Category Archives: Community

Enhancing play and learning: Incorporating educational elements in commercial playground equipment

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Playgrounds are more than just spaces for fun and physical activity—they are valuable opportunities for children to learn and grow. By incorporating educational elements into your playground designs, you can create an environment that not only promotes play but also fosters cognitive, social and physical development. Explore some effective ways to infuse educational elements into your school, childcare or community playground designs below.

Themed Playground Structures: Consider incorporating educational themes into the design of your playground environment. Whether it’s a nature-inspired structure or a space-themed play area, themed elements can spark children’s imagination and encourage imaginative play. From climbing walls resembling mountains to slides shaped like rocket ships, themed playground components and entire structures offer endless learning possibilities.

Alphabet and Number Panels: Integrate alphabet and number panels into your playground. These play panels can be installed on walls or integrated into climbing structures, helping children learn letters, numbers and basic math concepts as they play. Encourage interactive learning by incorporating sensory elements, such as different textures and braille.

Musical Play Equipment: Including musical elements like our Rhapsody® Outdoor Musical Instruments in your playground can enhance auditory skills and creativity. Install a selection of chimes, metallophones and drums to engage children in musical exploration. These features encourage collaboration, rhythm recognition and the development of fine motor skills.

Science and Nature Zones: Create dedicated spaces where children can explore scientific concepts and nature. Incorporate planters for gardening, sensory paths for tactile experiences and weather stations to teach about climate. By encouraging hands-on learning, you can foster curiosity and a deeper understanding of the natural world.

Sensory Play Stations: Incorporate sensory play elements into your playground design. Install sand play—sandboxes, elevated sand tables, fossil digs, etc.—water play areas, and interactive sensory walls to stimulate children’s senses and promote cognitive development. Sensory play encourages problem-solving, fine motor skills and social interaction.

Storytelling and Reading Nooks: Designate areas for storytelling and reading within the playground. Install benches, small libraries or even mini amphitheaters where children can gather for storytime. We also love incorporating Talking is Teaching panels from Too Small to Fail into the playground design, or story trails along a walking path to encourage children and caregivers to talk, read and sing with each other. Encouraging literacy in a playful environment fosters a love for reading and language development.

By incorporating educational elements into your community, childcare and school playground designs, you can create a dynamic and enriching play space for children. Themed playstructures, alphabet panels, outdoor musical instruments, science zones, sensory play stations and storytelling nooks are just a few examples of how to infuse learning opportunities into the playground. Remember to consider age-appropriate designs and create an inclusive play environment that caters to children of all abilities. The combination of play and education will not only ignite children’s creativity and curiosity, but also provide a foundation for their lifelong love of learning.

The magic of play

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At Landscape Structures, we see connections made every day. Everywhere. This is the beauty of play. An extraordinary opportunity for interaction and imagination. Coordination and cooperation. Freedom and fun. Play lets us connect to who we are and see our wonder amplified in the connections we make. That’s why, in everything we do, we celebrate the beauty of play.

We are proud to lead the conversation about the power of play with our videos. Watch the trilogy of Shaped by Play below.

We Come Back to Play
Play Will Always Shape Us
For a Better Tomorrow, We Play Today

The beauty of play is that it’s not just play at all. It’s magic. An opportunity to make connections. Use our social media toolkit to share your story of how play has helped you make connections throughout your life.

Most importantly, share the beauty of play with your community by contacting your local Landscape Structures playground consultant to get started on your upcoming playground designs today.

A cost-effective, simple approach to building community splash pads

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If you’re looking for ready-to-install splash pad designs, look no further than AquaSmart™ Packages. These self-contained splash pads are powered by HydroLogix®, which eliminates the need for costly electrical installation and allows you to install one just about anywhere.

AquaSmart packages are sized right for smaller pocket parks, childcare facilities and compact urban areas. Add one adjacent to a playground or even alongside a larger splash pad. Kids will love being in control of the action; just a push of the button and the entire splash pad comes to life. The low-flow, low-water option offered by HydroLogix greatly reduces water consumption while still providing plenty of opportunities for splashtastic play.

