Nature-Based Play

The Playscape at Ripley will provide a safe, open, and lightly-structured outdoor environment with design elements that engage all the senses and the intellect. The flexible, non-prescriptive design will invite children to constantly reinvent their play experiences and approach the Playscape in a new way each visit, increasing their understanding of nature and each other. Tangible benefits from this sort of play in children include improved language development, social/collaborative skills, gross/fine motor coordination, creative self-expression, and physical awareness and confidence.

For a list of specific Playscape features that have been designed to benefit the development and education of young children, please visit our Key Features page.

Must we always teach our children with books? Let them look at the stars and the mountains above. Let them look at the waters and the trees and flowers on Earth. Then they will begin to think, and to think is the beginning of a real education
David Polis