Hattie & Tim visit the USA

We have just returned from a very interesting visit to the USA, where we visited the wonderful Chicago Children's Museum which has bought a Snug Kit which they are organising a whole new exhibit around, called Move, which opens in January.

We also visited Chattanooga, Tennessee and Washington DC, where we attended the national early years conference and trade show...

Hattie looking Presidential!

The amazing Anish Kapoor "Bean" in Millenium Park

Chicago skyline at night

Hackey Playday!

A large amount of people flocked to Gillett Square in Hackney, East London last month to participate in a hugely successful Playday run by Snug & Outdoor, who transformed this civic space into an exciting, temporary play landscape.

In addition to two full Snug kits we brought in The Albion Kids Show who introduced a climbing tree, sandpits and a log slide, as well as other materials such as ropes, fabric, a swing suspended from the trees, a painting area, hula hoops and circus skills equipment.

Two outreach projects in neighbouring estates allowed us to introduce experimental play workshops aimed at inspiring imaginative responses in local children as well as raising local awareness of the Gillett Square event.

It was a truly inspirational sight seeing so many people of all ages enjoying themselves through play in the square. Snug allowed the space to be in a permanent state of flux - one minute a group would organise themselves to build a 'rocketship', the next, another group would be making a huge tent with fabric supported by the Snug Cones! It was remarkable how children of different ages and backgrounds were able to make friends and play together without conflict.

The universally positive feedback from all parties involved in the project serves to demonstrate the value and need for more of this kind of provision.

The project was organised in association with Hackney Cultural Services and Hackney Cooperative Developments

playaway

Hand from Above from Chris O'Shea on Vimeo.

We just came across this delightful film from Chris O'Shea on the www.thisisplayful.com website.

Meanwhile we've been having a playful time in Hackney this week. Photos of the fun here soon.

from angel to spain

Children enjoying Snug at the Mediateca Expandida : Arcadia exhibition in Gijon, Spain




Snug Rob - Sutcliffe's designated Snugflogger - and Hattie, at the Primary Capital Programme conference, Islington.

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life on mars

Thanks to Tim Wright for this link to some space-aged U.S. playgrounds of the seventies.

eurekakaka

The snug kit at Eureka!

Snug is finding its way into museums around the world.


* Eureka! in Halifax have SNUG permanently outside their entrance for children and adults to play with before and after visiting the museum.

* Chicago Children's Museum have recently purchased SNUG as the centre-piece of their new exhibition called 'Move' which is due to open in Jan 2010. They are in the process of developing an educational program and resources around SNUG for their visitors (adults and children).

* Dr Fraser Brown from Leeds Met University will be researching how Snug is used and perceived by children, parents, teachers and museum staff and how it might be used to enhance the museum experience.

* Laboral Centro de Arte y Creation Industrial in Gijon, Spain are exhibiting SNUG from Oct 2nd - Dec 7th in an exhibition called 'Mediateca Expandida : Arcadia' that looks at games as strategy and language in contemporary culture.

BLextraordinary

The BLeX (Big Landscape Experiment), developed by Snug & Outdoor with Hampshire Environment Department, has been shortlisted for a Landscape Institute Award in the Communications & Presentation category. A lunchtime awards ceremony will take place in London on 19th November 2009

The awards aim to bring greater awareness of the contributions that landscape architecture and institute members can make in helping to create an improved environment.



www.landscapeinstitute.org

For more details of the BLeX click HERE!!!

Snug featured at V&A!

As part of London Design Festival 2009, the story behind Snug’s development will be featured this week at the Victoria & Albert Museum, London in the new Sackler Centre, as well as at the 100% Design Exhibition.

It will be included as a case study on a new website to be launched this week by UAL highlighting the best of ‘British Creative Industries Practice and Research, Enterprise and Education’

putting the whizz into wisbech

Check out the Wisbech Adventure Playground project that we are working on with Sutcliffe Play: http://www.wisbechadventureplay.net/

parklife

Photos from The Treehouse Gallery to be seen in Regents Park, a wonderful encampment of treehouses, swings and happenings. Recommended.

Badly Designed School

Here's an interesting article from CABE:'Badly designed schools won't be built' . "Schools minister Jim Knight has announced a new minimum design standard for Building Schools for the Future (BSF). Designs falling short of the standard will not get built, and taxpayers will be guaranteed value for money from the government’s investment in BSF."



Tim gathers no moss

bodyspacemotionthings

Snug and Outdoor went to play about at Tate Modern over the Bank Holiday, experiencing
Bodyspace-motionthings by Robert Morris - "a huge interactive sculpture with massive plywood seesaws and giant rolling cylinders which first graced Tate Britain in 1971. But it was sadly closed after four days due to “exceptionally exuberant” visitors who trampled the place down. Now Morris has recreated the work especially for the Long Weekend." Here are pictures from Hattie's iPhone.

snug goes to suffolk

snug in the afternoon

stop frame animation by Toni Lebusque

if:so pictures

The if:so salon held at the South Bank last week brought together an inspiring range of people from the worlds of literature, new media and play. Hattie showed the Snug Kit in miniature and we discussed ways it could be used to explore narrative and inspire creative writing. if:book associates talked about their education project for secondary schools and much more.

early experiments

Via Boingboing.net comes this enjoyable time-lapse video of a nine month old baby at play.
Note that he wasn't left alone all that time - the parents edited themselves out.

eureka moments

Hattie writes:

I jotted down these at the "Just Playing" event at Eureka! last week:

“it helps if someone puts in our way the means of making use of what we find”

and here are some more quotes that I've gathered over time about play and creativity.

“A playable environment offers risk, sacrifice and serendipity”

"We use the material world around us to facilitate the imagination"

"The capacity to see connections that had not been seen before”

"Disturb the indolence of the mind"

"remove the film of familiarity"

"Imagination gives you hope and possibilities"

job!

Sutcliffe Play are advertising for a marketing executive to sell the Snug kit - a fantastic opportunity to ensure the message spreads to spark the playground revolution!
Here are the details.

fair play and happy new year to you

WHY NOT start 2009 by clicking HERE to download Fair Play, the DCFS play strategy, which mentions Snug & Outdoor and the Snug Kit. Then get in touch with us about buying the kit and/or hiring our expert services to help you and the children you work with to have a surprisingly playful and fruitful new year??