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Innovative products - the key to more play
Families choose play destination for its unique design
Playgrounds have been identified as the place within parks where children expend the most energy. So the KOMPAN Play Institute set out to examine the retention of children and their parents on a newly refurbished playground at Flag Pole Hill in Dallas, Texas. The research included interviews with 177 adults and 50 children.
“The outdoor playground is great for my child’s health and important because of the ability to get outside and get fresh air!”, one parent stated. The research done by the KOMPAN Play Institute shows that 98% of parents found playgrounds to be important. The main reasons are the positive influence on their children’s health and the fresh air. The new playground at Flag Pole Hill that WOWs both children and parents increased its use by 77%.
73% of the parents stated that their main reason for visiting this playground was the unique play equipment. For a playground to be attractive it is important to have unique play equipment for different age groups. A wide variety of play equipment ensures that the play area is fun and attractive for all ages and abilities.
Click the button below to learn more about this research and read KOMPAN Play Institute’s five recommendations for designing attractive playgrounds that on average keep children playing for more than 60 minutes.
5 Recommendations for designing attractive playgrounds
There are many worthwhile recommendations for designing attractive playgrounds. The KOMPAN Play Institute has also published some. The Flag Pole Hill playground study reaffirms us in these and adds new insights. The new insights from the study point out five main recommendations for designing attractive playgrounds:
Choose playground equipment with WOW: unique play equipment was the main reason for visiting the playground.
Remember that playground equipment needs to be appealing to parents too.
Have transparency in design to ensure visibility and easy parental supervision.
Add playground equipment for all ages and remember to include younger children (a total of 61% of users were below 5 years).
Place the play equipment for toddlers together in the center of the play area to ease parental supervision.
Webinars and white papers about play
A Design Checklist for Success with Inclusive Playgrounds
Equality in play – Survey on playground use in children with disabilities
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