L
L.A. Steelcraft Products Inc
For over 60 years L.A. Steelcraft has manufactured outdoor tables, benches, bleachers, bike and scooter racks, flagpoles, site amenities, obstacle courses, fitness equipment, sports equipment and accessories. Their playground equipment includes swings, slides, climbers, spring riders, funball, and tetherball.
Lady Allen of Hurtwood
Lady Allen of Hurtwood (1897-1976) was an avid advocate for children's rights and welfare throughout her lifetime and was principally responsible for introducing the concept of adventure playgrounds and planning for children's play from their point of view. Her numerous books and pamphlets influenced public thought and brought about much change for children's welfare in the United Kingdom and throughout the world.
Landscape Architect and Specifier News
Created in 1985, Landscape Architect and Specifier News (LASN) is a professional journal that features issues and projects led or influenced by registered landscape architects. Their mission is to "entertain and educate landscape professionals, and connect them to vendors and service providers." Through project highlights, new concepts spotlights, industry news reports, company advertisements, monthly vendor listings, and a yearly Specifier's Guide, they promote and inform professional landscape architects nationwide.
Landscape Architecture Magazine
Landscape Architecture Magazine (LAM) is the monthly publication of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) and as such promotes their mission "to lead, to educate, and to participate in the careful stewardship, wise planning, and artful design of our cultural and natural environments."
Landscape Structures
In 1971, Steve King and his wife, Barb, founded Landscape Structures Inc. in Delano, Minnesota, to manufacture playground equipment. Their early innovations have continued to expand to include playsystems, natural-looking climbers, inclusive play products, fitness equipment, stand alone events, skateparks, playground surfacing, and site amenities.
Last Child in the Woods
Richard Louv's book, Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder, brought the need to reconnect children with nature to the forefront of childhood issues. The book describes the current status of children and nature play.
Lead Hazards
Lead has been identified as a potential health hazard found in both children's playgrounds and in artificial turf. The effects of lead ingestion or inhaling are cumulative. Although deteriorating lead paint in homes is the main source of lead poisoning for children under six, coming in contact with older playground equipment with lead paint has been an additional source of concern.
Learning Structures
Learning Structures began in 1971 when a young architect named Christopher "Kit" Clews was smitten by a young schoolteacher. The teacher asked Kit if he could design a playground for $100. Using friends, family, and parents of the children who attended the school, Kit designed and constructed a playground and came in under budget! Nearly four decades later, Learning Structures has worked with 1500 communities and 100,000 volunteers creating unique play spaces that highlight each community's special features or attractions.
Leathers and Associates
In 1971, Bob Leathers was asked if he would organize a group of people to help build a playground at his children's elementary school. After helping with this playground and seeing the need for community built playgrounds, Bob founded Leathers and Associates in 1971 in Ithaca, New York.
Lee, Joseph
Joseph Lee began life in 1862 as the son of a wealthy Boston family, and through a lifetime of leadership, research, writings, and philanthropy, he became known as the "Father of the Playground Movement." A contemporary characterized Lee's work with schools, playgrounds, and recreation with these words: "Joseph Lee had constructive imagination. After he had backed his vision with money, persistence, and persuasion, the United States was no longer the same."
LEGO
In 1949 the LEGO Billund Toy Factory, Ltd. introduced the Automatic Binding Blocks, the forerunner of the colorful, plastic LEGO blocks that were named the "Toy of the Century" by Fortune Magazine in 2000. The LEGO brand has expanded from the initial constructive play toys to include related children's products, video games, board games, and movie and television media.
Lehman, Todd
Todd Lehman is the founder and executive creative director of Cre8Play, a custom design playground manufacturer. The goal of his company is to design and build playgrounds to "play in" rather than "play on."
Let Kids Play!
Mara Kaplan founded Let Kids Play!, an inclusive play design consulting firm, in 2007. Let Kids Play! works with playground manufacturers, park districts, parents, communities, and nonprofit organizations to design play spaces for all children regardless of age or ability.
Let the Children Play
Let the Children Play is a blog that "celebrates the importance of play in the lives and education of our children." It is dedicated to sharing play-based preschool experiences and providing "inspiration, tips and information to help parents and teachers alike put the play back into childhood."
