PlayAtlanta

Making Atlanta a Great Place to Play

Be a part of making Atlanta a great place for our kids to play. Playspaces, parks, trails... where do you need more play? Join in!

Who We Are

PlayAtlanta.org is a project of the Atlanta Taskforce on Play (ATOP). ATOP was founded in 2007 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, 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 ATOP’s winning video .

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: 404-817-6813


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 can be found on the
KaBOOM! ROAD MAP.

Notes

Play Bio - Councilman Jim Maddox

The Honorable Jim Maddox

Councilmember- District 11

City of Atlanta

Continue

Created by Cynthia Gentry Sep 18, 2008 at 11:58am. Last updated by Cynthia Gentry Apr 7.

In the News & ATOP Partners

ATOP IN THE NEWS

NEW: Camp Twin Lakes' News Splash p. 3-4

Atlanta Journal-Constitution
CNN
KaBOOM
New York Times
National Cities Weekly
Georgia Front Page
Southeast Green


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


ATOP PARTNERS
City of Atlanta
KaBOOM!
Playful City USA
Park Pride
Nickelodeon
Camp Twin Lakes
Sports4Kids
Chattahoochee Nature Center
CNN Fit Nation
Tool Bank
Tunnell-Spangler-Walsh & Associates
StarTreks, LLC
Georgia Public Broadcasting

Websites

Playscapes

ATLANTA NAMED PLAYFUL CITY USA!!



9.06.08 (Atlanta) Atlanta, GA is named "Playful City USA" by KaBOOM! For the second year in a row, Atlanta has shown that it knows how to play and is making parks, playgrounds, trails and all kinds of play a top priority. Join the Atlanta Taskforce on Play and be a part of it all!

City of Atlanta press release

NationsCities_3_24_08_Mayor Franklin article.doc
 

Blog Posts

Cynthia Gentry

Campers Take Over the Treehouse

Camp Twin Lakes' campers are having an incredible summer playing in and around the new treehouse.


Why walk in the front door when there's a rope bridge that takes you to the treehouse?

Continue

Posted by Cynthia Gentry on July 15, 2009 at 8:00pm

Cynthia Gentry

Great Atlanta Play Day Coming - 9/26/09

The 2nd annual Great Atlanta Play Day is coming soon!


We had a great time last year, and this year is going to be even better.

Continue

Posted by Cynthia Gentry on July 6, 2009 at 5:14pm

Cynthia Gentry

13 & 14 Year Olds Enjoying a Playground?

Paris, France Today I saw something amazing in the backyard of Notre Dame: teenagers playing on a playground!


They took turns sitting on a roundabout and all worked together spinning. One by one someone would jump off and another would take his place. These kids today were… Continue

Posted by Cynthia Gentry on June 16, 2009 at 5:13pm

Cynthia Gentry

The Campers are in the New Treehouse!

The new wheelchair-accessible treehouse at Camp Twin Lakes in Rutledge, GA is open and the sounds of kids drumming waft across the lake.


Click on the yellow title above to open up the picture album.
The kids are really enjoying this amazing structure that took two years and… Continue

Posted by Cynthia Gentry on June 5, 2009 at 5:00pm

Cynthia Gentry

Noguchi Playscape Restored and Reopened


On May 1, 1976, the Noguchi Playscape opened in Piedmont Park in Atlanta. Over 30 years later on June 1, 2009, the beautiful playground reopened after years of arduous planning and restoration work. -- The Japanese-American artist Isamu Noguchi (1904-1988) designed many i… Continue

Posted by Cynthia Gentry on June 3, 2009 at 11:00am

Forum

Cynthia Gentry

Do you know any cool places to play? 3 Replies

Started by Cynthia Gentry. Last reply by Cochan Mill Nature Center Mar 24.

ATLANTA'S COMMISSIONER COHEN GIVEN ATOP PLAY CHAMPION OF THE YEAR AWARD for 2008

Presentation of the ATOP Play Champion of the Year Award to Commissioner Dianne Harnell Cohen
(l-r: Commissioner of Parks, Recreation & Cultural Affairs Dianne Harnell Cohen, Atlanta Taskforce on Play Founder Cynthia Gentry, Atlanta City Councilman Kwanza Hall)

Saturday, September 27, 2008 (Great Atlanta Play Day)

Dianne Harnell Cohen, Commissioner of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs for the City of Atlanta has been named the ATOP Play Champion of the Year for 2008.

At the Great Atlanta Play Day launch on Saturday, September 27, 2008, ATOP Founder Cynthia Gentry said, "Atlanta is fortunate to be home to one of the country’s most tireless workers on behalf of our parks, greenspaces, playspaces, trails….and therefore our children.

"This person has done an extraordinary job and has literally turned the parks system of the city around with a $105 million Parks and Greenspace Opportunity Bond to renovate existing parks and build new ones. She attends more community meetings than all other Department heads combined – listening to residents about what they want to see in their parks. She is committed to having a park, greenspace, playspace or greenway trail within walking distance of every child in Atlanta. She even sent a quick email that turned ATOP’s Playful City USA video entry from a jumble of video clips into the crisply edited, first place entry in KaBOOM’s Playful City USA contest.

"Our City has been blessed with an exceptional leader in the form of the Commissioner of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs, and so it gives me great honor to award to Dianne Harnell Cohen, the first ever Atlanta Taskforce on Play “Play Champion of the Year” Award.

"Congratulations, Commissioner, and thank you on behalf of a grateful city."


 
 

About

Cynthia Gentry Cynthia Gentry created this social network on Ning.

Create your own social network!

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

Ethan E., our first donor

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.



Members

  • Cynthia Gentry
  • Sandra Cummins
  • Cochan Mill Nature Center
  • John R. Naugle
  • Laurie
  • Tamekis ( GSU &AGAPE TEAM)
  • Melissa
  • Barbara
  • Alex Sivertson Helton
  • Christi Woodruff
  • midtownAdam
  • Jason
 

© 2009   Created by Cynthia Gentry on Ning.   Create Your Own Social Network

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Privacy  |  Terms of Service