safety performance requirements shall be developed and applied to focus on the hazards posed by equipment’s design, movement, and layout, whether free-standing or in combination with other …

The research findings are in and the facts are clear, THERE IS NO PERFECT PLAYGROUND SURFACE. If there were any such thing as a perfect surface, repaving of sidewalks, streets and highways wouldn’t be the billion dollar industry it is today. But the fact …

The selection of a protective surface must start with its purpose and end with the material that best suits the needs of the owner/operator, the child/user, and the caregivers. This is not a question of materials and sales pitches, but of a clear …

Benefits of Risky Play vs Too Much Regulation vs Unintended Consequences It is somewhat of a delicate balancing act between providing enough safety requirements to keep children from being seriously harmed while not tipping the scale away from our ability …

critical fall height (CFH):  a measure of the impact attenuation performance of a playground surface or surfacing materials; defined as the highest theoretical drop height from which a surface meets the specified impact attenuation performance criterion. …

There are many ways to think about playground surfacing. Is it accessible and safe, does it drain, what does it cost? How does it affect those who use the playground? Can we imagine what the future holds for playground design and surfacing needs? How did …

Whether in our family or community life, we often do things with the best of intentions. We are motivated to fix things, prevent harm, or make the future better. All well and good … except many of our actions are done without much, if any, deep …

I had the pleasure of visiting Portland, Oregon a couple of weeks ago. I spent much of my time seeing their newer playgrounds, and I have to say I was incredibly impressed. Their playgrounds were far from the cookie cutter playground that I often see in …

by Kaitlin Krull Encouraging creativity and ingenuity in children is an important part of their emotional development. There are many ways that this goal can be achieved, but one of the simplest (and most economical) is through loose parts play. Loose …

This column continues Ken Kutska's thoughts from Part 1 that can be read here . Food for Thought from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission Staff “Playgrounds should allow children to develop physical and social skills, and part of that development …

I recently came across an article that pushed me over the edge: The Shocking Reason Kids are Getting Hurt at the Playground . This came only a few days after another article: Australian surgeons warn that monkey bars can cause one in five childhood …

Background Information on Developments within the ASTM F1487 Standard On May 20, 2013 the ASTM F15.29 Subcommittee responsible for the content of the ASTM F1487 standard received a letter from the staff of the U. S. Consumer Product Safety Commission …

As a child of the sixties I spent my teen years grappling with the issues of the Vietnam War, the free speech movement, and civil rights. Our generation wanted to do something to make the world a better place. Having graduated from San Francisco State …

This month is Parks and Recreation Month, and I would like to take this month to let you know about some of the new, interesting, and stirring ideas, programs and facilities that I have come across lately. ASTM F3101-15- Unsupervised Public Use Outdoor …

Three new very different playspaces have recently opened in different parts of the country. The different approaches that the community took to create these spaces demonstrate the vast possibilities for inclusive design. The spaces are located in Upper …

ADA.gov - U.S. Department of Justice – Civil Rights Division www.ada.gov 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20530 (202) 307-0663 ADA National Network adata.org (800) 949-4232 American Association on Health and Disability www.aahd.us 110 N. …