Study day

"Lands of Adventure on the Move in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (TAMARA)

6 March 2024, Archives municipales de Lyon - auditorium, 9am-5pm

Free admission

Adventure playgrounds, which appeared in Denmark at the end of the Second World War, are play areas for children where they can play, tinker and build freely using simple materials. They are staffed by activity leaders who are responsible for their operation and safety. The concept gradually spread to Northern Europe, and appeared in France in 1972. It had its heyday, but French adventure playgrounds gradually disappeared in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Since 2018, however, we have seen a renewed interest in these spaces for learning and experimentation through play. New adventure playgrounds have opened up, but they are still little-known among the latest generations of socio-cultural workers. Their revival is arousing curiosity and prompting questions about the links between the adventure playgrounds of yesterday and those of today, with a view to examining their urban and educational legacy.

As far as the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region is concerned, no study, even a partial one, has yet been carried out on the subject. The TAMARA project therefore aims to fill this gap, by putting the traces of the past into perspective with current and future initiatives. What can we learn from past experiences, what are the emerging issues, how do adventure playgrounds interact with other social, educational and cultural facilities, and how do they change over time? These are just some of the questions that will be addressed during the day.