Pop-Up Adventure Play spent four beautiful days in sunny Largo, Florida helping to support Largo’s city-wide “Play! Unplugged” event and to kickstart a county-wide initiative.

With support from the incredible Jennifer McMahon and all of the staff at Largo’s Park & Recreation Dept, Morgan, Anna, and Sharon ran trainings reaching a total of about 200 adults, including before-school and after-school program staff, early childhood teachers, directors, and camp counsellors. A huge thanks to the local medical community and others who gave generously to make this possible. Thanks also to the Pinellas County Health Department for funding our trainings, travel, and printing copies of our P.L.AY. guide.

Here’s what happened once Anna, Morgan and Sharon jetted from around the world, swapping out winter coats for sandals and summer dresses…

Friday Workshop – March 9

About 30 people joined us for an introductory Pop-Up Adventure Play workshop on Friday evening. We discussed the pressures many adults and children experience today, the numerous obstacles to child-directed play, and how we can all help to make a real change. We introduced our pop-up adventure playground model and shared our outreach materials including our P.L.AY. guide, which helps parents promote child-directed play in everyday life.

Then…we played!

Our mini pop-up began in a room down the hall…

Adults rediscovered the joy of playing with empty cereal boxes, duct tape and crayons. We found that not only is it possible to play baseball using empty water bottles as baseballs and a cardboard tube as the bat, but it can be done while wearing a cardboard Transformer costume.

 

Pop-Up Adventure Play in the Sun... Largo, Florida!
Pop-Up Adventure Play in the Sun... Largo, Florida!
Drawing is fun… and this participant was compelled to draw while laying inside a box…
Pop-Up Adventure Play in the Sun... Largo, Florida!
Yes, we know this person is a “grownup”, but squint your eyes and she very well could have been a 9 year old girl intent on building something anew.

15,000 People Hit Largo Central Park for “Play! Unplugged” – Saturday, March 10

The “Play! Unplugged” event began at 2pm and ended at 8pm. We had a steady flow of children and parents who played for hours in several “play” stations, including this pop-up adventure playground area. As it grew dark, children continued to arrive and play gleefully, drawing their parents into massive construction projects and finding tons of new uses for duct tape. With 15,000 people attending the event over the course of the six hours of play, we saw a lot of smiles and that joy in kids’ eyes that only comes through child-directed play.

Pop-Up Adventure Play in the Sun... Largo, Florida!
Pop-Up Adventure Play in the Sun... Largo, Florida!
When we ran out of duct tape, they improvised.

 

Pop-Up Adventure Play in the Sun... Largo, Florida!
…disbelief and joy! Immediately followed by serious focus – let’s get in there and play!
Pop-Up Adventure Play in the Sun... Largo, Florida!
Meanwhile… the play continued…
Pop-Up Adventure Play in the Sun... Largo, Florida!
Pop-Up Adventure Play in the Sun... Largo, Florida!

 

Pop-Up Adventure Play in the Sun... Largo, Florida!
Pop-Up Adventure Play in the Sun... Largo, Florida!
Pop-Up Adventure Play in the Sun... Largo, Florida!

 

Pop-Up Adventure Play in the Sun... Largo, Florida!
The play went on uninterrupted until well after dark, when a group of kids decided it was time to break down the site and they initiated a destruction sequence. They ran around, checking for occupants first, and then felled all the structures that were built and shaped over the course of the day.
It was a wonderful experience to see (and hear) kids playing together under the bright stars of Largo. The Largo Parks & Recreation crew did a fabulous job helping us clean the debris afterwards…thank you!

Monday Training Day – March 12

On Monday we ran a training from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm, bringing together Parks and Recreation Department staff, before-school and after-school staff, teachers, and directors – all joining the movement to “take back play”. At least five cities from around Pinellas County were represented at the training.
The photos below are all from Monday’s mini pop-up, which we set up just outside the Largo Cultural Center in Largo Central Park. Around 130 adults attended this training and played together outside.
Pop-Up Adventure Play in the Sun... Largo, Florida!
Off on an adventure!
Pop-Up Adventure Play in the Sun... Largo, Florida!
Making a swing out of slice of tree trunk and rope – it works!
Pop-Up Adventure Play in the Sun... Largo, Florida!
And the same rope was used as a jump rope and a tightrope!
Pop-Up Adventure Play in the Sun... Largo, Florida!
When asked how it felt to experience this mini pop-up, to be given the permission and the materials to simply play, the man above said just one word, “Relaxing.”

Pop-Up Adventure Play in the Sun... Largo, Florida!
These participants worked together to catch the warm wind in a sail they made out of a tree branch,
a sheet, and a PVC pipe.
Pop-Up Adventure Play in the Sun... Largo, Florida!
Once the sail was ready, they decided to add a cart and sail through the park. There wasn’t much wind and the cart didn’t move very far unassisted. Of course, this didn’t matter – it was all about the process of the play…and it was awesome! Remember that rope? Two other participants attached it to the cart to pull it forward and they sailed into the sunset.

Final Thoughts

These are some highlights of what happens when Pop-Up Adventure Play teams up with communities of supportive adults. Play can happen anywhere and IT CATCHES ON! Reach us anytime via this website to bring similar workshops, training, and play events to the children and families in your community!
By Team Pop-Up Adventure Play