BENGALURU: A sensory playscape at Shree Ramana Maharishi Academy for the Blind has been built in Shree Ramana Maharishi Academy in Bengaluru by Liferay.
The earlier playground in Shree Ramana Maharishi Academy was in a dilapidated condition to the needs of specially-abled children. In conjunction with Liferay employees, Anthill Creations helped in creating playground that links complementary activities. To create a feeling of familiarity among children, the playground equipment has been designed in the shape of common and recognizable objects. There are loose parts on the playground to facilitate imaginative play. The playground has accessible surfacing and sufficient space for manoeuvring. There is an optimum balance between the amount of elevated and ground level equipment such as ramps and transfer systems.
Equipment installed in the playground provides appropriate levels of challenges and risk, keeping in mind specially-abled children’s needs. Most importantly the playground is fitted with sensory stimulus activities and visual and tactile clues. For example playground has tyre sound chimes and swings that allow swinging, balancing, running, and broadcast musical rhythms.Drumming sets installed in the playground facilitate activities related to sound localization and allow children to listen to nursery rhymes.
Textured walkways in the playground acquaint children to the sense of touch and feel of different textures allowing them to mentally map the playground. The entire playground has been mapped with textured pathways. Beneath seesaws in the playground, tyres are buried making the seesaw’s shockproof. Tyre tunnels made from tyres in the playground encourages the development of gross motor skills and help in crawling and interacting with peers. The tyres have different textures to facilitate easy mental mapping.
Manish Gupta – Director of Liferay India said, “All children deserve a happy and carefree childhood. By creating a sensory playscape at the Shree Ramana Maharishi Academy we’ve ensured visually impaired children, despite their disadvantages, enjoy their childhood playing in structures especially built for their needs.
“The new playground is allowing them to do both without being closely supervised and with no fear of injury. We look forward to continued contribution from Liferay so that we can sustain the momentum of this journey” said secretary SRMAB
