The Buzz in Play

Urge NBC’s fictional town of Pawnee to become a Playful City USA!

You may remember the NBC episode of Parks and Recreation that featured KaBOOM!. We’ve been following the show closely ever since and are thrilled that fictional City Council candidate Leslie Knope thinks there should be a playground in every park, school yard and residential block.

As we leave the year behind we thought it would be fun to take one last look at the state of play in 2011, as seen through the eyes of the greater KaBOOM! community. Sifting through videos, blogs and photographs sent to us from parents, teachers and city officials, we were reminded of just how playful – and inspiring – our fellow play advocates can be. As the heart of our movement to save play, it is your stories that keep us going.

In the closing session of the Partnership for a Healthier America Summit yesterday in Washington, DC, First Lady Michelle Obama made an impassioned plea for play. We couldn’t have been more pleased to have her recognize the importance of play in fighting childhood obesity and keeping our kids fit and healthy and wanted to share a few highlights:

What qualifies as a "good" piece of playground equipment? Of course, there is no silver bullet—which is why playgrounds consist of many different kinds of equipment—but in our view, a piece of playground equipment should accomplish at least ONE of the following:

• Challenge kids physically
• Stimulate kids creatively
• Encourage cooperation and/or competition
• Be FUN!

We're afraid that this piece of playground equipment in Shepreth, UK fails on all fronts: