Detailed Summary

We know that risky play helps to increase self-esteem, decrease conflict sensitivity, and help with problem solving skills but what does risky play look like in an aquatic environment? How can we incorporate that into these spaces whilst keeping children safe?

Kids learn and develop through play. They make bold decisions and rely on their burgeoning creativity to problem solve within make-believe; microcosmic plots based on the real world. So, what happens when we, as adults in a fear-based society, take away their freedom and force them into the controlled play opportunities that are found in many play spaces today? 

1. Learning Outcome 1: Identify the ways we can incorporate risk into aquatic spaces by defining and reframing risky play behaviors.
2. Learning Outcome 2: Describe the play needs of children trying to acquire a 21st-century skill set to determine a road map for an optimal play space.          
3. Learning Outcome 3: Identify aquatic features that encourage multi-dimensional play, design self-governing, liberating play spaces.
4. Learning Outcome 4: Summarize the different zones within a splash pad that are based on the philosophies of unstructured, free play.