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Childhood memories for the Aquatic Industry
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When the sun rises on a warm summer day, children run out in laughter looking for fun memorable experiences. Whether it’s the excitement from a puddle left over from an overnight rainfall; time to play by the pool or at the playground; kids are always attracted by playful experiences; especially if it involves water. Faces light up with smiles and days begin with joyful experiences.
While keeping budgets in mind, parks and recreation departments think of new ways to entertain children. Splashpads offer great solutions to financial restrains for the park and recreation departments and the families who plan a great weekend activity or decide to stay nearby during vacations. These aquatic playgrounds allow parks to stay open for long hours and provide a safe environment without the requirement of a lifeguard. Real leaders in this industry are keeping the “family experience”,
the learning and skill building opportunities in mind.
These aquatic play structures are installed in zero-depth areas. As opposed to the competitive swimming pools, the safety level offered by Splashpad areas allows the parents to have a relaxed experience. Body injuries or drowning are not something to be worried about while children are out playing by the Splashpads. As their children are playing safely and laughing parents casually sit in the shade.
Since aquatic products for all age groups are in great demand, therefore having something to offer young children and adults is part of the priorities. Concepts like “Activity Bays” have been created and stand as a design basis for performing design layouts. The “Toddler Bay” is an area established that invites infants and toddlers to use products designed and scaled appropriately to meet their needs. This type of Bay allows the little ones to develop their sensory experience through soft, non aggressive water effects in order to discover experiences. In addition, the “Toddler Bay” also allows the infant to develop and stimulate motor skills and coordination.
Meanwhile the “Teen Bay” provides ample space and the opportunity to challenge the most energetic members of the family. This is where tweens and teens engage in high energy play. It can contain water cannons for water contests or team oriented cause and effect games. In addition, the “Teen Bay” provides multiple play modules with interactive features allowing touching, rotating and moving with interactive play, collaborative play and most importantly promotes social development.
The “Teen Bay” offers engaging games in an environment that inspires teamwork and friendly competition followed by the promotion of interaction between participants, fostering social skills, learning recognition of values, social roles and teamwork.
Such installations with good layouts and quality products have been designed and have evolved in order to help children develop physically, emotionally and socially. When children are playing they are in fact learning and developing several important skills. Play time while making friends, teaches children to work in groups, to share, to collaborate and to develop creativity and social skills. Therefore, recreational activities like Splashpads are conceived to be cross generational and to generate collaborative play. They facilitate the interaction between people of different age groups and promote cooperative team work.
Products are designed to be a source of enjoyable moments and are defined by a key component called Value of Play. These products promote cooperative team work and facilitate the interaction between people of different age groups. By giving children the opportunity to play with others, we are also allowing them to learn social cognitive and motor skills and provide the opportunity to be socially accepted as well.
As mentioned earlier, the industry has evolved tremendously; the equipment now provided in aquatic play is much more sophisticated and a safe environment is highly emphasized than in previous years. Water effects are now created with precision and care. Specialized nozzles, spray effects, play products and structures offer protection against finger head entrapment and potential injury from protrusions. Safety is always kept in mind therefore there should never be any incidents of exposed anchoring bases or hardware that could be harmful for the child’s toes. Responsible manufacturers are offering features that emphasize safety and that can represent a sustainable development effort for municipalities in regards to recyclable metals and plastics and lead free brass components and water conservation strategies.
Presently, the new aquatic industry imposes guidelines on how aquatic equipments are to be made, installed, operated and maintained, establishing an industry with a wide foundation to protect users and the public. By emphasizing on safety, recent designs prevent head entrapment, pinch point and toe injuries. In addition, the majority of the products are designed in line with watergrounds and the newly recognized and enforced ASTM F2461-09 regulations. (For more information visit: www.astm.org)
The aquatic industry was shaped also drastically over the past 15 years by creative aquatic designers, architects and landscape architects applying a new twist everyday on projects. Previously the demand was more towards competitive pools and diving platforms rather than family based experiences. Nowadays, the new demand also reaches more towards indoor or outdoor family oriented aquatic centers and waterparks all under the same roof creating a great space for family based experiences.
Leisure pools, lazy rivers, Splashpads are great examples of aquatic products offering fun memorable family experiences. For instance, Poolplay products offer a complete range of innovative multi-level, overhead, interactive play products and slides designed to provide exciting fun for all age groups. These solutions integrate beautifully with the architecture and multi functional aspect of new and existing aquatic facilities, hotel pools, parks and family recreation centers.
These installations are family based and fulfill the feeling of a community and bring a sense of belonging to a municipal park or into a YMCA facility. Due to the economic downfall and rising gas prices, families have been spending their vacations nearby home therefore the neighborhood aquatic centers have become more popular.
In addition, aquatic products also allow children to develop cognitive skills. Aquatic playgrounds offer them the opportunity to interact with features that lead to the acquisition of knowledge- reasoning perception, language and intuition.
The aquatic industry has come a long way and has been shaped to share family experiences with fun memorable laughter. Next time the sun is shining on a warm summer day, come with your children and join the fun by a Splashpad while relaxing in the mist or in the shade.
By Talar Ozcanian
Bachelor of Arts, Major in Community,
Public Affairs and Public Policy
Concordia University, Montreal
Marketing & Communications Agent,
Vortex Aquatic Structure International
www.vortex-intl.com
1-877-586-7839 |
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