See all of the AquaSmart Packages—Package A through Package H.

HydroLogix Activation Bollard

Best of all, the HydroLogix system is now available as an alternate mechanical system. This means the HydroLogix system can be included in a variety of splash pad designs for a cost-effective and simple approach to installing a community splash pad. Learn more about the patented HydroLogix system, and contact your local Aquatix consultant today.

Legacy of Play H2O Contest allows Minnesota Kiwanis Club to create safe aqua play solution

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We’re excited to announce that the Chisholm Kiwanis Club of Chisholm, Minn., is the winner of the Legacy of Play H2O Contest and will receive an AquaSmart™ Package valued at US$50,000.

Chisholm is a mining town on the Mesabi Range in Northern Minnesota with a population of less than 5,000. While the town is built around the 158-acre Longyear Lake, it is not fit for swimming and several nearby open pit mines are not monitored or safe for swimming. That’s why the Chisholm Kiwanis Club was focused on bringing an option for safe water play to the community.

The club will install the splash pad equipment in Memorial Park, a space that already offers football and softball fields, sand volleyball, bocce ball and pickleball courts, as well as the summer recreation program. The addition of the splash pad will encourage even more community members as well as surrounding communities to visit and enjoy the beautiful town of Chisholm.

“Our club celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2020, and this project has been something we’ve been talking about ever since,” explained Shannon Kishel-Roche, Chisholm Kiwanis Club’s president. “A splash pad was a great solution to our lack of community swimming options, and it’s a great opportunity to commemorate our club’s centennial.”

While this is the first year that Aquatix®, Landscape Structures and Kiwanis International have sponsored the Legacy of Play H2O contest, we have partnered with Kiwanis to sponsor the Legacy of Play Contest focused on playgrounds for eight years. Stay tuned for more information about the 2022 annual Legacy of Play Contest coming later this year and find more information here.

2021 Legacy of Play contest winner creating destination play space for all ages and abilities

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We’re excited to announce that the Kiwanis Club of Stuart, Florida, is the winner in the 8th Annual Legacy of Play contest. The club, which will receive $25,000 in playground equipment, plans to install the commercial playground equipment in Kiwanis Park in downtown Stuart, a place that has become a sanctuary for Martin County families. It will provide an area for older children, completing the goal of giving children of all ages and abilities a safe and fun place to play.

The club has been working on this destination play space for five years. According to Kali Flood, who submitted her club’s application to the contest, they first built a barrier-free playground to ensure accessibility for the community. And in December, they’re expanding with a Tot Lot and Sensory Sensitive play area for children on the autism spectrum, along with reaching children with visual and auditory impairments.

Plans call for the playground to be installed and ready for children by October 2022. The club, which has 45 members, will work together with the City of Stuart as well as other community groups to bring this destination playground to fruition. Read more about the winning club.

Learn more about our partnership with Kiwanis International at playlsi.com.

Encourage active lifestyles with community fitness parks

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We’re excited to make the benefits of a fitness facility accessible to everyone with the introduction of HealthBeat Circuit™ Activated by FitLot®. The circular design and open layout make HealthBeat Circuit a perfect space for community circuit training classes, and the combination of equipment—for strength, cardio, balance and flexibility—creates a fully functional fitness space that can be used for a wide variety of training methods. Best of all, community-based outdoor fitness spaces create opportunities for people of all ages and abilities to achieve a more active lifestyle.

HealthBeat Circuit includes 11 fitness stations for a full-body workout. Each piece of equipment is integrated directly into the SkyWays® shade structure to provide protection from the sun while exercising. Plus, open areas within the circuit design provide comfortable space for ground work and stretching. There are 32 locations throughout HealthBeat Circuit to attach resistance bands to add even more exercise options.

Each exercise station has signage with a scannable QR code linking the user to instructional videos on FitLot.org. The Welcome Sign also features a library of movements and additional fitness tips. While this fitness system can be used effectively without additional programming, talk with your consultant about how FitLot can further enhance and help activate HealthBeat Circuit in your community. FitLot offers a Neighborhood Coaches Training Program that teaches local fitness professionals how to lead community classes for all ages and abilities

Help build a stronger and healthier future for you community by adding HealthBeat Circuit to your public space. Contact us to get started on your fitness park design today.

