An adventure takes you to exciting places, reveals new ideas and provides a sense of awe, wonder and exploration. Bringing adventure into the playscape is critical to child development and helps children cultivate skills they will use for a lifetime. Adventure will differ for each child and providing them the opportunity to create their definition of adventure fosters an environment of choice and builds independence as they develop.

Why is adventure important in play?

Adventure in play supports whole-child development - physically, socially, emotionally and cognitively. It encourages children to climb, slide, explore, dig, build and solve problems, all while learning to assess risk and collaborate effectively. This means when we design environments that encourage adventure play, they're rich with opportunity for exploration and growth. These spaces build resilience and confidence in children, two essential characteristics. Adventure spaces also bring kids back for more discovery, exploration and excitement, allowing them to discover new things each time they play.

 
How do we incorporate adventure into play design?

Incorporating adventure into playground design starts with a mindset of crafting dynamic experiences that ignite curiosity, challenge the body and inspire the imagination. The goal is to create a design that invites kids to make choices, take age-appropriate risks and engage fully in their environment. A couple of ways to increase adventure in design:

Layered Landscapes: Varying terrain, hillside slides and multi-level structures - think towers, slides, tunnels, climbers and imaginative areas that allow children to engage their bodies in diverse ways. Consider how slope, shade and even plantings can become part of the play narrative.

Choice and Autonomy: Because adventure looks different to every child, it's important to provide children choices and give them control of their play experience. Flexible pathways, climbing options with multiple difficulty levels and sensory or music play invite experimentation and build decision-making skills. Bringing the climbing experience to more children provides an adventure in play that can't be matched. The Burke?(R) Evolution?(R) 360 Inclusive Climber and 360 Loop?(R) Slide combination allows children of varying abilities to create an experience that is all their own. This new product combination by BCI Burke offers a Transfer-Climb-Slide loop, also known as the Circle of Play, that allows children with upper body strength to transfer independently and transforms their play into an exciting, awe-inspiring experience.

Open-Ended Play: Creativity is an important part of adventure and rather than dictating use, design elements into the space that adapt to children's creativity: a rope bridge becomes a pirate's crossing; a climbing net, a treetop escape - the possibilities are endless for both design and play.

How do you accommodate children of different ages and abilities?

Inclusivity is crucial and adventure should be accessible to every child. That means thoughtful access points, a variety of play options, play events that bring surprises and discovery, multi-sensory opportunities and a chance for each child to create their own perfect play experience. Outdoor musical instruments - such as PlayEnsemble?(R) by Burke - are a perfect way to bring musical adventures to more children and provide a basis for socialization. Bringing surprises and unexpected adventure, is the Burke Innova?(R) Bridge - all children can discover that there's rocking bridge while they move through the space. This enhances discovery and involves kids of all abilities in the process.

Bringing adventure to play isn't just good design, it has numerous developmental benefits, is fun and creates outdoor spaces kids (and adults) want to come back to again and again.

As seen in LASN magazine, July 2025.