Never before has Mr. Potato Head been such a welcome sight to kids and their parents as at Roger Williams Park in Providence, RI. It is Mr. Potato Head who welcomes visitors to the park's 20,000-square-foot playground that is accessible to children of all levels and abilities. The playground, sponsored by a $350,000 gift from toy maker Hasbro, is a "Boundless Playground," one that provides all children, able-bodied and those with disabilities, the opportunity to play. Hasbro employees and their children were asked to help dream up design ideas for these playgrounds. Boundless Playgrounds is also playing an instrumental role in designing the playground and facilitating the construction. In all Boundless Playground projects, children with physical disabilities can enjoy at least 70 percent of the play activities without having to leave their support equipment behind. Equally important, the equipment is sensory rich and developmentally appropriate for children with all types of abilities. The inspiration for Boundless Playgrounds started in 1994 when Amy and Peter Barzach took their three-year-old son, Daniel, and his infant brother, Jonathan, to a playground near their home in West Hartford, Conn. As Daniel played on the equipment, Amy noticed a young girl in a wheelchair crying at the playground's edge, unable to participate. That fall, Jonathan was diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy, a rare, degenerative neuromuscular disease. In January 1995, at only nine months old, he died. When a counselor suggested that the Barzachs channel their grief into a project dedicated to their son, Amy and Peter remembered the little girl at the playground. The idea was to create a groundbreaking playground where children and people of all ages and all abilities could celebrate life together. Since that time, hundreds of requests have come in asking for help in securing funding, equipment and other essentials for playgrounds across the country that are accessible to all children. With a grant from the Hasbro Children's Foundation, the Hasbro National Resource Center for Boundless Playgrounds was established in 1998 to help disadvantaged communities create playgrounds. The center is a resource for technical, design, fundraising, project management and community development support; and to increase public awareness of the need for universally accessible recreation for all children. The playground at Roger Williams Park is one of these places. The goal is 1,000 playgrounds, so that every child in the U.S. will be within an hour's drive of a Boundless Playground. The Playground The pie-shaped playground at Roger Williams Park is on an eight to 10 foot rise, bordered by tall oaks on hillsides. Before this was a playground, the area was home to a child-size railroad and a miniature golf course. Among the remnants from the miniature golf course are several mature shrubs and other plantings that helped in the sensory aspect of the playground. With the Hasbro sponsorship of the playground, there are a few influences from the toy giant that made their way into the park. Aside from Mr. Potato Head and the play equipment provided by Park Structures in the Hasbro corporate colors of teal and purple, there is a Candy Land trail painted pink and white, just like the popular board game. Along this pathway there are several sound bollards that hold a library of approximately 9,000 different sounds. There is also a fully accessible Tonka truck on the premises for kids to play in. "One of the philosophical conditions of a Boundless Playground is there is no theme to the playground," explained Jean Schappet, creative director for Boundless Playgrounds. "We believe children play best when their imagination dictates the play." This playground is barrier free by design, meaning that a child with a mobility impairment can play free in this environment. There are also many sensory and cognitive activities like the sound bollards and plants to enhance the play area. The plants also allow children who need to play by themselves a semi-enclosed area all for themselves. Some of the plants include perennials native to the New England area, grasses, pine trees and vibernums for smell. "The unique aspect of our playgrounds is that we design the area for all abilities in the environment based on their predictable play behaviors," Schappet noted. "The play environment must be barrier free and socially inviting." Stone walls on each side of the playground support the old oak trees that climb thee small hills bordering the playground, creating a fantastic sense of place for the area. As with each Boundless Playground, there are three distinct play environment grouping: The first group supports the predictable play behavior, the second provides an opportunity for elevation, and the third grouping provides appropriate semi-enclosed spots to support play. "The three distinct playground environment groupings are present in a public play environment, "If a playground is in a childcare facility or a public elementary school, we may see one or two groupings present based on the group it is being provided for; that is directed by the client group." The Landscape Architect The landscape architect on this playground, Robert Rocchio, died from a heart attack six months before the playground opened. He catalogued the plants around the proposed area and made suggestions for future plantings. He also installed an underground drainage system to help with the extreme amount of runoff that affected the playground site. His sons were partners in the design building business their father started. His death did not deter the family's commitment to the project; it only strengthened it. "His family became more involved," Schappet said. "As many as 20 family members were involved at one time on this project. There is now a bench at the playground the family sponsored in his name. "It was great to see an individual, obviously senior in his career so committed to this play place, A Humbling Experience Tony Malkusak of Boundless Playground was walking around the playground on the day it opened in August 2001. He saw hundreds of kids, all ages, all mobilities and cognitive levels, playing and enjoying the new facility. He walked up to a family near a swing set and asked how they were enjoying the new playground. The parents looked at their two daughters on the swing set. Their oldest daughter, 15 at the time, had never been able to use a swing set before. Malkusak looked over and saw the teenager and saw that she was laughing and enjoying the experience of moving back and forth on the swings. ?EUR??,,????'??We believe children play best when their imagination dictates the play.?EUR??,,????'?? ?EUR??,,????'??+ Jean Schappet Children visit the Hasbro Children?EUR??,,????'???s Sensory Garden at Roger Williams Park in Providence, Rhode Island, adjacent to the Boundless Playground, also located on the same site. The Sensory Garden allows children to touch and smell a variety of different plant material that they may not see in their urban environment. Executives from Hasbro and Boundless Playgrounds, and a wheelchair-bound boy, break ground on the new facility in early 2001. The playground designers ask children what they want in their new playground. Playground designers collaborate on the best design for the barrier-free playground to be installed at Roger Williams Park.