ABOUT US
Since its establishment, play:groundNYC has welcomed thousands of children across the city and at The Yard on Governors Island. Young people have filled the grounds with their energy, imagination, exploration, dreams and emotions; they have grown up alongside play:groundNYC. Its operations are supported by a non-profit organizational structure, stewarded by a Board of Trustees.
What is an adventure playground? What is The Yard?
An adventure playground is a place dedicated to play, where young people have ownership over how the space is built, altered, and enhanced. It might look like a junkyard; it is filled with materials, usually removed from the waste stream, over which children have complete control. An adventure playground is a child-led zone, where young people can play, supported by trained playworkers.
play:groundNYC launched its flagship location on Governors Island - The Yard, New York City’s only adventure playground in 2016. It wasn’t the first - the first adventure playground opened outside Copenhagen in the early 1940s. The concept eventually caught on in other countries, including the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, Canada, Australia, and the United States. New York City had several adventure playgrounds during the 1970s. The first adventure playground in the USA, opened in Minneapolis in 1949, and inspired our location’s name.
What programs do you offer?
The Yard is open every weekend, from April to November, for free. We also support play during the week, by providing programs after school and welcoming field trips from schools based all around NYC. In the summer, and for most of the public school closures, we offer camp programs on Governors Island. Since its founding, The Yard has welcomed more than 50,000 young people.
play:groundNYC works in neighborhoods across NYC to bring adventure play to communities, public spaces and open streets by partnering with local organizations to facilitate play pop-up events. We provide professional development for educators and caregivers, both at The Yard and through our annual playwork training workshops. We develop school programming, play residencies and we are committed to training a new generation of playworkers.
HOW DO I LEARN MORE?
You can read about Playwork and find more resources under What is Playwork on our website or read our 2022-2027 Strategic Plan outlining our transformative vision for New York City. The Strategic Plan recognizes the work accomplished thus far, takes stock of the current status, acts as a guide for decision-making, and establishes goals to stabilize and grow the organization. Every year we publish an Annual Report to assess our progress against the Strategic Plan goals. If you still have questions, we welcome your inquiries - please email us at adventure@play-ground.nyc
in the NEWS
Waste Pioneer: Yoni Kalli and play:groudnnNYC
Sanitation Foundation, 2024
The Secret Work that Free Play can Do
Holman, Cas. Bloomberg City Lab, 2024
The Play’s the Thing
Big Picture Science, SETI Institute, 2024
State of play
Kallai, Yoni; Cote, Alex; Fortin, Zoe; Mogilevich, Mariana. Urban Omnibus, 2023
5 tangible tips for hosting a pop-up playground in your neighborhood
Brandon, Elisavetta. FastCompany, 2021
Making Playgrounds a Little More Dangerous
Schiffman, Richard. The New York Times, 2019
Inside NYC's Riskiest Playground Where Parents Aren't Allowed Inside
David, Rebecca; Stern, Andrew. NBC News, 2018
On Governors Island, Mountains of Junk Where Children Find Adventure
Correal, Annie. The New York Times, 2016
The Junk Playground of New York City
Walker, Timothy. The Atlantic, 2016
HISTORY
In 2014, a community engagement artist (Eve Mosher) and a youth rights advocate (Alex Khost) began holding pop-up adventure play events in public parks in hopes of opening a rooted adventure playground.
Inspired and trained in playwork by Pop Up Adventure Play, they were joined by a circus educator (Yoni Kallai), a researcher (Reilly Bergin Wilson), a playground designer (Robin Meyer), an arts educator (Jackie Katz), a former NGO project manager (Anne Morosini), and a democratic educator (Philipp Klaus). In 2015, the group collectively formed the organization play:groundNYC. As the pop-ups grew in popularity, Governors Island invited play:groundNYC to host a two-day play event on the island. The success of the adventure play pop-up events resonated with New Yorkers. They expressed their gratitude for the profound impact self-directed play had on their children. A year later, play:groundNYC opened The Yard on Governors Island, New York City’s only adventure playground. play:groundNYC continues to offer loose parts materials play to children throughout the city, giving them spaces to play freely without judgement.
Without the passion of our founding board members, play:groundNYC would not be the robust organization providing free play across the city it is today: Yoni Kallai; Jackie Katz; Alexander Khost; Philipp Klaus; Robin Meyer; Eve Mosher; Anne Morosini; Reilly Bergin Wilson.