A look at... Check your playground

What do children’s favourite outdoor playgrounds look like? That is what anthropologist Kathrine van den Bogert and social geographer Gijs van Campenhout are researching in the citizen science project ‘Check your playground’.

Children aged 8 to 14 can pick up a research kit at UMU (University Museum Utrecht) and observe an outdoor playground at home. The researchers collect and interpret this data together with the children, hoping to find out how to make outdoor playgrounds that children like to go to. ‘Check your playground’ was developed with help from the Public Engagement Seed Fund.

José de Wit is programme maker family activities at UMU:

“At the new UMU, ‘Check your playground’ was the first citizen science project. I enjoyed working with researchers to figure out how families can help with research. In doing so, I did run into some practical challenges. The children are given a clipboard at the museum explaining the research, then they start the research at home. But how do you make sure that once at home they actually start the research and don’t forget to submit their results? In the next citizen science project, I want to see if the participants can already do part of the research at the museum, in order to hopefully receive even more good and complete data.”

Dr Kathrine van den Bogert is associate professor at the Utrecht University School of Governance:

“For children, it is awesome and concrete that they collect data, pass it on to researchers and it becomes tangible. Otherwise, science is a vague thing. During the holidays, we interpret the submitted data together with museum visitors. We will also do this with a focus group of young people. I want to share my research and insights with society, but it also really helps me to improve research.”

Survey participant (aged 9):

“I enjoyed thinking about what could be improved about outdoor play areas.”

Text: Babs van den Born