Fascinating research by Jess Cooney, a Cambridge archaeologist, has uncovered evidence that cave art in the form of "finger flutings" were made by children as young as 3 years old.
Within the 8km cave system in Rouffignac, France, and amongst stunning drawings of mammoths, rhinoceros and horses, these symbolic images were created 13,000 years ago by dragging fingers across the soft walls and ceilings. The research reveals that some of the flutings they studied were made by a
three-year-old child, with the most prolific young artist being a girl of
five.
You can watch a video of Jess Cooney describing her discoveries here.
Monday, November 5, 2012
Saturday, September 22, 2012
Gold Award for Snug!
Snug has just won a gold award at the 2012 Primary Teacher awards (equipment and toys category)
Thursday, July 19, 2012
This is brilliant...
Check out this video of a girl who really knows how to do interpretive dancing!
Inspiring quote...
“One should teach children to dance on a tightrope without a
safety net,
to sleep at night alone under the sky, to row a boat out on the open sea.
One should teach them to imagine castles in the sky instead of houses on the ground,
to be nowhere at home but in life itself and to find security within themselves.”
- H.H. Dreiske, German poet and social worker
Thanks to Ip-d!p for highlighting this...
to sleep at night alone under the sky, to row a boat out on the open sea.
One should teach them to imagine castles in the sky instead of houses on the ground,
to be nowhere at home but in life itself and to find security within themselves.”
- H.H. Dreiske, German poet and social worker
Thanks to Ip-d!p for highlighting this...
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Fruity in Hong Kong
Anyone going to the Hong Kong Flower show 16 - 25 March?
If you do, you will not only see stuff like this from last year's event, but Snug is also going to be there courtesy of Play Concept...
If you do, you will not only see stuff like this from last year's event, but Snug is also going to be there courtesy of Play Concept...
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Chris O'Shea
Our talented designer friend Chris O'Shea has created a fun new app which turns an iphone or ipod touch into a toy vehicle...watch the video here.
A recent interactive installation of his that also caught our eye is Body Swap - which transforms the body movements of two people projected onto a screen. The clever bit is this: the images are swapped, so that each takes control of the other! ...watch the hilarious video here.
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Gillet Square in FX magazine
Last month, FX Magazine ran an article titled 'Youth Opportunities' about the need to engage young people, now more than ever, in post-riot UK. SNUG in Gillett Square was sited as an inspirational and innovative example of public space design.
See the full article here.
See the full article here.
Strange landscaping in the woods
These mysterious earthworks were spotted in Sudbourne Woods in Suffolk, and are actually a Forestry Commission bike park in the process of being built from pieces of carpet and sand piles.
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Snug featured in Popular Science magazine...
Snug is included in an article entitled 'State of Play - the future of fun' in the current issue of Popular Science.
Friday, February 3, 2012
Pedestrians can now loop-the-loop!
German artists Heike Mutter and Ulrich Genth have created an aerial walkway in Duisberg, Germany called 'Tiger and Turtle - Magic Mountain'. It consists of a staircase which winds like a ribbon through space in the manner of a rollercoaster, and includes an 'impossible' closed spiral loop - surely an irresistable challenge?!
It also looks amazing at night...
all photographs by Heike Mutter & Ulrich Genth, via Dezeen
It also looks amazing at night...
all photographs by Heike Mutter & Ulrich Genth, via Dezeen
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Pop-up seats and swings
Check out Urban Bricolage's coverage of various projects involving pop-up seats and swings for public spaces...(thanks to Playing Out for the link...)
Monday, October 24, 2011
"Keep Playing"
A forward-looking initiative was recently launched by Play Association Tower Hamlets that aims to get children and families to reclaim the spaces outside their homes to create playful spaces, and hopefully to change people's attitudes. They are looking for 'Play Champions' to work with families on estates there...
Many thanks to Playing Out for pointing this our way.
Many thanks to Playing Out for pointing this our way.
Friday, October 14, 2011
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Come Out and Play
On Sunday in our street a group of us organised 'Come Out & Play!', an afternoon when we put bunting across the road and neighbours brought out games, toys, food and drink and.. spent some time together.
It was a real pleasure, and great to run something so simple to set up. We didn't officially close the road, just put up signs encouraging people to take another route, and leafleted the cars in advance asking for people to part a few streets away for the afternoon to give us more space. Hattie brought out a few pieces of snug, a local boy arrived with his secret recipe for giant bubble making mixture, others brought a playhouse, pizza, tea, cake, chalk, softballs and musical instruments. A burst of rain ten minutes before the advertised end led to a hurried clearing up followed by a warm glow of satisfaction about an enjoyable event for locals of all ages. Thanks to http://playingout.net/ for inspiration and tips
It was a real pleasure, and great to run something so simple to set up. We didn't officially close the road, just put up signs encouraging people to take another route, and leafleted the cars in advance asking for people to part a few streets away for the afternoon to give us more space. Hattie brought out a few pieces of snug, a local boy arrived with his secret recipe for giant bubble making mixture, others brought a playhouse, pizza, tea, cake, chalk, softballs and musical instruments. A burst of rain ten minutes before the advertised end led to a hurried clearing up followed by a warm glow of satisfaction about an enjoyable event for locals of all ages. Thanks to http://playingout.net/ for inspiration and tips
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Leaping into the Linhope Spout!
Can there be anything more fun than jumping 20' down into a bottomless pool of freezing water? These brave kids in the Cheviot Hills (where I've just spent a blustery week) obviously don't think so...
Snug in luxury Japanese hotel!
Our friend Chi-Chi spotted this poster in the reception of the Korakuen hotel in Atami, advertising their latest attraction - unfortunately she didn't have time to see it in action... if anybody else around the world has photos of Snug, we'd love to see them!
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Childs Play in the Sunday Telegraph
New approaches to playgrounds bring imagination (and danger) back to playtime
"...Where does playground design go from here? The future might just lie in the one thing designers have spent the past ten years vilifying: brightly coloured plastic. Not even a concetre lover could claim Gillett Square in Hackney is a lovely place, but every afternoon, something extraordinary happens. From out of two giant dustbins, children take a big loop, a cone, a wave, a curved section of wall, a mound and some long pieces of plastic like noodles. This is a Snug play set, designed by siblings Tim and Hattie Coppard, and its premise is that anywhere can be a playground.
Snugplay's essence is flexibility. Children can do whatever they want with the shapes, but they're designed to be awkward - nothing slots easily into anything else. They have to use their imagination and, because some of the pieces are pretty heavy, work together. Since its launch in 2008, the kits - costing £11,700 each - have been sold all over the world."
- John Preston, Sunday Telegraph STKids magazine, 14th September 2011.
"...Where does playground design go from here? The future might just lie in the one thing designers have spent the past ten years vilifying: brightly coloured plastic. Not even a concetre lover could claim Gillett Square in Hackney is a lovely place, but every afternoon, something extraordinary happens. From out of two giant dustbins, children take a big loop, a cone, a wave, a curved section of wall, a mound and some long pieces of plastic like noodles. This is a Snug play set, designed by siblings Tim and Hattie Coppard, and its premise is that anywhere can be a playground.
Snugplay's essence is flexibility. Children can do whatever they want with the shapes, but they're designed to be awkward - nothing slots easily into anything else. They have to use their imagination and, because some of the pieces are pretty heavy, work together. Since its launch in 2008, the kits - costing £11,700 each - have been sold all over the world."
- John Preston, Sunday Telegraph STKids magazine, 14th September 2011.
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