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Eureka! joins the playground revolution
24 September 2009
The partnership allows children on school visits to the museum to experience first hand the innovative and exciting Snug play equipment.
Eureka! is the UK’s first and leading Children’s Museum with over 400 interactive exhibits, inspiring children aged 0-11 years old, to learn about themselves and the world around them through imagination, play and discovery.
Eureka! wanted to provide an interactive playground for visiting groups of school children and families to enjoy during their trips to the museum.
The museum is also home to the Eureka! Den, a holiday club for children during the school holidays, and the Eureka! Nursery, an early years child care provider.
The Den and nursery make frequent visits to the museum and outdoor play area so it was important to provide play equipment that would appeal to a wide range of children and abilities. Snug, the revolutionary concept in loose parts play is designed to transform play areas into dynamic and creative playscapes inspiring children to explore, create, discover and learn.
The colourful kit, comprising nine large, inter-related flexible shapes can be reconfigured by children to vary their surroundings. Snug is used in primary schools, nurseries, children’s centres, indoor play centres, shopping centres, hotels and now a museum. It is the result of a fifteen year process of research and evaluation into the way that children behave, react and play in specific environments by playground artists, Snug & Outdoor, a Sutcliffe Play partner. It changes children’s established patterns of behaviour by engaging children’s imaginations and giving them the satisfaction of being able to change their surroundings. It allows children to develop new ways of playing, encourages creativity, social interaction and cooperation.
Play & Learning Director at Eureka!, Rebecca Johnson comments,
“We first trialled Snug at our “Just Playing?” conference and it was clear from the children’s reactions then that Snug provides children not only with an exciting physical play opportunity but one that allows them to have control over their play, use their imagination and develop personal, social and emotional skills".
“We’re amazed at how many different ways children use Snug. We’ve seen them use the kit to construct obstacle courses, tunnels, rocking chairs and much more. “We are delighted to be working with Sutcliffe Play and we are certain that the many children who have used Snug on a visit to the museum will be talking about it for a long time to come!”
