A playground franchise that fosters creativity, collaboration, and inclusion among kids
Image credit: ModularMobility / Youtube
Darko SavicJun 06, 2022
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Indoor playground franchise that fosters creativity, collaboration, and inclusion among kids. They come to make their own vehicles out of modular parts and test them in parkour.
Why?
An amazing place for kids to play, feel welcome, and form new friendships.
The place just works. All kids get along well without realizing this is by design.
Minimize rivalrous dynamics and maximize collaboration in society.
Make parents aware if their child is a potential bully so that they can work on it.
How it works
Engineering-oriented playgrounds designed to foster collaboration, inclusion, and creativity among children.
From the kids' perspective, they came to build their own vehicles from lego-like modular parts like these:
However, the playgrounds are designed with a "hidden agenda" - to foster creativity, collaboration, and inclusion among children.
Minimal moderation
The playgrounds employ facilitators/moderators who have dual roles. As far as kids are concerned the moderators are there to help them with technical aspects if they get stuck. In reality, they are there to observe the kids and come up with ways to:
make them accept newcomers with open arms as if they are friends already
make kids want to contribute to the groups common goals
make kids feel joy when others contribute something useful that benefits the group
the moderators intervene by distracting kids away from negative behavior
As long as the kids collaborate and play along nicely the moderators' presence can barely be felt.
How do they do it?
Through trial and error. Throughout the franchises, staff devise game experiments and double down on what works. Effective methods are shared and the playbook is continually upgraded.
For example, there are some special mechanical parts (battery powered motors) that kids don't have access to until their group gets at least X new members and each member contributes something useful to their common vehicle design. The kids would have to go around inviting others to join them and feel joy when the new person manages to come up with something useful. This would make newcomers feel welcome and accepted. It would help kids break the ice and form friendships. The moderators would turn a blind eye to collaborative-cheating when other kids hint ideas at those who are struggling to come up with something.
When a kid starts behaving selfishly, the moderators would nudge their parents to call them aside and discreetely correct their behavior towards the desired collaborative/inclusive spectrum.
To increase the likelihood of a new kid being welcomed in the group, give them some special parts to bring along as a welcome present that they can add to whatever the group is currently building.
Kids by age groups
While anyone can come whenever they want, parents are told when the best times are for their child to meet other kids in the same age group.
Business model
Memberships are available for 1-6-12 months. The longer the period, the better the monthly price. People can also pay per visit. First visit is free upon registration.
Day care
Initially, parents cannot leave their children with facilitators/moderators. After a child has attended enough times to show they are a team player and don't cause problems for others or moderators, they are considered "graduates". From then on, they can be left in the care of moderators at an additional "day care" cost per hour.
In addition, 3rd party day care centers could bring their kids on daily excursions to these engineering/creativity playgrounds.
Locations
Establishing such playgrounds next to existing skate parkours or public parks/playgrounds would be ideal.
Darko Savic Jun 06, 2022