Speaker
Description
Play is a natural and essential activity for human development. Through play, children learn about themselves and the world around them. Playgrounds are spaces where children can engage in different types of play and experience different play elements. Playfulness is the quality of play that makes play fun, enjoyable, and meaningful. The purpose of this study is to propose a method for exploring and categorising playful elements in playgrounds.
First, the presenter will brief the concept and history of play and playgrounds. It traces the historical development of playgrounds from the 19th century to the present, and explores how playgrounds have reflected social and cultural values across time and place.
Next, the presenter analyses the playfulness of playgrounds based on the four elements of play proposed by French sociologist "Roger Caillois". He categorised play into four types: competition, chance, imitation, and vertigo. Competition is play to beat an opponent or achieve a goal, such as in football or basketball. Chance is play that relies on luck or randomness, like dice games or the lottery. Imitation is play that involves imitating a specific person or situation, such as role-playing or puppet play. Dizzying is play that causes confusion and dizziness, like carousels and roller coasters. Applying these four elements, the presenter analyses existing playgrounds in terms of design features, ride types, user behaviour, and emotional outcomes.
It also suggests how to consider connectivity, usability, appropriateness, and variety as components of an educational outdoor playground. These elements can enhance the playfulness of a playground and promote children's overall development.
The right play elements on a playground can stimulate children's curiosity, creativity, problem-solving skills, social skills, emotional skills, and physical skills. By exploring and categorising play elements in a systematic way, we hope to provide useful guidelines for playground and landscape designers who want to create more playful and educational environments for children.
References
Roger Caillois : "Les jeux et les hommes" (1958)
Shuji Watanabe : "Why Do People Get Hooked on Games?" (The Psychology of Game Attraction from the Development Site)
| Keywords | Play types, playground, outdoor play |
|---|
