Welcome to PLAY ATLANTA
Play Atlanta:
making cool stuff happen
We want Atlanta to be a great place to raise your children, and that means having great places to play.
Who We Are
Play Atlanta (formerly known as ATOP-Atlanta Taskforce on Play) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting the child's right to play. We advocate for play, help communities set a vision for and design a playful environment, help real estate developers integrate play spaces throughout a project, educate about the importance of play, and much more.
Play Atlanta was founded in 2007 in order to apply to KaBOOM!’s Playful City USA competition on behalf of the City of Atlanta. Working closely with the City’s Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs, Play Atlanta (then ATOP) was successful and Atlanta became one of the 31 Founding Playful Cities and went on to win first prize in the PCUSA video grant competition. Check out
Play Atlanta is a fiscal partner of the local 501(c)(3) nonprofit Park Pride.
For info: Cynthia (at) PlayAtlanta.org
To REPAIR/BUILD Playgrounds
REPAIRS: See something that needs to be fixed in a City of Atlanta playground? Please report it to Parks Dept. Customer Service at: 404-546-6813
In the News
Play Atlanta IN THE NEWS
Atlanta Business Chronicle: ABC-Private Grants Help Deliver.pdf
Atlanta Magazine: Play With A Purpose, Why Kids Need Recess
KaBOOM! Playmaker of the Month
Recreation & Parks in Georgia Magazine: Creating Partnerships in Atlanta
Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Centers of Hope Good for Atlanta's Kids
YouTube
ATOP in Metropolis
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
CNN iReport
Delta's SKY Magazine
ArchDaily
The Treehouse in the News
ATOP/SCAD's Sculpture Department Project at Camp Twin Lakes
Camp Twin Lakes' News Splash p. 3-4
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
CNN
KaBOOM
New York Times
National Cities Weekly
Georgia Front Page
Southeast Green
Atlanta Board of Education's Khaatim El - blog
Blog Posts
What Is a Playground Without Any Swings?
A drone shot of our new playground at The Summit at Fritz Farm in Lexington, KY
(click to see drone flyover - the best views of the playground start at around 2:55)…
ContinuePosted by Cynthia Gentry on June 8, 2017 at 10:06am
Let's Be Honest - Does Play Really Matter?
Click the image above to watch "This Is Me", a short video on the child's right to play from the International Play Association (IPA).
(This video was made by PlayAtlanta's Cynthia Gentry in her role on the Board of…
Posted by Cynthia Gentry on June 8, 2017 at 10:00am
Architect Richard Dattner's PlayCubes Return
As a child of the 60s and 70s I have always savored the decades for their extraordinary music and profound cultural change - and the fact that I was so young then. It has only been in the past decade that I learned about the wonderful play design that was occurring around the same time. One perfect example is that of architect and play designer Richard Dattner and his PlayCubes. …
ContinuePosted by Cynthia Gentry on December 29, 2016 at 9:30am
Dreams for Atlanta!
The Mayor of Calgary, Alberta Canada has released this video about the International Play Association Triennial Conference which will be in Calgary in September 2017. He gets it!! He really gets it!! For almost six years I have had the honor of sitting on the Board of IPA World and am thrilled that the…
ContinuePosted by Cynthia Gentry on December 26, 2016 at 10:30am
Growing Our Playable Garden
I believe in play everywhere. We are slowly transforming our yard into a playable garden.
This year we added wild flowers to the flower bed in front of the house. The number of butterflies and bees constantly getting their fill of nectar is astounding. There were a few…
ContinuePosted by Cynthia Gentry on November 7, 2016 at 8:01am
Mr. Mayor, Atlanta Can Help Raise Resilient Children with Play!
Atlanta's Mayor Kasim Reed has been surprising me lately with some pretty cutting edge programs like a Department of Urban Agriculture, an Office of Sustainability, and now by…
ContinuePosted by Cynthia Gentry on November 4, 2016 at 11:30am
Defining Play
Try though I may I have always found a definition of play to be elusive. It is like trying to define love. It is different things to different people. It changes. It is full of layers. This piece of paper is hanging on my studio wall. I took it from the General Comment (#17) on article 31 of the UN…
ContinuePosted by Cynthia Gentry on November 2, 2016 at 10:30am
An Old Idea Becomes Radically New
Is Atlanta ready for a new old kind of playground? What if we did an experiment in which we tried out an adventure playground like they did at Governor's Island in New York? This is an incredible idea whose time came, went and is back again! Think about it.…
Posted by Cynthia Gentry on October 14, 2016 at 9:00am
Saporta Report: Let’s Talk About Play
I just stumbled upon an article I wrote for the Saporta Report earlier this year before Park Pride's annual Parks and Greenspace Conference. The conference had the theme of Parks and Play: A Conversation for All Ages and it was fantastic.
…
ContinuePosted by Cynthia Gentry on September 6, 2016 at 11:42am
Play Everywhere
I love the idea of play being everywhere, not just at the playground. When I was a kid (oh,…
ContinuePosted by Cynthia Gentry on August 16, 2016 at 11:00am
Photos
Events
GREAT PLAY RESOURCES
WATCH THIS!!
Watch this video to see why play matters!!
Aqui esta en Español: 
FANTASTIC blog about playgrounds: Playscapes
FIND A PLAYGROUND!!
Click for the Find a Playground app to put on your phone.
Pretty much everything you ever needed to know about play.
And, of course, KaBOOM! Find a playground, plan a Play Day, how to build a playground, and much, much more.
Playgroundology, an emerging social science.
Videos
DONATE
CLICK TO DONATE!
Ethan's grandmother gave him a gift of $25. He gave $20 to ATOP so more Atlanta kids will have great places to play. He kept $5 to get something cool for himself. We think Ethan is pretty cool!
My Face Having Fun
© 2017 Created by Cynthia Gentry.
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