inflatable

Poured-in-Place (PIP): is typically a one-piece, seamless EPDM rubber surface, usually about 3/8” thick, which is placed over a layer of cushioning from 1” to 5” inches deep, consisting of rubber particles bound playground surface together with a polyurethane binder. The surface comes in a wide range of colors and even mixtures of colors. Striking effects can be achieved, especially when the color is chosen to work with the colors of the play equipment or adjacent buildings. At considerable cost, this surface can also be configured as colorful designs. A typical poured-in-place surface meets national standards for safety and wheelchair accessibility.

On the downside, the sun’s rays and power washing may cause PIP colors to fade and degrade after a few years. Contrary to common opinion, a PIP surface is not maintenance-free. Removing debris, such as soda caps, dirt, and cigarette butts, has to be factored into ongoing costs. Its longevity varies and is often a function of the installer’s skill. But its main disadvantage is high cost, relative to engineered wood fiber.

ATP Rubberized Unitary Surface: ATP stands for Aliphatic Thermoplastic Monomer. Based on new technology, this surface also meets safety and accessibility standards. It consists of a layer of almost-spherical rubber particles, about one-sixteenth of an inch in diameter, which are chemically bound by a color-fast binder. This surface, in turn, is bonded to a layer of Engineered Recycled Foam (ERF) to absorb shock. The colors are vibrant, and they will not fade from the sun or power washing. As with PIP, its main disadvantage is high cost. But this limitation is somewhat offset by long life: Data from Europe and the U.S. indicate these surfaces have a useful life of at least 10 years.

Shredded rubber: Finding alternate uses for used tires has become an increasing burden for many municipalities. One use is to shred the tires to a particle size of about 1” by 1/8” and then use the loose particles as a playground surface, which absorbs shock effectively and meets the ASTM F1292 standard.

But there are certain drawbacks. The material moves around in a playground as children play, creating an uneven surface that is not wheelchair accessible. Wear areas under swings and at the base of slides are particularly prone to scuffing out. When this occurs, the thickness of the shredded rubber surface may not be enough to cushion falls from originally specified heights. There is also a risk of fire. Only a small number of such fires are reported each year, but they are apt to be extremely hot and may not respond to conventional fire-fighting equipment. When this occurs, the playground equipment above the surface may be totally destroyed.

Sand and gravel: The extent to which these surfaces meet safety standards depends on the exact type and depth of the material used. When sand is wet, the surface becomes hard and unyielding (think of walking along the beach at the water line). In such a condition, the ability of a sand surface to absorb impact is seriously compromised. Neither sand nor pea gravel meet the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act for wheelchair accessibility. Based on these prohibitive limitations, authorities agree that sand and pea gravel should never be used as a safety surface in playgrounds.

Beach at the water line. In such a condition, the ability of a sand surface to absorb impact is seriously based on these

A climbing area is a small geographical region with a concentration of opportunities for climbing. The term is most commonly used of rock climbing areas, but there are also ice-climbing areas that have the right combination of steepness and water to result in climbable ice during the winter.

While there are many mountains and cliffs in the world, only a small percentage are popular for climbing. Mountain ranges are frequently at high elevations, remote, and tend to have poor weather much of the time, which means that the climber spends more time hiking, camping, and battling the elements than actually climbing. At the opposite end of the scale, many cliffs are too small or the rock is too unstable to make for an enjoyable and safe experience.

An ideal climbing area has these qualities: Close to an access road, Large number of different routes, Solid and stable rock, Safe descent routes, Good weather, Free access, and Uncrowded

Yosemite Valley for instance is very nearly ideal. The valley is at a low elevation and allows climbing from March to November, it has an enormous amount of high-quality granite, with hundreds of routes ranging from the easy (The Grack) to some of the longest and hardest in the world, such as The Nose on El Capitan. As part of Yosemite National Park, the bases of the big walls are just a short walk from good roads, camping is available, hiking trails make the descents easy, and of course the scenery is world-class. Its main problem is that it’s so popular that some routes will often have multiple parties of climbers getting in each other’s way.

Most climbing areas fall short of the ideal, usually making up for it in some other way, sometimes just by being the closest good area to some city.

Since rock climbing became an activity distinct from mountaineering in the 20th century, it is usually possible to trace the entire history of an area, generally starting with a few local climbers using the area as “practice rocks” in preparation for mountaineering expeditions. Inevitably a few in the local community would become more interested in the area for its own sake, exploring the area for new and unusual routes, typically looking for a combination of challenge, safety, and elegance of line, the last being a subjective quality that is nevertheless easy for climbers to agree upon.

This process has become known as “development” of a climbing area, and includes the placing of permanent bolts at key belays spots, rappel slings, as well as agreement on preferred equipment, minimization of environmental impact, and so forth, initially all done by word of mouth.

Development culminates in the publication of a climbing guidebook. The first edition of a guidebook may be little than a mimeographed pamphlet, but in the most highly developed areas, the books are thick tomes full of maps, photographs, and records of first ascents, and some have gone through multiple editions.

