Inclusively Different Play by Lisa Annis

The Clubhouse at Boyce Mayview Park Cre8Play Inclusively Different Play By Lisa Annis

he father of a child with a disability walked through the entrance of is that these playgrounds don’t truly The Clubhouse at Boyce Mayview Park, just beyond the fence of a bring together kids of varying physi- Miracle League ball field in Upper St. Clair, Pennsylvania, looked cal abilities. The Clubhouse is a game Taround and said, “I thought this playground would be more inclusive changer. It addresses all types of dis- than it is.” abilities through educational, physical, and sensory play to really engage When asked by the park’s design- the playground with its designer, they and challenge all children of varying er, who was on hand for its unveil- learned that the goal, from the outset, abilities. Former Pittsburgh Pirate ing, what he meant, the dad replied, was to make a playground that was and MLB All-Star Sean Casey spear- “The playground doesn’t appear to not obviously inclusive, but rather, headed the project and set out to cre- be inclusive. I’m used to ground-level entirely inclusive. A play environ- ate a place where all kids of all abili- ramps with just a couple accessible ment that would allow children with ties could play together. He formed a elements.” The dad explained how and without disabilities to engage in large team to bring an awesome space the playground doesn’t appear to be an intense level of play. Traditional- to the community of Upper St. Clair. inclusive. He went on to say that it ly, accessible playgrounds consist of A number of organizations were doesn’t look at all like the typical in- a number of ground-level ramps that involved in giving form to this vision. clusive playgrounds he’s used to see- make it possible for wheelchairs to The Casey Family Foundation, The ing. As the dad and his child toured get from here to there. The problem Miracle League, Pittsburgh Pirates

78 Parks & Recreation | AUGUST 2015 | WWW.NRPA.ORG SPECIAL SECTION: INNOVATIVE PLAYGROUNDS

Charities, Let Kids Play and Cre- less transition between adapted and inclusively different. If we’re not 8Play are just a few of a very large more typical playground equipment,” pushing the envelope, we’re falling group of contributors. “There are he says. “Most other playgrounds of- flat for inclusive play. A child with always challenges when collaborat- fer an either/or option, while The a disability wants to play with his ing with this many contributors and Clubhouse provides an environment sister, brother and friend who is not sponsors. The biggest challenges are that encourages interaction between disabled and vice versa. We owe in the number of people who need to two very different populations of it to our children to provide ways sign off on a lot of things,” comment- children.” Transitional color chang- for those with varying ability levels ed Miracle League of South Hills es throughout the decking indicate to play together on the same play- Board Member Maura Rodgers. changes in elevation (ramps and ground and engage in vigorous, ed- The end result is a very meaning- steps), handrail colors were selected ucational, stimulating and exciting ful play environment and a place that to contrast with their backgrounds play. At the end of the day, all they will be cherished for generations to and 3D discovery finds are sculpted want is to play together and have come. The “glue” (think Crazy, not as positives into the play equipment. fun. According to Casey, the play- Elmer’s) in this case was the vision, Many of the interactive games, such ground is a home run: “We knew the one thing that bonded all parties as baseball tic-tac-toe, have debossed it would be something unique and involved. The Clubhouse involved characters. Visual impairment or not, something special. We feel it’s one- many passionate people who shared these elements are fun and stimulat- of-a-kind in the country. All the a laser-focused vision “to create a cat- ing for all. pieces were made for this place, and alyst for learning through play and, Going forward, when design- we feel like our kids deserve some- more importantly, learning through ing or retrofitting accessible play- thing like this.” play for all children, with and with- grounds, the thinking needs to be out special needs, where they would naturally play and grow together,” Rodgers says. Inclusiveness is evident in the detail of every piece of equipment in the playground. It includes elements such as interactive games strategically po- sitioned at varying heights, stainless steel slides to address cochlear im- plants and wheelchair accessibility at much higher elevations than the traditional inclusive playground. Other features included rail-guided play equipment for kids with walking impairments, a Cozy Cocoon by Play- world for children with autism and a Cre8Play baseball glove transfer- accessible climber. The Clubhouse also includes elements that address children with vision impairments. Ben Brilmyer, M.S., CAPE, adapted physical edu- cation teacher for the Western Penn- Cre8Play sylvania School for Blind Children, was blown away by the design. “No- where else have I seen such a seam-