Doesn't this just make you want to go and play?
"On October 3, 2010 as representatives of the New York Coalition for Play, we brought giant cardboard tubes, string, swaths of bright fabric, boxes, a broken set of blinds and lots more to host a Pop-Up Adventure Playground at The Ultimate Block Party in New York City’s Central Park. Some of the adults who came were a little skeptical at what they saw as the mess and chaos of the place, but children immediately understood that it was for them.
“You can do anything you want with anything here,” we said. They gave one businesslike nod, then set to making a series of dens, thrones, obstacle courses and musical instruments. They made new friends, and there, in the middle of the city, they made a beautiful ruckus.
Over the day the crowds of children ebbed and flowed, cardboard cities rose and then were felled by play earthquakes. Play was tidal, following its own rhythms and signals, producing eddies of deep and rich play. Within the 17 x 81 ft. Pop-Up Adventure Playground, children created a thousand tiny worlds."
I've been trolling around as I work on a resource book and report for the International Program SEED that I work with at Palo Alto College. I want to have one of these at my house (for grownups!).