Create
Designing a PlaygroundFor All AbilitiesElements of Play ♦ Types of Playgrounds
Designing starts with learning about your project: the location, usage, audience, budget and timeline. Looking at the site, the drainage and the lay of the land for the best ADA access routes. Planning for the direction of the sun and traffic patterns that may impact which way to arrange the equipment.
Creating your perfect playground means planning for different age groups and different abilities then creating different play experiences that challenge kids to explore, learn and interact with each other.
The process starts by looking at what type of playground fits your needs and how to build in the 7 Elements of Play.
Different Types of Play on the Playground
Sensory ♦ Swinging ♦ Climbing ♦ Sliding ♦ Spinning ♦ Brachiating ♦ Balancing
Having these different play activities are vital for a child’s cognitive, emotional, physical and social development.
Sensory Play
Sight, Sound, Smell, Touch, Balance.
Swinging Play
The sensation of soaring and flying.
Climbing Play
Excitement, challenge and a little risk.
Sliding Play
Up, Down, Do It Again
Spinning Play
Physics in Motion
Brachiating Play
Left, Right, Hand-over-hand
Balancing Play
Endurance and Core Strength
Want to learn more?
Creating the Perfect Playground
Inclusive ♦ Fitness ♦ Adventure ♦ Nature ♦ Combination
Finding the right playground type means considering different play experiences, age groups and abilities that challenge kids to explore, learn and interact with each other.
Inclusive Playgrounds
Let’s All Play Together! Go beyond ADA rules that are focused on ensuring wheelchair access. Inclusive playgrounds combine different difficulty levels, challenges, and play experiences for those with and without special needs.
These playgrounds include parallel play, encouraging children of all ages and all abilities to build on their own skills and strengths while interactimg with one another.
Fitness Playgrounds
Let’s Get Moving! Promote healthy lifestyle choices, where kids can challenge themselves, compete with each other, and develop strength, balance, and agility.
Challenging physical obstacles and fitness circuits work the body, build muscle, and offer cardio workouts. It also encourages healthy competition among friends to challenge their physical fitness and work toward improving their health.
Nature & Adventure Playgrounds
Let’s Explore! Nurture kid’s curiosity, encouraging them to explore the environment and discover the world around them.
Take advantage of the natural topography, such as hills and mounds, to create a natural, imaginative playground then compliment it with innovative natural play elements – climbing walls and nets, rocks, and more – for more challenging play and adventure.
Want to learn more?
WOW! The new playground areas at our Primary and Elementary school are beyond what many could have imagined. On behalf of the Oak Grove School District and community, thank you and well done! My office has a window facing the Elementary playground and it would warm your heart to see the faces on the students as they rush to the new playground. … Thank you SO MUCH for the amazing playground our students are enjoying!
Overall, the new playground has just been amazing! Thanks for all of your work!
Thanks again for all of ABcreative’s help and support on our play area safety surface. It has been a very positive experience both in working with you and the installation crew who did the surfacing removal and new installation. I look forward to working with you again in the future!
I just wanted to thank you for the work you did on our playgrounds … the kiddos as well as the teachers absolutely love their new outdoor space! We spend a great deal of time outdoors and appreciate your work every day. Thank you again, for a job very well done!
The signature element of the playground is a custom 28′ high Jupiter XXL with attachments including an elevated curved slide, climbing nets, and a suspension bridge that links to additional play equipment. These components, along with others from Berliner, have created a unique, one-of-a-kind adventure playground unlike any other in our park system.
I’m impressed by how these shelters look. They fit the architecture of the park very well. They are solid structures, which is good for our Midwestern weather. They are a distinguishing feature in the whole park because of their sheer size and how they were designed.
Karen was very willing to come out anytime and meet with us, walk us through things. Her availability was instrumental in the process. Our engineer wasn’t used to grants like this, especially the bid process, and Karen helped him through the process, not knowing whether ABCreative would win the bid. Karen was easy to work with and stayed in contact with us throughout the process.
What a great partnership. I want to work with you all again on our next project for sure! It was by far the best playground build I have ever witnessed. A HUGE THANK YOU to all the volunteers. I have stopped by the park three times since the build and it’s always in use.
We have really enjoyed our new playground. The playground and outdoor classroom space have really been utilized. By giving parents a place to sit and visit while watching their students, it has become a hub for after school activity. Thank you for your part in all of this. Without your vision [Julie Scott] and inspiration, I’m not sure everything would have turned out the way it did.
I enjoyed working with Larry on this project [Hummel Park]. He provided great customer service, we developed a working rapport and he always answered the phone. It’s all about the relationship.
Karen at ABCreative was exceptional to work with. She is a great communicator, offers great customer service, kept me informed, came out and met with me personally and talked through the options. She was mindful and paid attention to what I was looking for and our goals. She listened and got what it was we were looking for.
This playground is what I imagined when we first spoke. I wanted something where the children would be challenged to move from one end to the other without touching the ground. Now that it’s complete I hear the kids challenging each other to do just that.
As a company that prides itself on providing our customers the best products available, we turned to ABCreative to provide customer shelter system options to add to our tennis court facility projects. We are thoroughly pleased with the quality and professionalism that ABCreative brought to our construction and installation projects, and we are thankful for a partnership with a well-respected company.
We believe ...
… play inspires the imagination and is an essential requirement in early childhood development that promotes development of cognitive and motor skills that are essential for learning.
… playing helps young children develop social skills, the abilities to negotiate and compromise with peers, gain self-esteem, and self-confidence, all while allowing children to explore the environment, get dirty, stimulate creativity , and temporarily abandon rules and structure.
Most importantly, we focus on building relationships.
We work to earn your trust and look forward to partnering on future projects.