NEw IDEA Iw PUBLIC PLAYGROUNDS | BS) Grant MHyde TTHE playground mow ipa! afar largely bec Ha terencine ceria ee ce: tunt ol tacing eh "HF Gren how to. play and di- reeting their play along lines that are isco mete A Genre Ge iapayebAmes ican younssters, the SAINI are Seer eat emer experiments, Some playgrounds are rucly bit of park or a yecane ot set Bite lar tie citarea ei or toca autendams to direct the play. Others, Tepopeaeleemareg: eae onal purpose, are aid out tn pabl Bnei peece nd fave eather et See tides ‘Sill oluers lave ae socal Enter or community hea ening them pe peovidefam scenic! gra skdrs as" well ay play forthe el Uren "The Wea of dieeting. pay in Sonn cites takes the movement beyond the lime of playground, and the Song people are"sext outside the city Sean aoe ccwatied afte that vetoed st 930 Shor bat tis ig aeusual. "Vacant tts Se ieeel dna areas ue cae cosa proses i Sanraw ay seep ing tade into pla Bhitade- pila has ld out tay rd Herraltead vinduett Meeting Pee has 2 playground on ie concrete rool of 2 male reserve; ‘Springheld, Oy ts Silay the moines aaa’ sy — ee staidpipe. Amigemient piershave heen iwile in some cities, ahd Boston has floating bathhouses for the small boy’ idara-formae of play. anal encrall present slides, grant rides; and gyromastic ap ways the fs things eae et. Swimming pools are is common, "For the suailer chile dren, most playgrounds “have sand piles xed whareg fonts. The love of Sompettive play ts brought facilities Beencte ot (Ong of the Mery for group games—base- ball tenn, basketball, volleyball, and in some places, football and tae frosse. These are for the older children, but war games, “hikes,” hare and hounds, fll dances, and ot het fgamnes, invented: some= times by the attendastears ssn by he ese sem eT te coe te Gaon Heo aeled ee a Bei rae AU ee ee ee ry 2G ame Sere Bei ae Dancing Cate en Roe ofa Reser at Readies, Pe. —SS embroidery, basket and raffia work are provided for the older girls, along with manual training and gardening for the older boys, Springfield, O., has this, POPULAR MECHANICS ‘Ono he Senoc- Yard ‘poser Resdags Pa ae eR u New Orleans has regular |< gardens laid out in the "7 and prizes are given for the best crops raised by the children In Glen N. ad other ote, Cooking are moved fom the schoolhouse to. the summer playground. Columbus, O., and. Hol yoke, Mass, do the same thing teaching the older boys to cle playground and erect and. re Apparatus. AU Youngstow boys dug their own’ swimming “pool 7 the playground and. made Water ‘Where, attendants can_be afforded. play is directed into benefiial physicalPOPULAR MECHANICS 45 training; games are made into march- ing and setting-up exercises. Swim: @xex@==—— ming is tatight almost everywhere Tohstown, fa, has boys aid gins! Brigates, to. teen ros healthful exercise. Music the marching and. set tras them into. drills deer xan = Appar == Se of the folk dance, Kalispell, Mont,, has added Indian danees in costume, "But the development of music in conn tion with play necessarily brings ents and grounds. boys’ band, as in. Jackson the community idéa nece lows, for the parents come t ‘Tepge rg Abeaze Wading, Ponds and Sand Piles their children play. Many citi Vide music on’ the : the direct purpose of bringing the par- daneing a regular part of their in- ents, Holyoke, Mass,, has. regular Struction, and: dramatic pageants are hand concerts on the playsrouni and very common. ‘St. John, Canada, has Springfield, O, has voeal and orchestral ‘tematic musical drill, and to the idea concerts, evening lectures, and com-476 rmunity meetings as an adjunct to chil- dren'é play. ‘he idea of training the young for citisemship snd sell governs nent is begining t0 appear; New Or- Teans is just now making plans for the establishing ‘of sell-governing "play- ‘ground republics. Many novelties ia methods and appa- ratus have been browght out in varie fous parts of the country. East Liver- pool, O.. has found that if hammocks {ire provided, the smaller children can be persuaded to sleep in them during the afternoon, bewekting both then selves and. the playgrounds peace rower an quits ‘have. appeared among the other gnmes ar Springtcld, or Rite day is @ regular feature at Akron, ©. "The boys on one of the Playgrounds at Buffalo revived the old pastime of stilt walking and the city fad a hundred pairs of suits made for them, "Competitive athletics. for the boss brings very. complete orxaniz tons in many cities. At Jacksonville, Play reglar athletic meets and an ane nnuai cincus are held: East Liverpool, O,, has organized playground teams and interplayground leagues, "These li connection yrith interschoo! eagites in the larger cities develop am interest in athletics which Keeps the small bo Out of much miscinel, In Oakland, Cal, 14,220 playground baseball games were played Nt yea ‘Restful recreation, om the other hand, has its place. ‘Twilight story telling on the s becoming very eon non An attendant who ean tell tories toa group of children at certain hours of the day, especially in the early evening, develops. their imagin tions and instracts them at. the same time. ‘This feature of play: POPULAR MECHANICS ground entertainment fas been found ery suceessiul at Columbus and Springlield, O. To the story telling, Youngstown, ©., has added phone: raphe concerts dnd" moving pleares fn the Gne of the most cougars tt have devsloged is the ly-swatting contest held-on a playground in New Orleans. Prizes Ivete offered for the largest number of fies Killed, and ‘32 children ‘extermi- nated “4474100 Bled in about two Nev ideas of sefness are being developed as the playground becomes more of a municipal affair. When it cae nt exten lew pear ag wvas entirely in the hands of volute Organizations of citirens, and most-of the necessary money. was secured. by Subscription. This i stil true in many cities. [Bot more and more aid is being given to. playground. associations. by ‘governments, and in many cases the playground is a. municipal matter. Invone instance, in fact, it has become a'state attain "the appomntinent of a ity commission to muttage Public rec- feation has meant in. most cases the Adaptation of ‘the playgronnd. to. the widest practical use. Philadelphia, in arranging her playgrounds, is consider- shes ell he hi Orange, No J, has arranged to keep her plavgronds open every day dure ig the vear, including Sundays. Work ni children are considered in Buffalo, and her playgrounds are kept open at night especially for them seven & tie light playground baseball Tesexe as teen organized Many cites have found that, although the play ‘ground {3 of greatest service ring the long. school vacae ‘The Swings Closest Rival, the Slide, at East Liverpeel, 0.ment must portunity for skating ‘and sports is often affarded freezing in. winter Little by litite municipal recreation is growing beyond. the confines of ‘the playground... Direeted excursions a picnics for ilte children are common many cities. Vaneowver, B. C., pro~ vides trips to the beach as regular form of amusement. In Philadelphia, the summer camp for eity children has been taken over by the city. Nearly 500 cities now have public wid about half of them re ceive municipal support, In 2 Tast year over 82,500,000 was spent on 1,513 playgrounds, and 4.132 attend swere hired. Of these 215 were open in the evening. One pur- pose actuates the management of most bi them—to provide play under intel- ction,