Modern playgrounds like the SmartUs offer a variety of options for a playful lifestyle. According to Ms Pirkko Hyvönen, doctoral student at the University of Lapland, playfulness refers to the quality of different actions; it’s physical, emotional, collective, narrative, action-oriented, creative and awareness-raising.
In the SmartUs playground environment all these quality aspects are met. The concept combining computer games with traditional play enables children of the computer generation to combine their digital playing skills with physical exercise. The SmartUs environment enhances also learning, improves children’s physical abilities and social skills particularly through team play.
Great media interest at the opening ceremony
The SmartUs concept has gained a lot of publicity whenever a new playground is opened. The opening ceremony of the playground in Riga attracted a great interest in the national and local media.
- We were in all major internet media including the biggest and very popular Latvian Sports portal, which was a great and positive surprise to all of us, says Mr Miks Lukstins, the Lappset representative in Latvia.
The SmartUs playground concept has been developed by the Lappset Group Ltd as a result of multidisciplinary research with partners from different universities, such as the University of Lapland’s faculties of education and art and design.
To date, SmartUs playgrounds have been installed in fifteen different countries in Europe and also in the United Arab Emirates. The next interactive SmartUs play environment will be opened in Czech later this month.
The innovative SmartUs playground got the adults’ and children’s hearts and minds immediately. A pair of Panna football cages adds an extra ingredient to the joy of all football lovers.