Imagination Playground at Burling Slip Opening
After six years of research, development, focus groups and testing, the first permanent Imagination Playground at Burling Slip opened on July 27th, 2010, near the South Street Seaport in lower Manhattan!
Features of this site-specific park include: a ramp, sandpit, slide, cascading water channel, rope climbing structure, masts and pulleys, and a listening forest. Inspired by the commercial activity that took place at historic Burling Slip, loose parts such as burlap bags, buckets, shovels, brooms, carts and fabric are incorporated within the play activities. And to reflect the proximity to the East River, buckets, sandbags and wooden dams have been integrated into the water play. Seating and storytelling can happen in the tiered steps of the amphitheater.
Chidren’s Day
We set up two Imagination Playgrounds in a Box at the annual Children’s Day Festival at the South Street Seaport on Saturday June 26, 2010. For this event, we were able to have our sand and water features, which was a very exciting addition to the mix!
Crow’s Nest Delivered by Barge to Imagination Playground at Burling Slip!
On Friday June 18, the Crow’s Nest was delivered via barge to the Imagination Playground construction site at Burling Slip in lower Manhattan! The photos show how it traveled from the Gowanus Canal, through the Hudson River past the Statue of Liberty, and then set in place at the playground. This is only one of the major developments occurring on-site—we can’t wait to see kids playing with it in late July!
World Science Festival Street Fair
On Sunday June 6, 2010 Imagination Playground in a Box appeared at the World Science Street Festival around Washington Square Park. Children were able to stop by throughout the day and get creative with the blocks.
Unveiling of Imagination Playground in a Box at the Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum
On Saturday May 29, 2010 the Cooper-Hewitt Museum unveiled its very own Imagination Playground in a Box as part of their family programming. The kids will now have many opportunities to build and create in the beautiful garden.
Imagination Playground in a Box on the High Line
On Saturday May 22, 2010, we installed a pop-up playground on the High Line with two Imagination Playgrounds in a Box and over 225 blocks and other loose parts.
Imagination Playground Play Date at Tribeca Film Festival Family Day
On Saturday May 1, 2010, we brought two Imagination Playgrounds in a Box to the all-day Tribeca Film Festival Family Day for children to play with.
NFL PLAY 60 Youth Football Festival
The NFL PLAY 60 Youth Football Festival reached more than 600 New York City Department of Education C.H.A.M.P.S. student participants, who learned football skills and health tips from active NFL players as well as NFL Draft prospects, wellness expert Jillian Michaels (“The Biggest Loser”), and Under Armour Combine Coaches. They were also given the opportunity to experience Imagination Playground, as part of a partnership between NFL PLAY 60 and KaBOOM!.
Earth Week on the National Mall
Through a relationship between Underwriters Laboratories (UL) and KaBOOM!, Imagination Playground was featured in UL’s Safe and Healthy Environment pavilion at the Earth Day Eco Village on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The UL pavilion featured interactive kiosks on family safety and provided useful information on maintaining healthy environments and the importance of safe play.
Imagination Playground Exhibit at the South Street Seaport Museum
In April 2010, 4th graders from P.S. 40 came to play with the Imagination Playground Blocks at the Imagination Playground exhibit at the South Street Seaport Museum. The exhibit (on view from February to July 2010) is a preview of the Imagination Playground that is under construction at Burling Slip right outside the back entrance of the museum, due to open in late July 2010.
YMCA of Honolulu
From Wednesday, June 3, 2009 through Saturday, June 6, 2009 more than 250 volunteers joined forces with KaBOOM! to construct a 29,000 square foot Nature Built playground at YMCA of Honolulu’s Camp H.R. Erdman. Native plants and materials will be used to create the spacious playground, which will also features Imagination Playground in a Box.
Groundbreaking of Imagination Playground at Burling Slip
In May 2009, Rockwell Group and the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation broke ground on the first fixed-site Imagination Playground at Burling Slip, due to open in late July 2010. For the event, there were also two Imagination Playgrounds a Box on the site for kids from P.S. 126 and 234 to play with.
2009 Imagination Playground in a Box Pilot Program
In spring of 2009, KaBOOM! conducted testing at four sites in Washington, D.C., Miami (2 locations) and New Orleans. In addition to monitoring how Imagination Playground in a Box affects a child’s relationship with his environment, observation also determined physical activity levels, play engagement patterns and diversity of play types among the children. These tests were conducted in both elementary schools and pre-school settings.
Imagination Playground in a Box Pilot Launch, Part 2
During the Summer of 2008, Rockwell Group and KaBOOM! premiered Imagination Playground in a Box at the Brownsville Recreation Center in conjunction with the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation.
Imagination Playground in a Box Pilot Launch, Part 1
During the Summer of 2008, Rockwell Group and KaBOOM! premiered Imagination Playground in a Box at the Brownsville Recreation Center in conjunction with the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation.
New York Hall of Science exhibit
For two days in June 2008, the Hall in the Anthony Viscusi Gallery of the New York Hall of Science was transformed into an interactive exhibit of Imagination Playground Blocks. This event featured over 265 blue foam blocks of different weights and sizes for children to play with.
Find us elsewhere:
facebook 
flickr 
youtube 
vimeo