December 2019 - Parks & Recreation - 44

A D V E N T U R E PA R K S

opes courses and rock-climbing gyms have been steadily growing in popularity over the years, but a new wave of adventure
parks is sweeping the globe. They offer new experiences for both
adults and children, providing them with safe spaces to confront
fears and build confidence. This phenomenon has become so pervasive that
it is influencing park and recreation trends. In fact, many municipalities
have or are considering their own operations or entering the expanding
market through public/private partnerships to offer activities, like zip lines,
canopy tours and aerial adventure courses. What's more, elevated teambuilding courses are skyrocketing in popularity.
Studies have shown the adventure park trend has been steadily
gaining momentum. Adventure Park
Insider Magazine (APIM) State of the
Industry Report states that traditional
adventure play, with a one-time fee
to enter a facility with elements, like
high ropes courses, climbing walls
and canopy tours, are continuing
to grow in popularity with visitors
ranging in age from 7 to 65 and beyond. As opposed to traditional adventure play, pay-to-play adventures
require you to pay a singular fee to
participate in a high-thrill activity.

While traditional adventure
parks continue to grow in popularity, the largest growth areas are in
the pay-to-play offerings. Unsurprisingly, the cornerstone activities
of traditional high and low ropes,
aerial adventure and zip-line activities are the most popular and continue to rise. However, secondary
activities, such as mountain coasters, climbing walls and bungee
trampolines, also show high usage.
Adventure playgrounds in parks
are emerging as an alternative to
more traditional designs, with Aus-

tralia, Canada and Europe leading
the way. Adventure design in parks
is a way to introduce risk taking as
a form of play. Essentially, it allows
people to push the boundaries of their
fears in a controlled environment.
These new experiences incorporate
play at heights, high speed, dangerous
feeling experiences, roughhousing
and lost play - where people aren't
sure where they are. Both adults and
children can benefit from these new
experiences, because they build confidence as skills increase. Furthermore,
these activities force participants to
focus more attention on play because
of the complexity of the challenges.
These takeaways are then translated
into other aspects of their lives.

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Studies have shown risk play to
be an important aspect of childhood development, because it
can improve risk perception and
competence over time. Risky play
helps kids conquer fears of stressful situations, learn how to follow
through, improve social interaction
skills, increase creativity, assist in
understanding their limitations,
recognize areas for improvement
and help form positive attitudes.
Other benefits include improved
motor skills and cognitive understanding of the environment, not
to mention the exhilaration they
receive after successfully defeating
their fears. In fact, it is reported
that kids pay more attention while
participating in these activities.
The lack of risk in the play environment could lead to children
who are " risk-averse, " never having

The Landworks Studio and OZMOY
design teams work together to design
adventure experiences for people around
the world.
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December 2019 - Parks & Recreation

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