Designers created three primary activities to work out solutions with the group.

• The first activity focused on surveying students on their favorite games at recess. These conversations provided valuable insight into what types of activities the students liked doing on their playground. Questions like, “Do students use equipment like swings and climbing walls the most or do they prefer open space for games of tag and other outdoor activities?” guide overall layouts.
• The second activity was designed to gather information about students’ favorite equipment and how these would be used alongside their favorite outside games. Using sticky dots, students identified what equipment they preferred and whether it promoted climbing, swinging, jumping, or running. This allows designers to select equipment that will be used most.
• Finally, the third activity challenged students to think like designers and develop their own playgrounds. Then, they would present their solutions to their peers. Using simple materials in small groups, they built a version of their playground on their site. This gave them the chance to think “outside the box” with equipment types, color, texture, and ground materials. With this information, architects could more easily understand spatial relationships between pieces and what types of materials students preferred.

These three activities provided valuable feedback to guide the overall design of the playground. It gives these young “stakeholders” a chance to take responsibility for their environment and how they could best use the space on their site.

While students may not get all the equipment they planned for, such as swimming pools, pirate ships or rocket blasters, they can think creatively about space and how they would use it for themselves.