Bring Adventure Play to Cambridge ($150,000)

Committee: Facilities, Parks, and Recreation

Cost: $150,000

Location: Program locations throughout Cambridge for up to three years.

Short Description: Bring adventure play to Cambridge kids! Physical adventure play promotes supervised risk-taking and fun. Ongoing events and training would help community partners to facilitate a new type of play that helps foster kids' imagination.

Long Description: 

Let’s improve the lives of our kids by bringing fun and learning to Cambridge. This pop-up pilot program would bring adventure play to playgrounds and other spaces across the city for elementary schoolers.

Adventure play is unstructured play using items such as cardboard, tools, tires, kitchen utensils, and paint. These unique items are safe but encourage controlled risk-taking and help foster kids’ imagination. Trained staff support play with minimal intervention. Adventure playgrounds are popular worldwide because they help kids collaborate, grow, and create. They promote child development and are fun! Cambridge's kids can benefit from this different way to play.

This proposal would operate as a pop-up pilot program and potentially collaborate with elementary schools or other established programs. On-site supervision would distribute the items and keep kids safe. This program would help community members and potential partners envision adventure play in their community. If successful, this program could continue and eventually adventure play could become a permanent part of the city's play offerings.

Adventure play programming in a community in Costa Rica.	Adventure play programming in a community in North Carolina.