Now welcoming preschoolers to join the band

Posted on June 22, 2017 by PlayLSI

The joy of making music on the playground can now be enjoyed at any age. We’ve expanded the collection of Rhapsody® Outdoor Musical Instruments with six instruments that are a bit smaller and lower to the ground—sized just right for kids ages 2 to 5.

Rhapsody was originally introduced in January 2016, and has been a hit at playgrounds, community centers, schools, senior centers and more. That’s why we’ve added the junior Rhapsody instruments to the mix. This music playground activity is now ideal for
childcare centers, preschools and other early childhood facilities.

See below to learn more about the new junior-sized chimes, metallophones and drums:

Warble™ Chimes Kids can bing and bong their way along one full octave on this richly toned instrument.
Jingle™ Metallophone Eight brilliant notes ring out on this fully inclusive instrument.
Ditty™ Metallophone Little ones will enjoy making up tunes with the eight major notes these flat bars make.
Drums High-quality drum skins are made from polycarbonate, textured on the underside for a professional finish to stand up to the rigors of play and temperature extremes; choose from the Kundu Junior Drum, Kettle Junior Drum or Goblet Junior Drum.

Don’t forget… musical playgrounds welcome all ages and abilities! The original Rhapsody Outdoor Musical Instruments are perfect for kids and adults ages 5 and up. Add all 12 instruments to your play space to encourage multigenerational play.

Mankato Downtown Kiwanis to create inclusive playground with Legacy of Play award

Posted on June 16, 2017 by PlayLSI

A fourth grader who uses a wheelchair will soon get to play on the playground with her friends. Her story helped convinced a panel of judges to award the Mankato Downtown Kiwanis Club $25,000 worth of inclusive playground equipment in the Legacy of Play Contest, sponsored by Landscape Structures Inc. and Kiwanis International. The award will be used to develop the Fallenstein Playground, an all-inclusive playground where children and families of all abilities can develop, discover, laugh and experience the joy of play.

Mankato, 75 miles southwest of Minneapolis, is renowned for its great parks and trails, and offers breathtaking landscapes of rivers, lakes, ravines, bluffs, natural prairies and forested areas. With a population of nearly 41,000, Mankato offers small town living in a thriving regional center. The all-inclusive Fallenstein Playground will be located adjacent to Fallenstein Field, the fully accessible baseball field used by the Miracle League of North Mankato, in Caswell Park.

The Mankato Downtown Kiwanis Club will complete its inclusive playground project on or around Kiwanis One Day in October 2018. Learn more about the project.

Summertime safety

Posted on June 8, 2017 by PlayLSI

Summer is synonymous with outdoor fun. As the weather warms up and trips to the park and playground become more frequent, take steps to keep your children safe from the sun and heat.

Sunscreen in addition to lightweight clothing and a sun hat help protect against UVA and UVB rays. However, the best line of defense is by staying in the shade. When planning trips to the park, choose commercial playgrounds that integrate shade into the design. Our shade systems–SkyWays® and CoolToppers®–are designed to block up to 97 percent of the sun’s harmful UV rays.

During physical play at the playground, kids should have water available and should take a break regularly to stay hydrated. Our playground shade systems will also combat summer heat by keeping temperatures up to 30-degrees cooler. We even offer a shade option with a cool misting feature to help keep kids cool during the steamiest of play days.

In addition to providing protection from the summer sun and heat, the SkyWays and CoolToppers shade systems deliver a beautiful aesthetic to park, playground and recreation areas. Whether your goal is to shade a playground, dog park, pickleball courts or something entirely unique to your community, we have shade solutions to meet your needs. Contact us to learn more.

Shape kids’ lives with play

Posted on June 2, 2017 by PlayLSI

Play shapes us. We believe this wholeheartedly at Landscape Structures, and that why we’ve launched the Shaped by Play Scholarship. The scholarships, available in amounts between $250 and $3,000, are for kids to use for camps, sports clinics, piano lessons, art classes and more… activities that will help build the leaders of tomorrow through play.

Eligible applicants* will be elementary, middle or high school students, and they must be nominated by a Kiwanis member, parks and recreation professional, or a school principal.

We are now accepting applications for the Shaped by Play Scholarship, and the program will follow the below timeline:

June 1 – July 31: Application period
Aug. 7 – 18: Application review by external judges
Aug. 31: Winners announcement

Contact your local playground consultant with any questions about the Scholarship. In the meantime, find inspiration for your nomination by watching our video that brings the WHY of what we do to life.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3878sEXPuVE]

*The Shaped by Play Scholarship is open to residents of the U.S. or Canada. Employees of Landscape Structures, Aquatix by Landscape Structures and rep organizations, and members of their immediate families are not eligible to participate and win.