50 Years at Play

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Many people remember the days of freestanding slides, swings and monkey bars. But in 1967, that idea of playground design advanced to interconnected play components. The revolutionary idea of combining playground activities is known as the continuous play concept, which was created by our Cofounder Steve King. As his final thesis project at Iowa State University, Steve developed a system that linked play activities together to provide a continuous challenge for children. His premise was that if kids are together on one structure, they’ll learn things that they will use in real life like social and conflict-resolution skills.

While his thesis only scored him a C+ grade, Steve took his continuous play concept to his first job as a landscape architect specializing in park planning. In 1969, he was assigned a playground design project for the City of Minneapolis where he was able to put his approach in action. His first playground was a success, which lead to more interest. And in April 1971, Steve and Barb obtained a $1,000 loan and incorporated Landscape Structures to design and build playstructures. See our company timeline here.

In an effort to provide great play experiences for kids, Landscape Structures has always been committed to innovation. Hedra®, one of our more recent inventions, allows kids to safely navigate via their own intuition and curiosity, and invent routes, games and imaginary environments. Our long-standing commitment to inclusive play is breaking barriers with the new We-Go-Swing™, the first no-transfer inclusive swing that can be integrated directly into the playground setting. Even more, the use of innovative materials and the development of colors that are truly inspired by nature is changing the world of playgrounds.

Hedra™ for ages 5 to 12

As Landscape Structures moves into its 50th year of business, we’re taking time to reflect on the power of play. We know that play and recreation has far more value than just being fun; it is essential for the health and wellbeing of communities. And that’s why our team—nearly 500 employees and the network of more than 200 playground consultants worldwide—is proud to provide unique play opportunities for all ages, abilities and backgrounds. Because no matter what’s happening in the world, we will always come back to play.

We come back to play

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Remember the moments that defined your childhood. The best of those often began in play. That’s why we design playgrounds that encourage kids to try new adventures, let their hearts and minds swing open, and simply have fun. That’s why… we come back to play.

We are proud to lead the conversation about the power of play with our Shaped by Play video series. Go here to watch all three videos.

Each of us have stories about how play has shaped us. Encourage your colleagues, friends and family to remember the moments… that got your heart racing, imagination swirling and body moving. Use our social media toolkit to share the message of why we come back to play.

Most importantly, help create the memories for the kids in your community to look back on. Contact your local Landscape Structures playground consultant to get started on a playground design today.

2020 Legacy of Play contest winner supporting all-inclusive play

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We’re excited to announce that the Early Risers Kiwanis Club of Worthington, Minnesota, is the winner in the 7th Annual Legacy of Play contest. The club, which will receive $25,000 in playground equipment, plans to build an all-inclusive playground at a local park—the only playground of its kind in the community of 13,000.

The club garnered community support for the project, including financial help from a local man who had polio as a child and remembered feeling left out while watching other children play. The club’s contest application noted the resident offered to transport the playground equipment at no cost to the club, using his personal trucking company equipment.

A local family whose son has Joubert Syndrome, a rare genetic disorder, also supported the playground project. In a letter that accompanied the club’s contest entry, the family wrote, “Since three months old, Blaine has been in physical, occupational and speech therapy and has made some great strides in his coordination and strength. Play and peer relationships are also such important parts of development. What an all-inclusive playground will mean for us is that Blaine will be able to explore and wander the playground independently, he will have more opportunities to be engaged with other children and hopefully make a new friend.”

The family noted their child would be able to use the playground equipment independently and play with his siblings and others. “When we talk about the park with Blaine and show him pictures of what is coming, he gets excited and will give a shrieking shout of “Yay!” and then tap his chest and say, “Me too, I can do it, I can play.”

Plans call for the playground to be installed on Kiwanis One Day on Oct. 24, 2021. The club plans to begin construction on April 1 of next year, in tandem with the city’s construction of a new handicap accessible restroom facility.