Playground Planning Questions

hame   less than a minute later

I would like to find a project in St. Louis, MO for my schools social work club to get involved in, but am having difficulty figuring out which projects are still active.

Ebonie   about 16 hours later

You will have to send the project leader a message or comment on the project page itself to find our if the project is active. Unfortunately because the project planner is a user generated activity platform we would not know the current status of a project off hand.  

jcooper   about 8 hours later

Searching for projects is one of the top functions of the site we will be working on this year, so we really appreciate your feedback on how we can improve search.

Here are some projects in New Orleans that have build dates in 2012:

jcooper   3 days later

Thanks for the question! It's a good one. Here's how to add more than one picture to a scrapbook post.

1. Go to your Scrapbook page and click Share Pictures. Then fill in your post's title and a description of the photos.

2. Click the Select Pictures button. This will open a screen that looks like this:
http://kaboom.org/docs/images/graphics/connect/step-2.jpg

If you are using a computer running Windows, this will likely open up your My Pictures folder. Use this window to find the photos you want to upload on your computer.

3. Once you find the pictures, hold down the CTRL key and click on each photo you want to upload. Alternatively, you can click on some empty space in the window, and drag your mouse over all the photos you want to upload. When you've finished selecting, your screen should look similar to this:
http://kaboom.org/docs/images/graphics/connect/step-3.jpg 

Then click Open in the lower right.

4. Uploading will begin immediately! Depending on the size and quantity of your photos, this can take a long time. If you plan on uploading a lot of photos, I recommend creating copies of the photos on your computer and shrinking them a little bit to make uploading faster.

When all the photos have completed uploading, your screen should now look like this: http://kaboom.org/docs/images/graphics/connect/step-4.jpg. There should be a little square version of each picture visible. If a square version isn't showing for one or more of your images, there may be something wrong with that file or it may be too big. Try shrinking the picture down a bit and try again.

5. You are all done! Celebrate by showing those pictures off to your friends and fellow project members.

jcooper   11 minutes later

Hi Monster! It's easy to do. If you click on your (currently) purple face next to a post, or at the top of this page (if you are signed in), you'll go to your profile page. If you are signed in, you should see a blue button that says "Edit email, password, and profile picture." Click on that and you can add a picture to your profile. Let me know if you have questions.

monster11   13 minutes later

Hey, it worked. Thank you.

ealohman   3 days later

Most localities are suffering from reduced revenues and have had to make difficult choices on spending. This often means that necessary infrastructure spending (necessary defined by local staff and local residents) stays and the "extras" are jettisoned until fatter times. I have two suggestions: a) Start a community campaign to demonstrate the community's need and desire for a safe play space for the children of the community. Gain vocal community support, by encouraging people to contact City Council Members in person or by writing. Speak at Council meetings. Write editorials in the newspaper. Talk about it all the time and get everyone talking about it all the time. b) Take on the fundraising component for the City. If they don't have the funds, the community can raise the funds through grants, donations, and other fundraising events. The City will not turn down $30,000 in new equipment if the funds are contributed by external sources. Find a champion in the City staff (e.g., Park & Rec Director) to work with you on events, leveraging City facilities as venues. - Beth (Blacksburg, VA)

kenny   about 1 month later

Hey there jenrose6,

I just wanted to check in to see if you've had any luck with Beth's suggestions above? Any luck in gathering vocal support from the local community? How about identifying a champion in the P&R dept? Have you started fundraising yet??

If any of these tasks seem overwhelming, please don't hesitate to rely on us for help! We've guided many people on this website through these steps and are here to support you. In more recent posts on this site, you can see some of our members talking about our webinars (online training), project planners, and more. In addition to this, KaBOOM! offers grants to help individuals like yourself spruce up playgrounds. Check out our current grants (especially the construction one!) at www.kaboom.org/grants to see if your community is eligible.

Good luck!
-Kenny

klusk   19 days later

Hi tgordon, the groups that I've worked with have mostly owned the land where they planned to build and had the playground insured under their liability policy, but I know there are a number of different possibilities for how to work through the issues you've raised: is the property where you plan to work donated outright? Does the organization taking on the park have liability insurance that could cover the playground?

dflanigan   about 21 hours later

Kathyda - if you created the project planner, you need to go back to the grant section of the project planner. You can also contact our grants manager at grants@kaboom.org

dflanigan   about 21 hours later

More info: Sign in to your KaBOOM! account and visit your project page. On the left hand side of the page, you should see a tab called "Grants." Click the "Apply for a grant!" button to return to your grant application. We always like to recommend that people write answers to their grant application offline first, like in Word or in Google Docs. That way, there is zero chance of losing your work if a technical issue arises. Write up questions in a document you can save, then copy and paste your answers into the application.

