It’s a playground with a difference, and it’s coming soon to a park near you.
New Westminster families will soon have a chance to enjoy a Spare Parts Pop-Up Adventure Playground.
The playground event is coming Sunday, July 10 to the open grassy area of Tipperary Park.
Kids will have a chance to build and create whatever they like using donated “spare parts” – fabric, PVC pipe, boxes, boards, lumber, tarps, rope, zip ties and more. They can use the materials to create forts, ramps or any other structure they choose.
“Children will build, tear down and rebuild their very own playground,” explains Brad Cavanagh, one of the organizers, in an email. “By encouraging slightly riskier behaviour than a standard playground, children will exercise their imaginations and bodies while at the same time building self-confidence and courage.”
Cavanagh notes that adventure playgrounds are popular in Europe, where kids gather and build semi-permanent structures out of spare materials. Toronto and Calgary are both currently studying the idea, and New Westminster is interested in exploring it further after opening the new and more “free-form” Moody Park playground.
The Tipperary Park event will include an adult-assisted station where grown-ups will be on hand to help cut materials for kids as needed.
The pop-up playground will run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Parents must stay on hand to supervise kids, but adults are encouraged to take a hands-off approach and let kids take the lead.
All the fun is free, and families are encouraged to drop by to join in.
