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The Trust for Public Land (www.tpl.org) has released its latest research showing the largest park systems in the United States, along with a whole lot of other data regarding the country’s park systems. We’ve compiled some of the data into a chart, …

There are nearly 150 playgrounds located throughout the city of Albuquerque, NM, many with which David Flores, principal project coordinator for the City of Albuquerque parks and recreation department, has been involved. Flores represents the technical …

As part of Playground Magazine’s aquatic-themed summer issue, we asked several companies specializing in splash park/sprayground design and equipment to give us their opinion as to 1 why interactive water features are becoming more popular at splash …

Bouldering is now a sport in its own right, with more than 9 million plus climbers and 600 related facilities in the United States alone. In bouldering, you can experience the same adventures, problem solving and physical challenges as rock climbing but …

It is no secret that the economy is having an impact on recreational venues nationwide, public and private alike. Many venues are looking for economical ways to make changes to their existing facilities, whether for code reasons or just to update to a …

This playground at PNC Park, home of the Pittsburgh Pirates, has been a fixture at the baseball park since it opened in 2001. Photo by Pittsburgh Pirates/David Arrigo I have mixed feelings about playgrounds—and now  a splashpark (which you can read about …

A group project by industrial designers Andrew Simoeni, Joel Lim and Funfere Koroye, Kidetic is a new take on a classic children's playground. According to the designers, the Kidetic playground will address the relationship between energy, interaction and …

Play researchers, industry professionals, and enthusiasts convened at the US Play Coalition’s third Conference on the Value of Play to share findings, raise awareness, and promote play throughout life. The conference, held at Clemson University from Feb. …

As Chair of the American Society for Testing and Materials Subcommittee responsible for ASTM F1487 Standard for performance requirements for public playground equipment, I am pleased to announce the latest revision of this standard. This revision is more …

We don’t really even think about curb cuts anymore—that is, unless there isn’t one where we think there should be.  Why? Because curb cuts are so common nowadays that we don’t really give them a second thought.  “Everyone uses them [curb cuts],” Tom …

The summer of 2009 and my family had traveled to Galveston, TX, to watch my oldest son Jeremy compete in the national jump rope championships. While in Galveston, we stopped at a couple of playgrounds where my daughter played. One of those playgrounds was …

There is an incredible amount of good that goes on in the world of play all over the world. We’ve been following Empower Playgrounds’ efforts in the African nation of Ghana, where Empower has been installing whirls in areas where electricity is limited or …

Owners of playgrounds have been aware of the need to meet the ADA for more than 10 years, and consultants, suppliers and those responsible for developing the procurement specifications have all weighed in on what to do in the playgrounds that have been …

There have been a handful of stories floating around as of late making the claim that today’s playgrounds are “too safe.” Let’s just assume for a moment that that claim is true. If I were to pose the question, “How did playgrounds become too safe?” there …

Several years ago my daughter Megan was almost 2 years old and we were enjoying going to the local playground, Kid’s Konnection, located in the center of our town, Billerica, MA. We were sitting on the fire engine pretending to drive. This was an old …

Contrary to popular belief, chlorine does not kill all germs instantly. There are germs today that are very tolerant to chlorine and were not known to cause human disease until recently. Once these germs get in the pool, it can take anywhere from minutes …

The splash pad wave is here. Splash pads , sometimes called spray grounds, aquatic playgrounds, splash parks or interactive water features, are making a surge in communities nationwide as a part of a park (new or existing), an urban park or even part of a …

On the surface, it may seem ironic, or maybe a bit odd, to visit a local playground and see a shade structure looming overhead. Maybe not so much in the southern states where summertime temps soar into the high 90s or even triple digits on a regular …

Chances are you’ve seen spray/splash parks in all sorts of places, like your local park next to a playground or inside a hotel or next to a body of water like a lake or in a housing subdivision. How about inside a zoo? Yes, a zoo. Not only does the …

While families are keeping budgets in mind and traveling less, they are also looking for places to enjoy the outdoors closer to home. Throughout these economic challenges, park and recreation departments are now thinking of innovative and sustainable ways …