Chances are that people who are not actively designing a playground for their space right now haven’t given much thought to playground surfacing, but for the modern playground, surfacing is integral to the safety, design, utility, and future maintenance budgeting for your playground.
The correct surfacing is critical for “impact attenuation”, a technical term for cushioning falls. Playground surfacing must pass several tests set forth by the American Society for Testing and Materials such as the Standard Specification for Impact Attenuation of Surfacing Materials Within the Use Zone of Playground Equipment.
Which is a mouthful for what is basically a test to make sure that the playground surfacing under different types of equipment provides enough cushioning to reduce the potential for a head injury if a child falls from the maximum height of the equipment that the surfacing is under.
Advancements in surface technology have made playgrounds much safer, expanded the possibilities for what kind of equipment can be built for kids while still keeping them safe, and expanded the possibilities for play design, which we’ll talk about in more depth later in the month.
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