Best Practice Design Guide: Designing Playgrounds to Promote Youth Physical Activity and Fitness
The Design Guide includes:
- Information on the benefits and need for play, physical activity, and fitness
- Evidence-based design best practices
- Case studies and examples of exemplary projects
Evidence-Based Playground Activities Promoting Physical Activity & Fitness Through Active Play
The Playground Activities includes:
- 125 standards-based playground activities for grades PreK-5
- Assessment worksheets and equipment lists
- Matrices showing alignment with SHAPE America National Physical Education Standards and Active Start guidelines
- Safety, implementation, inclusion, and teaching strategies
- Funding resources
The Play On! program promotes physical activity, fitness and fun by combining high quality design centered around the six key elements of play with programming through 125 playground activities that are aligned to national physical education standards.
Informed by the insights and experiences of physical activity experts, practitioners, and children and developed in partnership with health and physical education experts at SHAPE America, Play On! is an effective tool that can help early childhood educators, elementary teachers and recreation professionals to maximize the impact of one of your community’s greatest assets - playgrounds!
Research & Programming in partnership with:
Research
Play On! is based on years of research on how playgrounds influence children’s active play. Several studies also demonstrate the effectiveness of the Play On! program – two of these studies are highlighted below.
School Impact:
Through a research grant sponsored by SHAPE America, Dr. Yuanglong Liu and Dr. Suzan F. Ayers of the Department of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation, Western Michigan University, developed and implemented an objective analysis of the Play On! Playground Activities. Fourteen schools across the nation were selected by SHAPE America. Approximately 6,000 children from 14 schools in 5 states participated in the 4-month study. Research included a series of pre– and post– intervention surveys completed by the teacher, children, parents, as well as two focus groups at one of the schools to qualitatively measure physical activity and skill development. Results indicated that:
• 91% of teachers reported that playground use increased.
• 90% of teachers plan to use the Playground Activities in the future.
• 100% reported the Playground Activities were easy to use.
• >50% of teachers thought the activities improved children’s fitness, while 94% of children agreed.
• 25% of parents participated in more family activity after Play On! implementation.
• 100% of students reported having fun engaging in the Play On! Playground Activities.
• Activity intensity was measured 38% higher during Play On! Playground Activities than during free-play.
Findings from the National Demonstration Site Program:
PlayCore’s National Demonstration Site program has resulted in countless schools, parks, and community centers across the nation implementing the Play On! program. Many of these sites have signage with a QR code, and approximately 6,000 visitors have provided the following feedback about Play On!:
• 95% of visitors plan to return.
• 60% of visitors are return visitor.
• The most common visit durations are: 21 to 40 minutes (35%), 41 to 60 minutes (29%), and more than an hour (27%).
• 47% of visitors reported that someone in their group was moderately active, while 27% reported that someone was vigorously active.
• 95% of visitors were satisfied.
• The number one reason they visited was for physical health reasons (52%), and social and emotional health (19%).
Playground Design
A well-designed play space provides a critical opportunity to address the needs of the whole child and offer activities that motivate, engage, and challenge all children. Playground components and the overall design of the built environment should thoughtfully offer developmentally appropriate levels of challenge, encourage healthy risk-taking, and provide a wide variety of play components and choice.
Specific design considerations can be made to encourage children to move, increase physical activity, and develop important fitness skills. Consider the following design best practices to create healthy bodies through play:
Variety - Offer a variety of options within each of the six key play elements to allow children to use and develop different skills and discover their own preferences and interests.
Levels of Challenge - Provide a progression of skills by selecting equipment for beginning, intermediate, and advanced level of skill development to promote healthy risk taking and encourage all children to participate regardless of age or skill.
Connecting Play Patterns - Consider equipment layout or configuration to promote active play through leading/following, chasing, and intuitive looping patterns.
Social Opportunities - Choose equipment that offers side-by-side play opportunities to promote cooperation, turn-taking, and social skill development.
Portable Equipment and Loose Parts - Provide additional loose parts to encourage children to move, be creative, and play together as they manipulate their environment.
Other Evidence-Based Design Elements - Include other elements that are proven to promote physical activity, fitness, and usage to increase your impact. Examples: inclusive features and/or modifications, playground naturalization, pathways, sport courts, fields or open space, painted markings or zones, shade, and other amenities to increase comfort.
Balancing
• Increases understanding of efficient body positioning and control, principles of gravity, equilibrium, base of support, and counterbalancing.
