ATLANTA TASKFORCE ON PLAY
Welcome to PLAYATLANTA.ORG
We want Atlanta to be a great place to raise your children, and that means having great places to play.
Who We Are
ATOP is a fiscal partner of the local 501(c)(3) nonprofit Park Pride.
For info: Cynthia (at) PlayAtlanta.org
To REPAIR/BUILD Playgrounds
BUILD A PLAYGROUND:
If you would like info on building a playground in an Atlanta City Park contact:
Design & location:
Pat Katz at PKatz(at)AtlantaGa.Gov
or
Paul Taylor at pataylor(at)atlantaga.gov
Funding ideas:
Alvin Dodson at
adodson(at)atlantaga.gov
Everything you ever wanted to know about HOW TO BUILD A PLAYGROUND can be found on the
KaBOOM! ROAD MAP.
In the News & ATOP Partners
NEW: YouTube
NEW: ATOP in Metropolis
NEW: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
ATOP Advisory Board
Dr. Arthur Wendel, CDC
Medical Officer, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention -
National Center for Environmental Health, Public Health and Built Environment Initiative
Tom Walsh, Founding Principal, Tunnell-Spangler-Walsh & Associates
Olga Jarrett, PhD - President, International Play Association; Associate Professor, Department of Early Childhood Education, Georgia State University
RoseMary Hamer, Principal, Bethune Elementary School
Orland Esval, Director of eCommerce, AT&T
George Dusenbury, Executive Director, Park Pride
ATOP PARTNERS
City of Atlanta
KaBOOM!
Playful City USA
Park Pride
Camp Twin Lakes
Playworks
Chattahoochee Nature Center
CNN Fit Nation
Tool Bank
Tunnell-Spangler-Walsh & Associates
IPA/USA
WEBSITES OF INTEREST
Playscapes
PlayableDesign
Blog Posts
Could Play Be the World's Common Language?
These children from the Acholi Quarter in Uganda spent their afternoon yesterday drawing pictures for the Playable Kids International Design Competition. They are lovely pictures and we are so happy to have them be a part of Playable Kids.
Posted by Cynthia Gentry on March 6, 2010 at 11:55am
If Only I Could Read Polish
I was looking to see where most visitors to our Playable 2010 website came from and discovered that a blog from Poland was one of our biggest sources. It's the blog for Pracownia K. Arch
… ContinuePosted by Cynthia Gentry on March 5, 2010 at 3:30pm
What Is It About a Snow Day?
I've been so concerned about kids not playing outdoors anymore. I've been pondering how to change things, so I decided to look at when kids voluntarily dash outside. I've noticed two basic times: (1) when they are at school and it's time for recess, and (2) when it's s
… ContinuePosted by Cynthia Gentry on February 14, 2010 at 12:30pm
5 Year-Old from Istanbul, Turkey Enters Playable Kids International Design Competition
This wonderful drawing about "My Idea of Fun" comes from Ada, a 5 year-old from Istanbul, Turkey. It is an entry into the Playable Kids design competition. The whole point of Playable Kids is to get children to inspire the architects, designers, artists, and
… ContinuePosted by Cynthia Gentry on February 12, 2010 at 9:26pm
PLAY CONFERENCE IN ATLANTA - MARCH 10-13, 2010
Urban Play Conference SCHEDULE.pdf
A conference that is an incredible opportunity to learn more ab
… ContinuePosted by Cynthia Gentry on February 12, 2010 at 12:30pm
WHEN I WAS A KID, I USED TO.......
This picture doesn't look like a significant memory, but it is one. I remember how triumphant I felt reaching the top of that great height (even with my grandmother behind me and my mother in front of me). As I got older, it wasn't the playgrounds that drew me in. The g
… ContinuePosted by Cynthia Gentry on February 5, 2010 at 2:08pm
PLAYING TO LEARN
An excerpt: "During the school day, there should be extended time for play. Research has shown unequivocally that children learn best when they are interested in the material or activity they are learning. Play — from buildi… Continue
Posted by Cynthia Gentry on February 4, 2010 at 9:00am
3 1/2 WEEKS LEFT TO ENTER KIDS' PLAY DESIGNS
When you've seen a child's drawing become a real treehouse that serves an entire camp, you understand that we seriously believe that kids are the experts on play.
Get every child you know to enter the PLAYABLE KIDS International D… Continue
Posted by Cynthia Gentry on February 2, 2010 at 8:30am
Cool Playspaces on Playscapes Blog
Norwegian Storytelling Playspace
… Continue
Posted by Cynthia Gentry on January 11, 2010 at 9:00pm — 1 Comment
Playing Outdoors Helps Children's Eyesight
"If you have two nearsighted parents and you engage in a low level of outdoor activity, your chances of becoming myopic by the eighth grade are about 60 percent," he says. "If children engaged in over 14 hours per week… Continue
Posted by Cynthia Gentry on January 11, 2010 at 5:10pm
Photos
Events
March 15
Monday
-
Playable 2010 LAUNCHES
March 15, 2010 at 6am to October 1, 2010 at 5pm – online + in the mail from outside US
Fun Play Ideas
PLAN a PLAY DAY
Find an Atlanta Playground on KaBOOM!'s Playspace Finder
Sports4Kids' Power of Play Training Guide for Atlanta
Build a fort Building a box fort Decorating your fort
Climb a tree!
Build a sandcastle
Play Frisbee
Build A Treehouse
Find a Trail
Campout In Your Backyard
Watch Clouds
Explore Your Backyard
Design your own constellations! CampoutStars.pdf
Take A City Nature Walk
Take A Backyard Bird Walk
About
GREAT PLAY RESOURCES
PlayableKids
How To Enter PlayableKids.pdf
COMING in MARCH 2010
Playable 2010
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Great information on Nature Deficit Disorder
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.
Videos
Play Champion of the Month
TUNNELL-SPANGLER-WALSH
Many thanks to Tunnell-Spangler-Walsh , community design and architecture firm extraordinaire. TSW is developing Playground Design Guidelines that will be on this website soon . Then, you'll be able to post information about your playground project and get input.
Thanks so much to TSW for understanding the importance of play and contributing to improving the quality of play in Atlanta!
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!
Playground of the Month
BETHUNE Elementary School This month, our Playground of the Month is one that has not been built yet. Students, parents, staff, and volunteers are busy at work preparing for an awesome playground to be built in the Fall of 2009. Congratulations to the students for their great playground designs! We'll keep watching your progress. To help on the Bethune project, contact us at Cynthia (at) PlayAtlanta dot org.
© 2010 Created by Cynthia Gentry on Ning. Create a Ning Network!
