This is part 4 of a multi-part blog series about the pop-up adventure playgrounds we create in our own communities throughout the year. This is an example of how our pop-up adventure playgrounds work, and us using our namesake model and our own resources to work within our own communities.
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By Zan
“If I wrap this tape around your legs, you know you might fall over, right?”
“Right.”
“Do you still want me to do it?”
“Yep.”
I was amused to see that sticky tape was the big thing at this particular pop-up. I was amused too that some of them felt that the risk of falling was of a particular thrill.
Hop. Hop. Hop… Hop……
“Argh, I fell! Will someone help me?”
I walked over and carefully helped the horizontal boy become vertical. It wasn’t that easy because he couldn’t help in the slightest. This also means that he fell over like a sack of potatoes and it would definitely have hurt.
“Would you like me to take the tape off?”
“No, I want to jump.”
“Okay, but take it easy okay?”
He hopped off slowly with another one of the taped up boys and I looked around – everyone was holding up tape and asking me to help. I smirked and wondered when they would work out that they could tape themselves up.
My tape work got more elaborate. Two kids asked to be taped together, back-to-back. Three kids asked their combined 6 legs to be made into a weird 4-legged situation. Then the back-to-back people fell over and needed to be freed. Then there were some 3-legged combos, and then there was a 4-legged race of two groups. People were falling all over the place, from giddy silliness and tape-tripping silliness.
“Will you put some tape over my mouth?”
The boy who had his legs taped together had hopped all the way back across the room and wanted more. I wasn’t sure about this so I thought briefly about the actual risk of tape over the mouth and given that I had control of where this tape was being stuck, I could make sure that tape was loosely applied and the nose was available for breathing.
“Are you sure?”
“Can you put more tape on my arms and legs too? There’s not enough, I want more!”
When it was time to leave, it took some time to extract all the children from all the layers of parcel tape. Some of the folks had used so much that scissors just couldn’t get through the thick layers so another adult helped me to carefully use box cutters to hack through the layers. There was a contented buzz in the air that felt both positive and tired.
“What words would you use to describe the pop-up adventure playground?”
“Amazing.”
“Superb.”
“Awesome!”
“Would you like me to come again?”
A resounding yes rang through the community building. That’s really the best feedback that one can get for a pop-up adventure playground. I had a great time with this group of children at this holiday club. I look forward to hanging out with them again!
Find out more about Pop-Ups Zan on her personal blog here. If you want to host your own pop-up, check out our free resource pack here. Want to find out more about Pop-Up Adventure Play? Check out our Facebook, Twitter and our website.