How to Plan & Create Your Own Community Outdoor Musical Playground
Perhaps you’ve seen children enjoying an outdoor musical playground at a local school or park, or have heard of outdoor musical play areas in other communities. Making music a part of children’s outdoor play experience can provide a number of positive impacts. Research shows that experiencing music in nature positively engages the brain, encourages the development of creativity, and helps children to grow their social connections. In addition, music is a universal language that everyone speaks & enjoys, and experiencing music in outdoor settings is a great way to promote better community engagement. If you’re considering setting aside some space in your HOA, neighborhood, or community as a dedicated children’s outdoor music playground or trail, that’s really a great project to undertake!
Planning & Creating an Outdoor Musical Playground
Interested in creating your own music park or musical trail, but not sure where to start? Looking for some ideas and guidance about how to go about turning your good idea into an achievable goal? If so, you’ve come to the right place – Carolina Recreation & Design is here to help! Here’s a helpful checklist of things you’ll want to keep in mind as you work on fleshing out your plan and making it a reality:
• Talk to Others Who’ve Done It
Start by doing a little research. Reach out to schools, parks, or other local organizations you know of that have installed musical playgrounds, and ask them how they went about doing it. Their experience may help you to avoid certain unnecessary pitfalls, and they may also be able to give you some good ideas you hadn’t considered before.• Assemble a Community Taskforce
We could’ve just said “form a committee,” but sometimes committees can default to doing a lot of talking that doesn’t always result in necessary action. Invite interested members of your community to come together in a central location, lay out your vision, and enlist folks to come onboard to actually make the musical playground happen for the benefit of your community. Make a point of reaching out to parents, local business leaders, and people you know with any specific marketing, PR, and/or fundraising experience.• Choose a Target Location
If you’ve already got some dedicated property set apart for this purpose, fantastic. If not, your taskforce will want to identify some good potential locations that make the most sense. Also, check to see what zoning or other local ordinances may apply. Consider parking and ease of access too, along with proximity to nearby restrooms, water fountains, shelters, etc.• Decide Which Outdoor Musical Instruments or Play Features You’ll Want to Include
What kinds of outdoor musical elements, stations, or play elements would you like to include? To give you just an idea of what’s available, Carolina Recreation & Design can supply and install all sorts of outdoor percussion instruments like drums, chimes, xylophones, marimbas, and bells. We have a wide assortment of other types of interactive music and sound stations, as well. And because available funds will probably be a deciding factor, it’s a good idea to create both a “need to have” and a “would like to have” list to operate from for both present and future installation goals.• Budget & Funding Considerations
If you’re located in the Southeastern US, check with Carolina Recreation & Design to get a quote of the funds that will be required to prepare your site, purchase your musical equipment, and have it properly installed. (If you’re located elsewhere, just check with your preferred provider in your area). Don’t forget to budget for other needed site amenities, as well. Carolina Recreation & Design can provide everything from safety surfacing, to fabric shades, to covered shelters, to water fountains and outdoor restroom facilities. We’re general contractors, so we can even take care of things like site plans, permits, plumbing, wiring, and landscaping, too! If you’re part of a private or community organization that already has funds earmarked for your outdoor musical playground project, then fantastic! If not, then it’s time to get started on fundraising. It may be advantageous to consider developing some public and/or private partnerships in order to provide more significant financial support for your project. Build target milestones into your fundraising and support plan, and also be sure to celebrate every milestone you reach (and post it on social media, too!).• Make It Happen!
Once you’ve secured the necessary funding and everything is in order, it’s time to make your plan happen! Get with the friendly folks at Carolina Recreation & Design to place your equipment order and set a tentative date for installation. Now is also the time to make sure your site is ready to go; if it isn’t, we can help with that, too. In fact, the experts at Carolina Recreation & Design can help walk you through every step of the process! And once everything is complete, plan a kickoff event for introducing your new children’s outdoor musical park to the community, and then give everyone the green light to start enjoying it!Some Benefits of Installing Outdoor Musical Instruments for Children & Families
Enjoying music is fun in its own right, but it can be therapeutic for children as well. Music relieves stress, enhances memory retention, helps children to express feelings, and grows their communication skills. Here are a few specific reasons you should consider adding musical elements to your community playground environment:
• Cognitive Function
Music is beneficial to cognitive development and the growth of reasoning skills. It enhances memories, teaches both patience and persistence, and helps with important skills like time management.• Emotional Impact
It’s hard for kids to stay angry, upset, or stressed while having the opportunity to create their own beautiful music (even whenever that “music” might sound like a bunch of noise to a grownup)! Outdoor musical instrument stations nurture creativity, allow for self-expression, and help build confidence in children. And in terms of basic mood value – making music makes children happier!• Physical Impacts
Both playing music and even listening to music have been demonstrated to enhance physical endurance, improve blood flow, and help children be able to sleep better. These physical benefits apply to adults, as well!• Social Interaction
Playing outdoor musical instruments together with other children increases focus and helps kids learn to work together better. It helps kids to practice and refine their listening skills, too!• Inclusive Play
Adding outdoor musical instruments to your playground area is a simple, yet effective way to make your space more inclusive for children of varying ability levels. Carolina Recreation & Design offers many musical instrument stations which are made to be inclusive by design, because they’re built such that practically any child can reach them and engage with them.Carolina Recreation & Design Has Your Outdoor Musical Playground Equipment Needs Covered!
Carolina Recreation & Design is your preferred provider for musical playground equipment that’s both fun and durable. We can deliver and install a wide selection of outdoor musical instruments, play stations, and themed equipment. In fact, we have all your site planning and preparation needs covered, too. Carolina Recreation & Design pride ourselves on taking a COMPLETE SOLUTION approach to each & every project.
Got some specific questions? Ready to move forward with your musical playground project? You can connect with us online by filling out this simple form, or you can just give us a call at (704) 664-1833! Carolina Recreation & Design provides the BEST solutions for all of your outdoor musical, recreational, structural, and site amenity needs!
