Project: Design and Build One Playground Feature

The driving question

What is missing from this playground for the youngest children, and can we build it for what we have.

Why this one works

Physical making is disappearing from schooling and it is where a lot of children discover they are capable. This has a brief, a budget, a safety review and something that exists at the end.

How it runs

Weeks one and two: research the need by observing and interviewing the youngest children rather than guessing.

Weeks three and four: design, to scale, with materials and costs.

Week five: safety review with an adult who will actually challenge it. This is a real gate and designs should fail it.

Weeks six to nine: build.

Week ten: observe it in use and record what actually happens, which is never quite what was intended.

What gets produced

A built feature, a design file, and an observation record of its first week in use.

Where it goes wrong

Designing for themselves rather than for the users. The interview stage is what prevents it and it should not be shortened.

Also, budget for the safety review to send them back to the drawing board once. That is the lesson, not a delay.

Related

Project Tracker is the one page planning sheet for any of these.