Join us in Denver on June 8

Posted on May 18, 2017 by PlayLSI

Join us, our playground consultants in Colorado, Rocky Mountain Recreation, and the STAR Institute for a one-day workshop, Play for ALL: Advocating for Excellence in Play Spaces, on Thursday, June 8. During the educational workshop, you’ll learn from Dr. Lucy Jane Miller, founder of the SPD Foundation and STAR Institute, as well as experts in the fields of landscape architecture, parks and recreation, and others.

The workshop will share evidence-based practices through presentations, round table discussions and expert panels in an effort to help you create more fun and functional inclusive play environments for users of all ages and abilities. Even more, you’ll learn how to build collaborative partnerships and put together a plan of action to make a difference in your community.

Space is limited! Register for the workshop today!

Date: Thursday, June 8
Time: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Location: Marriott Tech Center, 4900 Syracuse St., Denver, CO 80237

Play is important

Posted on February 23, 2017 by PlayLSI

According to David Hanson, principal at Wyndmere Elementary School in Wyndmere, N.D., math and reading are important, and so is play! Watch to see how play is shaping students at this elementary school.

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The smartest duo in play

Posted on February 9, 2017 by PlayLSI

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otyOdDl21W0]

We introduced the Smart Play concept in 2014, and the newest additions to the family take the smart to a whole new level. Smart Play: Nook was designed for kids ages 6 to 23 months and Smart Play: Loft is for kids ages 2 to 5 years. Together, they span a critical period of childhood development.

The Nook and Loft activities and messaging were developed with guidance from the National Head Start Association and Too Small to Fail. They encourage adult-child conversations to support language development and literacy as well as support whole-child learning.

Best of all, the Nook and Loft playstructures take kids from early crawling exploration on up to active climbing and social play in a fun, whimsical environment. Whether playing inside or outside the Nook, the intentional sight lines let you keep your eye on little crawlers and early walkers at all times. And with 20 play activities, the Loft encourages imaginative play while helping to develop both large and small motor skills as well as strategic thinking.

Learn more about this duo of smart playstructures at playlsi.com, and use #shapedbyplay to tell us how your kids are developing through play and playgrounds.

Exciting, new products for your 2017 playground designs

Posted on January 26, 2017 by PlayLSI

Good things start on the playground, and that’s because we have exciting new playground products for 2017.

GeoPlex™

The abstract, geometric GeoPlex™ climbing panels for ages 5 to 12 come together in so many different ways to create endless patterns of visual and physical texture.

Smart Play®: Nook 6-23

Sized just right for little crawlers and early walkers, the whimsical Smart Play®: Nook 6-23 offers plenty of colorful activities to capture the attention of young ones.

Smart Play: Loft 2-5

Toddlers graduate from the Nook to Smart Play: Loft 2-5 and enter a world of imaginary play. Even more, the play structure encourages conversation between children and caregivers.

WhooshWinder™ Slide

Give kids a fast, twisty ride down the WhooshWinder™ Slide from 6- or 8-foot decks.

Double Swoosh Slide®

The Double Swoosh Slide® is our steepest double racer slide is now available in 8 feet height.

Learn more about these innovative new commercial playground equipment products on playlsi.com. And watch our video to see how we’re all #shapedbyplay at Landscape Structures.

Good things start on the playground

Posted on January 19, 2017 by PlayLSI

Good things start on the playground. That chance moment when kids from anywhere get together just to be kids. To free their spirits, their bodies, their minds.

To play.

And through play, kids show persistence, leadership, competition, bravery, support, empathy. They show us who they will become as adults. They show us, as adults, who we should be now. Yes, good things start on the playground. And last a lifetime.

Browse or request your 2017 Playground Equipment Catalog and find inspiration for your next playground design. And we encourage you to share how you were #shapedbyplay in the comments below or on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

For a better tomorrow, we play today

Posted on January 12, 2017 by PlayLSI

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3878sEXPuVE]We don’t just manufacture playgrounds at Landscape Structures. What we do here is shape kids’ lives… their futures. It has been more than 45 years since we’ve opened our doors and we continue to invest our hearts and souls into our work. Sometimes it’s hard to find the right words to explain why we do what we do. But this video captures exactly what gets us out of bed every day… why we create the best playgrounds in the world: for a better tomorrow, we play today.

Share our video and use #shapedbyplay to tell us how play has shaped your life or how you’re helping to shape lives through play. Then go to shapedbyplay.com to learn more.

Together We Play

Bringing the magic of play to communities.