Construction began last week on a major playground upgrade at the Jean Tyson Child Development Study Center on the U of A campus.

Funded primarily through several grants written by Shelley McNally, clinical associate professor and executive director of education programs at the JTCDSC, the development of the project began two years ago.

Initiated with a child's intense conversation with McNally regarding "problems on the playground," JTCDSC educators challenged children to design a playground featuring "something to do."

The project, which includes work on both infant/toddler and preschool sections of the playground, includes:

• An amphitheater with seating for plays and productions
• A new water table, mud kitchen, climbing equipment, obstacle course and tunnels
• All gravel and pebbles being replaced with soft surface materials
• Expanded concrete paths for bike trails
• New landscaping that provides natural play elements and adds security and privacy

"The college is excited about getting this project started and completed," said Bumpers College Dean Jeff Edwards. "Not only does the center provid high-quality child education services to the campus community, it is also an important educational component of the birth through kindergarten, and human development and family sciences programs in our college, as well as other departments across campus. The new playground will allow us to better serve children and families utilizing the center, along with improving interaction and teaching opportunities for staff and students teaching the children."

The cost is expected to be approximately $300,000. The playground will be closed 60-90 days during the renovation, but students will still receive time outside on classroom porches and on campus walks.  

"We are extremely excited to have this project get underway," McNally said. "The center has a tremendous impact on the community, our students, the children and their families, and our staff.  We are proud to continue the legacy of Jean Tyson by constantly innovating our curriculum, engaging our teaching staff in professional development, collaborating with college students and working alongside children."

Groups of children worked with the studio coordinator to identify issues on the playground including: a hill making it hard to play basketball, broken equipment, pebbles that scrape knees and an unusable sandbox. Children shared ideas for an improved playground, reviewed pictures of other playgrounds and created drawings and playground models to represent their ideas for something new.

A committee of seven preschoolers presented the project's overall findings and ideas to McNally, teachers from the center, parents, college representatives and other supporters. Many of the ideas are being used in the development of the project.

"Macie, my youngest, is in sixth grade and still talks about her time at Jean Tyson," said Kristin Seals, associate director of facilities and special events for the college. "My niece recently graduated from our B-K program and talks about how much the center impacted her education. My experience with the center from those perspectives has been invaluable in helping develop this project. I understand how important the center is to the development of the children in their care and to the education of Bumpers College students, but also how important it is to be conscientious of the cost and trust invested by the parents for the care of their children. Being able to bring that to this project from development through completion has been a very rewarding experience." 

"This project began when the adults stopped to listen to the children with adamant, and accurate, evaluations of the spaces," McNally said. "We used their expertise of the playground, and how they use it, to create an outdoor environment where fantasies can be acted out, games can be played and relationships with the natural world are strengthened. It is wonderful to see their hopes and ideas being carried out, and we look forward to sharing the new space with our community." 

Other recently completed projects at the center include updating classrooms with cameras and audio to increase the lab school and research capabilities, installation of a security camera system with guidance from UAPD and new flooring in both playrooms. Grant funding has also supported the creation of destination spaces for children, including an artist studio, technology lab, sensory lab for infant/toddlers, light lab, tinkering lab and the Commons, a room for large provocations. Upgrades were made to the gross motor playrooms, adding equipment that can be used by infants/toddlers and preschool age children.

Built in 2011 in honor of John Tyson's mother, Jean, with a lead gift of $2.5 million from the Tyson Family Foundation and Tyson Foods Foundation, the JTCDSC cares for children in the Fayetteville area from eight weeks to 5 years, serves as the lab school for students at the U of A in a variety of education programs and serves as a place of research for university faculty, graduate students, undergraduates and educators. The center cares for 150 children and their families and hosts up to 150 students annually. Engaging and innovative spaces for children is important to the overall positive outcomes of the program.

About the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences: Bumpers College provides life-changing opportunities to position and prepare graduates who will be leaders in the businesses associated with foods, family, the environment, agriculture, sustainability and human quality of life; and who will be first-choice candidates of employers looking for leaders, innovators, policy makers and entrepreneurs. The college is named for Dale Bumpers, former Arkansas governor and longtime U.S. senator who made the state prominent in national and international agriculture. For more information about Bumpers College, visit our website, and follow us on Twitter at @BumpersCollege and Instagram at BumpersCollege.

About the University of Arkansas: As Arkansas' flagship institution, the U of A provides an internationally competitive education in more than 200 academic programs. Founded in 1871, the U of A contributes more than $2.2 billion to Arkansas' economy through the teaching of new knowledge and skills, entrepreneurship and job development, discovery through research and creative activity while also providing training for professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the U of A among the few U.S. colleges and universities with the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the U of A among the top public universities in the nation. See how the U of A works to build a better world at Arkansas Research and Economic Development News.