Climbers normally have a very light impact on an area; bolts are not visible from a distance, and only the knowledgeable will recognize the worn ground at the base of a route and the chalk residue on the rock for what they are. However, popular climbing areas eventually come to the attention of the area’s legal stewards, whether they are the owners of private land, or the rangers of a park. In such cases, the local climbers may need to negotiate access rights or bolting policies. Places like Yosemite National Park actually have a staff of climbing rangers, who work with climbers to develop and enforce usage policies, and to perform rescues.

Educational toys, are typically built for and used by children. One could make the argument that an educational toy is actually any toy. Most children are constantly interacting with and learning about the world. This definition is ultimately too broad because one could make the same argument about a rock or a stick as it is not uncommon to see a child play with almost anything nearby.

The difference lies in the child’s perception or reality of the toy’s value. An educational toy should educate. It should instruct, promote intellectuality, emotional or physical development. An educational toy can teach a child about a particular subject or can help a child develop a particular skill. The key difference is the child’s learning and development associated with interacting with the toy.

More toys are designed with the child’s education and development in mind today than ever before. As parents and educators grow more sensitive to the real or perceived development needs of children, toy manufacturers seek to manufacture and market to these parents.

Wooden toys which tend to last for a long time serve to maintain interest and durability for the child especially if the toy becomes a favorite.

As mentioned previously, educational toys claim to enhance intellectual, social, emotional, and/or physical development. Educational toys are thus designed to encourage reasonable development milestones within appropriate age groups. For preschool age youngsters, simple wooden blocks might be a good starting point for a child to begin to understand causal relationships, basic principles of science (e.g. if a block falls from the top of a structure, it will fall until a surface stops its fall), and develop patience and rudimentary hand-eye coordination. For a child moving towards elementary school, other, more sophisticated manipulatives might further aid the development of these skills. Interlocking manipulative toys like Lego or puzzles challenge the child to improve hand-eye coordination, patience, and an understanding of spatial relationships. Finally, a child in elementary school might use very sophisticated construction sets that include moving parts, motors and others to help further understand the complex workings of the world. Importantly, the educational value derived by the child increases when the educational toy is age appropriate.

Entering a classroom, whether one full of preschoolers or school age children, one has no doubt that educational toys are part of the modern educator’s curriculum. From manipulatives, to dress up, to board games, to musical instruments, to interactive electronic toys such as robots or turtle roamers, the breadth of educational toys is vast. While it is not uncommon to find computers in the modern elementary school classroom, it is not yet common to find children actively engaged in video games for educational development. However, as computers and video games take an ever larger role in our lives and the lives of children, so too will their role in educational toys and games. This underscores a crucial point about the fluidity of the definition of an educational toy. As the perception of what is “educational” changes, so too will the integration of new toys into our children’s classrooms.

With gyms generally being harshly neon-lit, sweaty, airless boxes, blaring music from MTV, is it any wonder that although most people join them with every intention of following an exercise routine for health and fitness, they soon drop out?

But lately, gyms have been taking on a new avatar, being relocated outdoors. This means that you can begin pumping up your biceps and quadriceps once again, but this time basking in the sun, in the leafy green surroundings of a park near you.

A fitness trail (also known as a parcourse) consists of a path or course equipped with obstacles or stations distributed along its length for exercising the human body to promote good health. The course is designed to promote physical fitness training in the style attributed to Georges Hébert. In general, fitness trails can be natural or man made, located in areas such as forest, transportation rights-of-way, parks, or urban settings. Equipment exists to provide specific forms of physiological exercise, and can consist of natural features including climbable rocks, trees, and river embankments, or manufactured products (stepping posts, chin-up and climbing bars) designed to provide similar physical challenges. The degree of difficulty of a course is determined by terrain slope, trail surface (dirt, grass, gravel, etc), obstacle height (walls) or length (crawls) and other features. Urban par courses tend to be flat, to permit participation by the elderly, and to accommodate cyclists, runners, skaters and walking. The new concept of an outdoor gym, containing traditional gym equipment specifically designed for outdoor use, is also considered to be a development of the par course.

Ask the Physical Therapist for 10 simple range of motion or stretching activities, with accompany directions and picture. Make each station as attractive as possible, frame and hang in a hallway. The Fitness Trail may be utilized by all facility staff, family members, volunteers and the residents. It can be a scheduled activity or a spontaneous one. You may want to incorporate the Fitness Trail into restorative programs and/or therapy as well.

The original parcourse was invented in 1968 by Swiss architect Erwin Weckemann with support from Swiss life insurance firm Vita. The first course was built in Zurich, Switzerland. Hundreds of courses were built in Europe by 1972.

Courses built in ensuing years included:
* [US] 1976 “Parcour” exercise trail in County Farm Park in Ann Arbor, Michigan
* [US] 1977 Bruce Jenner Trail in the Lake County, Illinois Forest Preserve District.
* [US] El Estero Exercise Course at Lake El Estero, Monterey, California
* [HK] 1977 Lion Rock Country Park, New Territories, Hong Kong, featuring 15 exercise stations