First, let me thank all those who have attended this meetup. It was my first meetup and without you, the experience wouldn’t have been the same. Shoutout to @Richardimages , @Sagir @Ewaade_3A @Shrut19 @RHoqueBD @user_not_found @Shreeya_99 @Nuhuu @Zuhralc and sorry if I’m forgetting someone!
And as a first meetup, I had my share of technical difficulties (time zone was not clear enough, the hour-long limit I didn’t know about, etc.). But everyone was cool about that and I’m now thinking of a way to make a part 2 of this virtual meetup, all thanks to you! And now, what have we discovered during this meetup?
Why playgrounds?
As a mother of multiple kids, playgrounds are places that are easy for me to go to. Playgrounds rapidly became a way for me to combine the useful with the pleasant. There’s nothing easier to plan a day at a playground with kids and they enjoy visiting new places.
Mapping playgrounds help other families to choose where they want to go. They can see the playground’s structures and reviews and it will help them choose if it’s suitable for their kids as well. Also, we’ve found out that even in a busy area, the playgrounds were not always listed. So, you get points for adding playgrounds to Google Map as well.
What makes a good playground?
Of course, this part varies with culture but generally, a good playground will have a wide range of structures that will allow children of all ages to play. The number is not that important, it’s more about the usability by children of all ages. We’ve talked about how some playgrounds have facilities and how they can help families. Think about a kid that is potty trained, their parents might not want to go to a place without a restroom because of that.
Of course, the location is important. Is it located near a busy road or a quiet area? Are there some fences around to keep littles runners safe? Is there a nearby parking lot? I’ve shared about one playground near me that doesn’t allow you to park on the side of the road near the park and you must cross a busy road to get there. It might not be the best option for a lot of reasons. We also talked about the type of grounds. Like if there’s sand, that means that families can bring sand buckets.
Mapping playgrounds – Best practices
We have talked about some best practices while mapping playgrounds.
How to take pictures:
- Even if it’s difficult, there should be no pictures of people/kids playing
- It should include useful pictures of the playground equipment. You shouldn’t post multiples pictures of different angles of one structure but rather a few meaningful pictures instead.
- Try to have a picture of all the playground as well to have a general feel about the place.
- You can add pictures of facilities (restroom, changing area, etc.)
Writing reviews:
- When writing a review, you should include the age recommended for the equipment.
- You can also say if the equipment is in good shape. I’ve included an example of one time going to a playground with tears in the equipment that wasn’t safe to use for smaller children.
- Is there access to facilities? Are there any opening hours for the facility, like restroom? Are there any trash bins?
- Include information’s about the general landscaping. The type of ground near the equipment. Is there some bench?
Taking videos
- We’ve talked about how taking a video can help capture the feeling of the place.
- Take a video (camera on landscape mode) and walk around the playground
- Taking a video is really a good idea to see the pattern of some water games
Making a list
- With playgrounds, you can make different kinds of lists to help people
- You can list every playground in one area for example. @Nuhuu showed us his list of playgrounds and kids-friendly places around Kaduna.
- You can also list playgrounds with specific equipment. I’ve talked about how we don’t have outside pools in my hometown and that I’ve decided to list every playground with water games to help families to know where to go to cool down.
Accessibility 
- Finally, we’ve talked about accessibility in playgrounds.
- Add information about where are located the benches, is there parking nearby.
- Say how are the trails. Are they made with pavement, a gravel path, or a dirt road?
- Is there any equipment geared toward special needs?
- If there are any facilities, are they accessible?
Finally, some local guides talked to us about places they like as playgrounds.
@Ewaade_3A showed us Fun Factory, a place with playgrounds, rollercoasters, etc. She said that it’s a popular place and that kids really love going there
@Shreeya_99 showed us about Imagicaa. She talked to us that there was also a Snowmagicaa with real snow that you could play with.
Finally, @Sagir showed us Apapa Amusement Park, and it has brought souvenirs for @Ewaade_3A saying that she went there as a kid.
Once again, I cannot thank enough all of those who were there at the meetup and I hope I’ll see you again for another one! My first time hosting a meetup was encouraged by @KashifMisidia post [Call for Meetup Leaders] – Unofficial LocalGuidesConnect Worldwide Birthday Celebrations, I think it broke the ice for me and I’ll now try to host more meetups!
And don’t worry about technical issues: a) you’ll get better with every meet-up that you host, b) no matter how many meet-ups you host, there’s always something that can go wrong 
. In other words, keep chugging along because it’s just part and parcel of hosting meet-ups!