On the playground, what do inclusive groups of children, with and without disabilities, have to build together, throw at one another, and fight over? Often, nothing.
To begin addressing this issue, Find Some Flow created the Accessible Playground Locker, a portable, accessibly designed and built device filled with inclusive games and equipment. Designed collaboratively with the Pittsburgh disability community and dozens of other partners, the Playground Locker contains all of the kinetic games and other inclusive materials FSF has been developing since its founding. With the support of an Awesome mini-grant, FSF will be able to bring the Accessible Playground Locker to multiple Pittsburgh-area playgrounds and play-spaces this summer.
The Playground Locker is designed to be functional, both on the inside and out. The colorful, interactive exterior of the locker promotes disability awareness and provides social-tools for children and parents with and without disabilities to integrate, collaborate, and play. A large “comic strip” created by an adaptive graphic novelist provides instruction to inspire children to use American Sign Language to ask questions like “Want to play?”. The Blind and Vision Resources Center of Pittsburgh will provide a “Learn to Read Braille” board, a tactile-map of the contents of the locker and game rules printed in braille. The Stigma Project: Let’s Think Again campaign will provide additional awareness information and signage. In addition, the Locker features a “buddy bench”, a designated seating area where children feeling lonely or upset can seek camaraderie.
The construction of the locker is now nearing completion by a local Boy Scout chapter and several master-carpenters as part of an Eagle Scout Project.

Please support this attempt to bring disability awareness and inclusive play to Pittsburgh-area playspaces.