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
ATOP 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
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 - Professor, Department of Early Childhood Education, Georgia State University; Former President, International Play Association
Orland Esval, Director of eCommerce, AT&T
George Dusenbury, Commissioner, Parks, Recreation + Cultural Affairs, City of Atlanta
ATOP PARTNERS
City of Atlanta
KaBOOM!
Playful City USA
Park Pride
Camp Twin Lakes
Playworks
Central Atlanta Progress
Tool Bank
Tunnell-Spangler-Walsh & Associates
IPA/USA
WEBSITES OF INTEREST
Playscapes
PlayableDesign
Blog Posts
Wait. Play at School Is a Good Thing?
This is one of the best videos I've seen that clearly shows the importance of natural play at schools. Take a look. It is from my friends at School Grounds UK. Maybe we can get something going in Atlanta to improve our playgrounds AND increase the amount of time students get to go outside and play during the day. I don't know what it is going to take to convince…
ContinuePosted by Cynthia Gentry on January 30, 2012 at 10:29am
Conference on Play - Worth the Trip
I'll be heading over to Clemson University again this year for the annual Conference on the Value of Play put on by the US Play Coalition, of which ATOP is a proud member. I am particularly excited about the focus on playwork this year. There aren't many playworkers in the US and I hope with a little awareness and education that will…
ContinuePosted by Cynthia Gentry on January 30, 2012 at 10:22am
10 Steps to an Amazing Playground
So many people ask me what makes a good playground. Here are 10 points, each worthy of it's own post (or book chapter). My favorite, of course, is number 6. Oh, when you have number 6 you've really got something!
A wonderful playground is……..
- Designed to enhance its setting
- Located in the best possible place
- Close to nature
- Designed so that children can play in different ways
- Geared towards encouraging disabled and able-bodied children…
Posted by Cynthia Gentry on January 27, 2012 at 5:36am
The Wonder Years of Middle Childhood
There is an article in today's New York Times called "Now We Are 6: Middle Childhood in Focus." The article focuses on the extraordinary…
ContinuePosted by Cynthia Gentry on December 27, 2011 at 10:29am — 1 Comment
Driving Play Home!
At the end of Playable10 International Design Competition we had a winning design, a playable "ATL" by Canadian talent Jeff Santos, and a beautiful site at Woodruff Park in downtown Atlanta thanks to a partnership with Central Atlanta Progress. Bank of America donated the $25,000 budgeted for the build. We were ready.
There was still one little…
ContinuePosted by Cynthia Gentry on December 6, 2011 at 7:30am
These Are a Few of My Favorite Things: Glamis, Bernard + Penny!
Bernard Spiegal of PLAYLINK on Glamis Adventure Playground from Little Creatures Films on Vimeo.
It's Thanksgiving morning and I'm a little under the weather, so I'm curled up in bed feeling somewhat wistful and…
ContinuePosted by Cynthia Gentry on November 24, 2011 at 8:20am
A Dream Almost Realized
The red, dancing ATLs hint at the big design about to be revealed
At long last, the winning design in the Playable10 International Design Competition has been built and was unveiled on November 1, 2011 at…
ContinuePosted by Cynthia Gentry on November 20, 2011 at 1:30pm
First a Crazy Idea....and Now This!
Tuesday, November 1, 2011 is a huge day for the Atlanta Taskforce on Play (ATOP). There's a big surprise being unveiled at the National Recreation and Parks Assn. conference, and it's something we've been working on for years. Here's how it all started:
In 2003, I built my first…
ContinuePosted by Cynthia Gentry on October 31, 2011 at 10:30pm
The Guy Who Actually Wrote the Book!
If you are going to be at NRPA, come learn from the master, Robin Moore! Monday October 31st. I can't…
ContinuePosted by Cynthia Gentry on October 21, 2011 at 8:24am
School Should Be The Window
In my high school we all chose quotes to go beneath our senior pictures. My quote was "I meant to do my work today, but a brown bird sang in the apple tree." I thought of that old quote today when I saw this cartoon by David Horsey of the Seattle Post Intelligencer. This makes me so incredibly…
ContinuePosted by Cynthia Gentry on October 11, 2011 at 9:00pm
Photos
Events
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
GREAT PLAY RESOURCES
FANTASTIC blog about playgrounds: Playscapes
FIND A PLAYGROUND!!
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.
Playgroundology, an emerging social science.
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!
My Face Having Fun
© 2012 Created by Cynthia Gentry.