Amy_Dickinson   about 1 month later

That splash pad looks awesome. I followed the link and read that voting begins Nov 14. Is that right? If so, it's about time to start spreading the word again!

klusk   4 months later

Hi, it's been a few months - how's progress?!  Will there be a splash pad this summer? :)

jcooper   2 days later

Sign in to your KaBOOM! account and visit your project page. On the left hand side of the page, you should see a tab called "Grants." Click the "Apply for a grant!" button to return to your grant application. We always like to recommend that people write answers to their grant application offline first, like in Word or in Google Docs. That way, there is zero chance of losing your work if a technical issue arises. Write up questions in a document you can save, then copy and paste your answers into the application.

KristinK   2 days later

Hi kjb 124, That's great to hear that you are looking into a new playground. KaBOOM! offers two online training modules, Grant Writing 101 and FUNdraising 101, that will help you get your feet off the ground. To access these trainings move your cursor over "Build a Playground" at the top of this page. Click the words "Take an online training." Once on the online training homepage click the tab "Building A Playspace" then scroll down and you will come across the Grants Writing 101 training and the FUNdraising 101 training. Best of luck!

kenny   11 days later

Hey there KJB! I agree with Kristin... these webinars can be very helpful to get you started off on the right foot. Also, check out this new grant that has just been made available - http://projects.kaboom.org/design_2011. Why not design your playground and apply for a grant at the same time!?

johnkozik   6 minutes later

Where do I start, I have location for one play area, Mead Park Association is non-profit. We need all the help we can get.

jcooper   3 days later

Hi John, if you are interested in our Community Partner program, visit http://kaboom.org/build_playground/get_funding/become_community_partner. On this page, you'll learn more about the program and also see if your community will be eligible.

jcooper   6 days later

Hello! Your project is live and is available at http://projects.kaboom.org/projects/5774-ph-ysical-ph-un-an. If you want to edit your description further, just go to http://projects.kaboom.org/projects/5774-ph-ysical-ph-un-an/edit. Let me know if you need more help!

Amy_Dickinson   2 days later

Hi! There are a number of resources available that might support your project.

You can use our online Project Planner at http://kaboom.org/projects. It's a free step-by-step organizational tool that will lead you through all the necessary planning to implement a community-build playspace project, and allow you to invite members to join the project, upload photos, manage their progress, and share information and updates. The Planner also includes extensive information about creating and executing a fundraising strategy.

Users of the Project Planner may be eligible for $15,000 Let's Play Construction Grants, which could also interest you. The deadline for those grant applications is September 30, and you can read all the eligibility requirements at http://kaboom.org/grants.

If you're interested in learning about the process to become a Community Partner for a KaBOOM!-led build, read about it at http://kaboom.org/communitypartner.

If you have more questions after checking those out, just let us know, and we'll give you more details!

klusk   7 days later

Hi! I think Amy pointed you in the right direction for some great places to check out as you get started! 10,000 SF is a nice, large amount of space! If you're interested in browsing websites for a few different vendors to get a sense of the type of equipment they offer, we have a link to vendors that we've worked with here: http://kaboom.org/build_playground/more_resources/kaboom_preferred_vendors

mjkurslasky   about 22 hours later

Jason: I'm glad we got to chat earlier today, if you have other questions don't hesitate to give me a call or email me at mj@kaboom.org. Talk to you soon!

klusk   13 days later

Hi! I have to admit, I don't have much experience with indoor playspaces, but I have gotten some good feedback from groups I've worked with who've received Imagination Playground: http://imaginationplayground.com/ is a good place to look at a great resource for kids to play with both inside and outside.

nate   about 2 hours later

Take a look here: http://kaboom.org/sideprojects

smpntn   10 days later

Check with some local hardware/home building stores. You may be able to get scrape or uneven pieces of outdoor surface covers, such as carpets, padding, etc to use under a low ground balance beam or such. Another idea is recycled materials, such as tires, PVC pipes (variety), etc that the students can use to build with. They can be very creative, such as playhouses, boats, cars, games, etc. Hope it helps you think.

kenny   19 days later

Hey John, It's awesome that you are already thinking of how to make the area playful for the students, even though you can't afford a playground YET. On the link that Nate sent you, there are plans for USA and World Maps - which can be fun and educational. I tyically buy my stencils from Joel at US Map Stencil ( http://www.usmapstencil.com/ ).

In addition to this, you may want to check out Out 2 Play's website. While many of their projects may be a bit out of your range, I'm sure they can give you some ideas of really cool asphalt projects. Check out some of their designs at http://www.out2play.org/playgrounds/design.

And of course, let us know if you have any more questions at all!

In play, Kenny