Smart playground brings interactivity to the smallest of spaces

Our brief for the Nailsworth Garden Centre was simple: to keep families coming back again and again by creating a fully contained indoor play area with impact!

Working with a limited space measuring only 7.5-metres long, 3-metres high and a mere 1-metre deep, Playscheme’s famed creativity needed to be working at 100%. And so, the Leaping Platforms Play Centre featuring smart interactive light and sound features was born!

Design expertise

Light, sound and sight are key elements of this sensor-packed indoor playground. We worked alongside specialists Sound Leisure to make sure that not only would the features be fun for children aged two to 12, but that they could be seamlessly installed.

The main feature, a large interactive Perspex® light and sound “waterfall”, comes complete with sounds that simulate falling water. Children touch a hand-shaped sensor to activate water-inspired LED lighting and change the water sound from a trickle to a torrent. A further touch pad activates sound and light within an infinity mirror.

Building the Leaping Platforms Play Centre

With the initial construction taking place at our York workshop, we worked closely with Sound Leisure to install the sound and light effects in advance. This was super-important for two reasons: there wasn’t enough space to work behind the structure once it was in place; and it was essential to ensure no wiring would be visible within the play centre itself.

Playscheme’s Project Lead, Nick Chandler, said, “Our bespoke design, combined with electronic interactive sensors and other equipment from specialists Sound Leisure help make the Leaping Platforms Play Centre one of a kind! We envisage more of these kind of collaborations in the future. They mean we can provide our clients with far greater choice, through a combination of specialist features as well as Playscheme’s creative design features that children love.”

Key features of the Leaping Platforms Play Centre

The installation at Nailsworth took just over seven days, with a key objective to keep disruption to garden centre operations at a minimum.

Now fully operational, and children are already enjoying its many features:

• A light and sound Perspex^® waterfall
• An infinity mirror
• A sensor-activated light and music show
• Silly noises activated by sensors around the centre’s frame
• Ladders that allow even the smallest children to easily move between levels
• Ball drops, complete with fun sounds
• A periscope, enabling children to see and talk to each other between the eight play platforms
• A clear Perspex^® floor over a 2.5-metre drop to the ground, so kids can feel like they’re on top of the world!
• Scramble nets, ladders, viewing bubbles and artificial grass
• Wall mounted Play Modules from SL Kids, located next to the play centre