Rachel Van Fleet, Eli Medvescek, Jeremy Gonzales
Playing on the playground is a nearly ubiquitous experience among elementary-aged children. Our client uses a wheelchair, and as a result is frequently prevented from engaging in typical playground activities with children her age. Instead, she often spent her time under the covered veranda outside, speaking with the teachers. This increased the supervisory responsibility of the teachers, but more importantly, impeded our client’s ability to socialize and have fun with her peers. To address these problems, we created a large imaginative play box for use under the veranda, which provides our client with a safe, creative, and fun way to engage in inclusive play with her peers. This allows her to foster stronger relationships with other children, and her teachers agreed that it has greatly aided in her social, personal, and emotional development. The value in our design stems from its ability to foster meaningful and creative play that is essential for all elementary school students, and it is a design that could influence recess everywhere.