Let's Play
Let's Play, a community partnership program created by Dr. Pepper Snapple Group (DPS), has the goal of getting kids and families active outside and to "provide the tools, places and inspiration to help communities increase physical activity." As part of DPS's corporate philanthropic program, ACTION Nation, Let's Play supports Michelle Obama's Let's Move! initiative, believing that obesity can be solved when everyone cooperates and takes responsibility for getting kids active outside.
Let’s Move
Let’s Move! is a campaign by First Lady Michelle Obama dedicated to solving the problem of childhood obesity within a generation. Mrs. Obama began a national discussion about the health and nutrition of America’s children when she broke ground on the White House Kitchen Garden with local elementary school students. Further conversations on the subject grew into the Let’s Move! initiative that was launched February 9, 2010, at the White House.
Let’s Move Outside
On June 1, 2010, First Lady Michelle Obama launched the Let's Move Outside! initiative, a new component of her Let's Move! campaign. Designed to support President Obama's America's Great Outdoors initiative that had been announced two months previously, Let's Move Outside! promotes outdoor physical activity for families and children. This new emphasis on outdoor activities came after research linked children's overall health with their time in nature.
Lifelong Health, Fitness, and Learning Through Play Conference
On April 5, 2013 the University of the Incarnate Word (UIW) of San Antonio hosted the Lifelong Health, Fitness, and Learning through Play Conference. Presented by the Joe L. Frost Play Research Collection of the J.E. and L.E. Mabee Library of UIW, approximately 260 people attended the conference. Dr. Joe Frost addressed the theme of the conference, play across the lifespan, focusing on outdoor play for all.
Lincoln Logs
The popularity of children's construction toys grew from simple wooden blocks to the development of Lincoln Logs in the early 1900s. Lincoln Logs are considered a classic American toy and were honored by being inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame in 1999 for their enduring popularity.
Lionel LLC
Lionel Limited Liability Corporation, known as Lionel L.L.C., is a manufacturer and marketer of toy and model trains, including historically accurate locomotives, rail cars, and accessories. Their mission is to "keep the magic of the Lionel tradition living for another 100 years."
Little League
Little League Baseball, Inc. is a nonprofit youth sports program created to assist youth in developing discipline, teamwork, courage, loyalty, good character, and strong physical health. Little League was "designed to develop superior citizens rather than superior athletes."
Little Tikes Commercial
A division of PlayPower, Inc., Little Tikes Commercial is a recognized brand of outdoor commercial playground equipment that provides innovative and developmentally appropriate children's play events. They offer complete play systems, modular play events, free-standing playground equipment, playground surfacing, and playground amenities.
Locke, John
John Locke was one of the most important philosophers of the late 17th century. His writings influenced thought on human understanding, civil rights, childhood education, government structure, and separation of church and state.
Loose Parts
Loose parts are objects and materials that children can move, manipulate, control, and change within their play. With endless possibilities of play, they provide a high level of creativity and choice and develop children's imagination. Children often prefer playing with boxes, sticks, rocks, water, sand, and ropes that can be manipulated in whatever way they choose over traditional toys that have limited flexibility and play value.
Louv, Richard
Richard Louv (1949) is an American journalist and author of eight books about the connections between family, nature, and community. Coining the term Nature-Deficit Disorder, his highly-acclaimed book, Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder, was first published in 2005. The book sparked an international dialogue about the declining relationship between children and nature.
Lower Body Strength
Lower body strength is the ability of the body to exert a maximum force against an object external to the body in one maximum effort of the lower body muscles. The muscles that make up the lower body are the large, strong muscles that allow us to get around. Children do much to enhance their lower body strength by engaging in daily active play, such as running, jumping, climbing, and bicycling.
Luckey LLC
Luckey LLC designs, manufactures, and installs Luckey Climbers: unique multistoried, three dimensional bespoke climbing sculptures encased in safety nets. Besides encouraging physical activity, gross motor skill development, and intellectual development through imaginative play, Luckey Climbers are "vertical mazes" or "vertical parks" for children's museums, malls, and other institutions worldwide.