Making Atlanta a Great Place to Play

All Blog Posts (56)

Children MUST Play at School

Is this boy playing or practicing for a brilliant future as a cinematographer? Read this article from today's Washington Post about the importance of play in schools. Some mind-blowing excerpts: "A more recent study showed… Continue

Added by Cynthia Gentry on November 21, 2009 at 8:00am — No Comments

Something incredible is coming soon...

Watch for more information here and/or at www.PlayableDesign.org. ...design so kids can play.... Continue

Added by Cynthia Gentry on October 15, 2009 at 8:00pm — No Comments

New Kind of Playground Unleashes Creativity and Fun

I've waited (and worked) for two years to take these pictures!

Happy faces were everywhere as the children played Others were pretty excited, too. The Atlanta Public School System proudly blogged about the exciting and fu… Continue

Added by Cynthia Gentry on October 3, 2009 at 10:00pm — No Comments

Delta Sky Magazine Salutes ATOP

We were so pleased to hear that Delta's Sky Magazine highlighted the Atlanta Taskforce on Play in their September issue in a section called "Delta Salutes" (p.145). More and more people are coming to understand the impor… Continue

Added by Cynthia Gentry on September 29, 2009 at 11:30pm — No Comments

GoGirlGo! Outside and Play!

Want to be a part of the Great Atlanta Play Day, but don't know what to do? There are great activiites all over Atlanta.

GoGirlGo! and A5 Volleyball Club are hosting a volleyball clinic for girls at Oglethorpe Un… Continue

Added by Cynthia Gentry on September 20, 2009 at 8:25am — No Comments

Get Out and PLAY ATLANTA on Saturday, 9/2/609

The second annual GREAT ATLANTA PLAY DAY is Saturday, September 26, 2009 and there are great events going on all over Atlanta.

Celebrate PARK PRIDE'S 20th anniversary. If you live in one of the 20 commun… Continue

Added by Cynthia Gentry on September 20, 2009 at 12:00am — No Comments

Get Ready for Soaring Imaginations

The long-awaited Imagination Playground in a Box (IPB) has arrived.

Ms. Yglesias Hollins, The Coca-Cola Company and Principal RoseMary Hamer, Bethune Elementary School examine the new IPB The real fun will come when we unveil t… Continue

Added by Cynthia Gentry on September 10, 2009 at 9:00pm — No Comments

Outdoor Time Fuels Classroom Performance

Time Out: Outdoor Time Fuels Classroom Performance National Wildlife Federation Releases School Readiness Guide for Parents and Teachers Reston, Va. (September 2)—Back to School shouldn’t mean back indoors for children. In fact, National Wildlife Federation’s (NWF) new report TIME OUT: Using the Outdoors to Enhance Classroom Performance highlights the vast research linking time kids spend outside to increased classroom preparedness. American’s childhood has largely moved indoors in the p… Continue

Added by Cynthia Gentry on September 8, 2009 at 9:14am — No Comments

Bethune's P.L.A.C.E. - A New Kind of Playground

There's a brand new kind of playground coming to the Bethune Elementary School in Atlanta. It's called Bethune's P.L.A.C.E. and that stands for Playground - Learning Arboretum + Center for Exploration. Children need to be outside during the day and the Bethune student… Continue

Added by Cynthia Gentry on August 26, 2009 at 3:26pm — No Comments

Huge Areas of Atlanta Are NO PLAY ZONES

Too many of Atlanta's children do not have the benefit of a safe place to play outdoors. You've heard about the frightening obesity epidemic, the staggering rise in ADD, and, most recently, that 7 out of 10 children have a Vitamin D deficiency. Well, play… Continue

Added by Cynthia Gentry on August 16, 2009 at 12:51am — No Comments

Kids Playing With Fire...A Good Thing??

The other night, during a neighborhood yard party, the kids started a fire and I was pretty happy about it. Really!

Fire is a dangerous and potentially fatal force, but it is undeniably mesmerizing to kids. They all seem to play with matches at one time or another, and that easily strik… Continue

Added by Cynthia Gentry on August 10, 2009 at 9:30am — No Comments

7 Out of 10 Kids Have Vitamin D Deficiency

It's all over the network news: 7 out of 10 kids have a vitamin D deficiency because they don't get outside enough to play. Vitamin D is critically important to a child's health and, among other benefits, helps reduce heart disease and helps fight cancer. Follow the links below for more information, but in the meantime, get thee kids outside to play!! 7 Out of 10 Kids Have Vitamin D Deficiency… Continue

Added by Cynthia Gentry on August 4, 2009 at 8:10am — No Comments

Skaters Lead Design of First Atlanta Skatepark

On Wednesday, July 29, 2009 the Beltline and City of Atlanta Park Design Dept. assembled a panel of long-time skateboarders to lead the design of Atlanta's first skatepark. The 15,000 square foot skatepark will be in a park to be built on the newly acquired property along… Continue

Added by Cynthia Gentry on July 31, 2009 at 8:30am — No Comments

Bethune Elementary Orders Their First IMAGINATION PLAYGROUND IN A BOX!!!!!!!!!!

I had the very rewarding task of ordering an… Continue

Added by Cynthia Gentry on July 24, 2009 at 1:00pm — No Comments

New Sprayground in Roswell

Roswell, Georgia is really on the move these days. Check out their new "sprayground" at Riverside Park.

Splash pads are a big hit with kids and parents alike. Parents like them because they don't have to worry about the dangers of crowded pools. Kids like them because they… Continue

Added by Cynthia Gentry on July 21, 2009 at 3:00pm — No Comments

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

Added by Cynthia Gentry on July 15, 2009 at 8:00pm — No Comments

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

Added by Cynthia Gentry on July 6, 2009 at 5:14pm — No Comments

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

Added by Cynthia Gentry on June 16, 2009 at 5:13pm — No Comments

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

Added by Cynthia Gentry on June 5, 2009 at 5:00pm — No Comments

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

Added by Cynthia Gentry on June 3, 2009 at 11:00am — No Comments

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2009

November (1)
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About

Cynthia Gentry created this Ning Network.

GREAT PLAY RESOURCES

Great information on Nature Deficit Disorder

FANTASTIC blog about playgrounds: Playscapes

And, of course, KaBOOM! Find a playground, plan a Play Day, how to build a playground, and much, much more.

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.