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
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
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.
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
How To Prepare Your Child for a Great Future
Recent issue of PlayRights, the magazine of the International Play Association
I am struck by how the things I love to do today are so reminiscent of how I played as a child. When I was a little girl I would always get the kids in the…
ContinuePosted by Cynthia Gentry on February 24, 2014 at 1:21pm
Perfect for My Backyard!
You can always find something inspiring on the PlayScapes blog by Paige Johnson. I saw this today and thought this must certainly be the perfect solution for a sand pit for our grandchildren in our…
Posted by Cynthia Gentry on December 17, 2013 at 2:49pm
Vroom With a View
This swing hangs from a treehouse overlooking the Tungurahua Volcano in Ecuador. Can you imagine what it must be like to soar out over the volcano with no safely belt - just you and a rope swing? It's kind of funny because when I was a kid nobody had ever heard of a safety belt. Of…
Posted by Cynthia Gentry on December 9, 2013 at 12:18pm
Today is UNIVERSAL CHILDREN'S DAY
I hope you enjoy this uplifting and fun video made by the International Play Association. It was created to celebrate the adoption of the General Comment on Article 31 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. That's a fancy way to say that the UN is making it a priority to let everyone know all children everywhere have the right to play! Check it out!
Posted by Cynthia Gentry on November 20, 2013 at 8:52am
A World Wakes Up to Play
Geneva, Switzerland - The launch event for the General Comment on article 31
It has been a wild ride the past several months as a group of friends (board members of the International Play Association) have worked day and night to prepare a launch to celebrate the…
ContinuePosted by Cynthia Gentry on October 29, 2013 at 11:00pm
The Message on Education is CLEAR!
Please make a point to read this vitally important article by Peter Gray, "Children are Suffering a Severe Deficit of Play," from Aeon Magazine and from his new book.
On Sunday I leave for a week long trip to Baltimore,…
ContinuePosted by Cynthia Gentry on September 18, 2013 at 1:41pm
We're Going to the A.T.L.!
I hear it was an amazing weekend in downtown Atlanta. The streets were closed off for bicycles, and play, and poetry, and families, and fun. How many major cities have a playground right in the heart of downtown? Atlanta does! And, it looks like the saying, "If you build it they will…
Posted by Cynthia Gentry on September 8, 2013 at 8:16pm
What Does YOUR Play Map Look Like?
I grew up in the 60s in an Atlanta neighborhood called Hanover West. It was very much a classic "Leave It To Beaver" type place. Moms stayed at home. Dads went to work. Kids went to school or played outside. You knew everybody's dog and parents' car. You knew the best trees to climb, the best…
ContinuePosted by Cynthia Gentry on July 3, 2013 at 9:59am
Atlanta Named Playful City USA for 7th Year in a Row
Seven years ago we made this video for the City of Atlanta's entry into the national competition with KaBOOM!, the playground non-profit organization. Not only did we come in first place, but, more importantly, we continue to focus on creating play opportunities for the children of Atlanta.
Recently, Atlanta became one of only a handful of cities to…
ContinuePosted by Cynthia Gentry on June 11, 2013 at 1:40pm
Treehouse TV
At long last there is a reality TV show that I want to watch, Treehouse Masters on Animal Planet (Premiere - Friday, May 31 at 10PM EST). It is about Washington state-based Pete Nelson and his team of treehouse builders. There was an article in the New…
ContinuePosted by Cynthia Gentry on May 30, 2013 at 10:37pm
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!!
Click for the Find a Playground app to put on your phone.
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.
Play Champions of the Year
There just aren't enough words to thank the folks at Landscape Structures for all they are doing to make creative play happen for the children of Atlanta.
LSI took the new playground at Woodruff Park off of the drawing board and made it come alive. They made the PlayChastain Exploratorium happen for the families and children of north Atlanta.
Landscape Structures has gone above and beyond and their efforts are greatly appreciated.
Congratulations to LSI, ATOP's Play Champions of the Year 2012!
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
© 2014 Created by Cynthia Gentry.
