Investigating different playgrounds at schools, parks and other areas in Linn County has kept one Cornell Summer Research Institute group busy this summer.
Ani’ja Simmons, Carissa Meis, A’ryn Jackson and Kaylynn Sparks are the students working with kinesiology professor Lewis Kanyiba on the project.
Their original goal was to investigate roughly 100 playgrounds across Linn County. As of the halfway point of the institute, they were at 88 completed and may bump up the goal to 120.
“One of the things that I’ve learned has been the different types of equipment used in so many parks,” Simmons said.
“There are a couple in Hiawatha that are more natural in appearance versus the bright colored equipment you see in other communities,” Meis said.
“The connections we have gained with city council members or city staff as we’ve explained our project and getting their consent to study the equipment as part of the project,” Jackson said.
Jackson said that the group has also had to explain at times why they are there to parents who are concerned about adults showing up at the park. Those interactions are important and have pushed her out of her comfort zone, but also reiterated the importance of professional communication.
Kanyiba said playgrounds were an important field of study for him as a parent, because he knows from first hand experience how excited his kids get to go to playgrounds.
“It’s one piece of infrastructure that is focused to children primarily,” Kanyiba said. “We talk a lot In kinesiology about the importance of kids’ activity, and this is a way to focus on the architecture that they spend a lot of time and the ways this equipment helps them learn.”
Kanyiba said that focusing on ways to enhance physical fitness in children starts by looking at the infrastructure that’s available, as well as educating the public about the offerings.
One of the other things playgrounds teach children is learning risk, Kanyiba said.
“As adults, we know risks involved when we make decisions like a daytrip to Chicago and what can happen between here and there,” Kanyiba said. “Some of that planning for risk is learned in childhood by what happens when we’re on playgrounds, like falling down. How does the safe materials help someone learn from something like a fall to the ground of what not to do next time or what cautions a child might have to make on certain equipment in the future.”
The group is also looking at the disparities between playgrounds offered in urban, suburban and rural communities, as well as the similarities.
The group said the end goal for them is to present the videos of the 120 different playgrounds with their amenities and ratings in a YouTube channel to better educate parents in the communities about the equipment at different parks in their neighborhoods, the shape of the equipment and other notable amenities that might be near the playground as well.
One of the areas that the research has been focused on has been accessibility, focusing on the equity of experience all users can get at certain playgrounds. The other important part of the study is the focus on safety. That includes the proximity to hazards like busy roadways, rivers and streams and the ways children are protected from those hazards.
Other factors include the cleanliness and functionality of the equipment. Are the swings squeaking or rusting or are they very well maintained?
The group hopes that information is reviewed by city halls, schools and others who manage the equipment to help them focus on ways to improve their offerings in the future.
Simmons, a kinesiology major with a physical education minor, says that the study is helping her to look at the playground equipment and be able to suggest what can be done better and speak up to make improvements for better health for youth.
Meis, an elementary education teacher, said that it is giving her the ability to advocate for her future students on the different equipment she may need.
Jackson, a physical education major focused on kindergarten through 12th grade, said being part of CSRI as a freshman going into sophomore is helping her learn from her upperclassmen.
Sparks, a kinesiology major who will be going into physical therapy studies after Cornell College, noted that she’ll be working with kids and seeing what they have access to can help her in instructing them on what type of equipment they can use in the recovery process.
The group has loved the variety of playgrounds they have seen in Linn County.
And as part of the research, Sparks noted, they have to test some of the equipment on their own at the sites they study, which helps embrace the inner kid once more.
Jackson noted that not being from Linn County, it was a great opportunity to explore the county at large.
“We’ve been to so many different communities, small towns and the like,” Jackson said. “In some of those communities, you meet with the mayor or council members when you’re visiting, which isn’t something you experience every day in college and really reiterates the importance of how you carry yourself professionally.”
For Kanyiba, getting the opportunity to work with these four students on this study is a huge benefit for him as a professor.
“During the school year, we spend 18 days with these students on a subject in their one course of study,” Kanyiba said. “As part of the Summer Research Institute, we’re spending eight weeks together working eight hour days. It’s a great way to get to know my students and colleagues way more as we’re focusing on a research project. You get each other’s jokes more and you’re working together on a common goal, which is the research project, and collecting data. We each know each other way better than when we started and it is a great opportunity for professors and students.”
There are roughly 78 students participating in CSRI projects this summer, working with 25 different professors. At the end of the institute, students will present their findings at a student e-poster symposium 2:30-5 p.m. on July 12 and July 13 in the Thomas Commons, Hall-Perrine Room. The public is welcome to also learn more about these projects then. It is, of course, free to attend.
“It’s a great opportunity to see what everyone else has completed and evaluate our own project compared to the work of some of our other colleagues,” Kanyiba said.