April 2018 - Parks & Recreation - 67
Making Play Possible Everywhere
" G
For most of today's children, free play
is a rarity. Life for them, and by extension
their parents, is a skillfully choreographed
schedule of events: school balanced with
involvement in some type of organized
sports or extracurricular activity, with the
remaining time spent on electronic devices. We know that free play, and play in general, is important to a child's development.
As Karla Cisneros, city council member
for District H in Houston, points out: " It's
not just their physical health, but their
emotional and mental health that come
from being outside and playing too. " For
many families, it's difficult to fit one more
thing into already overscheduled lives.
The recent Play Everywhere Tour, powered by Target, NRPA, KaBOOM! and
Playworks, showed just how easy it can
be to help increase physical activity opportunities for kids and families in communities across the country. At each of
four stops on the Play Everywhere Tour
- Atlanta, Dallas, Houston and Miami
- families and kids came out to enjoy a
free, fun-filled family play day in their local park. The day included opportunities
for the nearly 10,500 participating adults
and kids to connect with local health and
wellness providers, design their own innovative play-spaces, participate in the Play
Everywhere obstacle course, and dance
and exercise with local performers, Zumba instructors and fitness influencer, and
celebrity fitness trainer, Massy Arias.
Dallas Park and Recreation brought
some celebrities to the stage as well by
organizing a performance by youth danc-
Photo by Matt Brubaker
o outside and play. " For many in the generations prior to the millennials, as children this was music to our ears. It marked the beginning
of hours of unstructured and unsupervised play in the neighborhood
with our friends, depending on the day of week and time of day. And,
often, it meant not having to be back home until dinner time or until the street lights
came on, which ever came first. Even though the play was unstructured, there was a
sense that it took place under the watchful eye of the adults in the neighborhood.
ers from the hit Lifetime channel show,
" Bring It! " Dallas Park and Recreation
staff also organized fun competitions
throughout the day for everyone to take
part in, including jump rope challenges, with a prize for the participant who
jumped for the longest amount of time.
In Atlanta, attendees could check out
great activities from the Atlanta Parks
and Recreation Department's Play Mobile, a recreation center on wheels. The
Play Mobile and park and rec staff were
on hand with free activities and games
for children, including non-traditional
sports, games, oversized board games
and much more. Attendees in Atlanta
also got to watch a smoothie bike in action on the stage. Peddling the bike powered the blender, creating a delicious,
healthy smoothie.
In each of the cities, a group of local
Play Everywhere Challenge winners was
announced. Collectively, these winners
will share in $720,000 to support innovative projects that encourage play in un-
expected places: on sidewalks, in vacant
lots, at bus stops and in open streets.
" Play gives families the opportunity
to engage with one another outside the
home, to get out and enjoy nature, meet
their neighbors and take a break from
everyday life, " says Monica Prothro,
art program manager with the City of
Atlanta Mayor's Office for
Cultural Affairs. Yet, even
amid the mundane, like
paying a bill at the tax office, waiting at a bus stop or
simply walking to school,
play is possible.
For example, at Atlanta's
DeKalb County's Tax Commissioner and Drivers Services Offices, the DeKalb
County Department of Recreation, Parks and Cultural
Affairs, a Play Everywhere winner, will
transform the entrance to these offices
into a pedestrian-based, outdoor musical walkway called, the " DeKalb Music
Lab. " Or, at Buckner Terrace in Dallas,
Texas, where a Sidewalk Sportscape
project will transform sidewalks in the
community near Skyline High School
and Guzick Elementary into interactive
sports-themed play areas.
These are just a few of the creative ways
the Play Everywhere Challenge winners
will use the funds they'll receive to provide their communities with opportunities for play. Visit https://kaboom.org/
playability/play_everywhere/challenge
to see the 39 projects and learn about the
unique ways kids will play! You're sure to
be inspired.
Thank you to Houston Parks and Recreation Department, City of Dallas Parks
and Recreation, City of Atlanta Department of Parks and Recreation and City of
Miami Parks & Recreation Department
for hosting these events.
W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G | A P R I L 2 0 1 8 |
Parks & Recreation
65
April 2018 - Parks & Recreation
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of April 2018 - Parks & Recreation
April 2018 - Parks & Recreation - 1
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