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Open-ended play allows children to express themselves in play freely and creatively, not bound by preset limitations.1 Playing with open-ended materials with multiple uses and limitless possibilities, such as molding clay, wet sand, paint, blocks and other loose parts, allow for imaginative play. There are no rules to follow, no expectations, no specific problems to solve, and no pressure to produce a finished product when engaging freely in open-ended play.2

• 1. Frost, Joe L., Pei-San Brown, John A. Sutterby, Candra D. Thornton. The Developmental Benefits of Playgrounds. Olney, MD: Association for Childhood Education International, 2004. p.149.
• 2. Drew, Walter F. “Endless Possibilities.

Bill Dunbar and Rey Estanislao founded Orca Coast Playgrounds in 2004. Bill contributed both sales and management experience and hands-on experience in the manufacturing and installation of contained playground equipment. Rey also brought manufacturing experience in the industry as well as a degree in architecture from the National University of the Philippines and a decade of designing contained playgrounds.1

• 1. “Orca Coast Key Players.” Orca Coast Playgrounds. < http://www.orcacoastplay.com/about/orca-coast-team > 21 March 2011.

Playing outdoors is one of the things that characterize childhood, giving children the opportunity to explore, discover, practice, wonder, change, create, and learn about the world around them. Children’s basic needs for freedom, adventure, risk-taking, experimentation, and just being children are enhanced by outdoor environments.1 Children can express themselves with more active movement, louder voices, messier activities, and more rough and tumble play in outdoor settings.2

• 1. “Outdoor Play.” Community Playthings. < http://www.communityplaythings.com/resources/articles/outdoorplay/outdoorplay.html > 01 Sept. 2010.
• 2. Frost, Joe L., Sue Wortham, and Stuart Reifel. Play and Child Development. Upper Saddle Valley, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 2001. p.