• Promotes muscular strength and endurance throughout the entire body.
Brachiating
• Improves muscular strength and endurance.
• Promotes hand-eye coordination and rhythmic body movement.
Climbing
• Enhances spatial awareness and coordination.
• Fosters whole-body muscular strength, endurance, and flexibility.
Sliding
• Enhances core stability, dynamic balance, and leg and hip flexibility.
• Provides body and spatial awareness experience.
Spinning
• Develops kinesthetic awareness and postural control.
• Improves understanding of speed, force, and directional qualities of movement.
Swinging
• Promotes aerobic fitness, muscular force, and whole-body awareness.
• Emphasizes the importance of timely energy transfer during movement. Playgrounds can be designed to fully implement the Play On! Playground Activities, while incorporating the six key elements of play to promote fitness and help children reach moderate-to-vigorous levels of physical activity. Physical educators and recreation professionals have a critical role in the selection of playground equipment and the overall design of the outdoor play and learning environment.
A Program to Promote Lifelong Healthy Lifestyles
Communities are seeking effective ways to address the dramatic rise in childhood obesity, sedentary lifestyles, mental health concerns, and social isolation. Investing in playgrounds that promote active play is one solution that can promote community health outcomes.
Children who engage in regular physical activity are more likely to continue to be active as adults. The fitness and motor skills developed during childhood also impact adult health and ability to maintain an active lifestyle. Playgrounds not only promote gross motor development, but they also improve critical thinking and problem-solving skills, promote resilience and risk assessment, and provide opportunities for creativity, social interaction, and fun! By providing evidence-based programs and well- designed outdoor play environments that intentionally promote physical activity and fitness in schools, parks, and activity centers, children will have more opportunities for active play that has a long-term impact.
The Play On! program includes a standards-aligned Playground Activities and an evidence-based Design Guide which work together to promote physical activity, fitness, and fun through the use of six key play elements - balancing, brachiating, climbing, spinning, sliding, and swinging. The Playground Activities includes 125 playground activities that fully align with the SHAPE America National Physical Education Standards which develop physically literate students “who have the knowledge, skills, and confidence to enjoy a lifetime of healthful physical activity” (SHAPE America, 2024). These activities, and the evidencebased design best practices, can be used in and out of school settings to effectively support health and wellness initiatives through active play.
When used together, the Play On! program can help you strengthen, educate, and build healthier communities through play, while maximizing the value and potential of your playgrounds.
Play On!:
• Helps children reach the goal of 60 minutes per day of moderate-tovigorous physical activity.
• Teaches children, families, and communities the significant health and developmental benefits that outdoor play environments offer.
• Helps schools and recreation facilities align with SHAPE America’s National Physical Education Standards and Active Start guidelines.
• Reinforces classroom learning outdoors through cross-curricular activities.
• Helps link to potential funding aligned to support health and wellness initiatives.
• Maximizes playground investments for use during free play, structured physical education, energizers, special events, and before/after school programming.
Learn more about the complete matrix of the alignment between the learning activities of Play On! and the National Standards or Active Start Guidelines at playcore.com/resources/ publications-guides/play-on.
NATIONAL DEMONSTRATION SITE NETWORK
YOUTH PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND FITNESS
NATIONALDEMONSTRATIONSITE
High-quality outdoor play and recreation environments are essential to community health and wellness. Research indicates that when community members are engaged in the planning process, evidence-based design best practices are thoughtfully implemented within the built environment, and supplemental programming is offered to further enhance user experiences, then positive outcomes occur.
Intentionally aligning to National Demonstration Site design criteria ensures that your community can maximize the value of your investment by implementing scholarly best practice research to activate play and recreation destinations. With evidence-based best practices to design and implement high-quality play and recreation environments, National Demonstration Sites receive recognition, demonstrate impact through one-of-a-kind data services, and showcase site-specific outcomes to share the impact on community health and wellness.
Play On!
Best Practice Implementation:
• Incorporate six key elements of play that promote physical activity — balancing, brachiating, climbing, spinning, sliding, and swinging.
• Provide a variety of activities that address the developmentally appropriate progression of skill opportunities through beginning, intermediate, and advanced levels of challenge.
• Design the layout of the space to encourage movement through running, chasing, and exploring.
• Program the environment utilizing Play On! learning activities and additional loose parts to encourage active play and social interaction.
