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A man's portrait beside a tall wooden playground structure in an urban courtyard
Courtesy of Niek de Jong
Engineering, Cool STEM Jobs, Technology,

I Design Art You Can Play On!

Niek de Jong creates play sculptures for kids.

By Karen Grimaldos
From the September 2026 Issue

Learning Objective: Students will summarize how and why a playground designer creates play sculptures for kids.

Other Focus Areas: Engineering, Technology

Standards

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What would you do with a 30-foot-tall sculpture of a fox? Climb up it? Slide down its back? Play music on its giant tail? Niek de Jong wonders about questions like these every day.

De Jong is a playground designer from the Netherlands. He works for a Canadian company called Earthscape. But his playgrounds don’t just feature typical swings and slides. “We’re known for designing very artistic play sculptures,” says de Jong. These huge pieces of art are made for kids to play on.

De Jong spoke with Scholastic about his playful designs for having fun.


How do you come up with your ideas?

The first thing I do is think about the story I want to tell. The best playground designs have a main character paired with another creature or an object. Maybe there is a mama bear playing with her cub or a curious fox holding a butterfly. A story makes your playground come alive.


Courtesy of Niek de Jong 

De Jong starts with 2-D sketches (left) and 3-D models (right).

How do you design your playgrounds?

I start with 2-D sketches on paper and digital 3-D sketches on my tablet. This helps me explore different poses for my characters.

Then I create 3-D models on my computer. These models are smaller versions of the huge play sculptures I want to create. A 3-D model lets me experiment with different shapes, sizes, and forms, or 3-D shapes. This design process helps me come up with new ideas.


How are the playgrounds built?

A team of experts builds them out of natural materials such as wood. Our team includes engineers, architects, builders, and project managers. We work together to make sure safety rules and other requirements are met as designs come to life.


Courtesy of Niek de Jong 

This giant jellyfish play sculpture is one of de Jong’s favorites.  

Do you have a favorite?

The Pier 58 waterfront playground in Seattle, Washington. More than
3 million people have visited the park since it opened in July 2025. The main play sculpture is a 25-foot-tall jellyfish. Kids can climb both the outside and the inside of the tower. Then they can slide down. Swooping tentacles have different features on them like handholds and nets.


What makes a playground fun?

There shouldn’t be just one way to go up or down on a play sculpture. A really fun playground lets kids make the decisions about how they want to play!


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