Is it okay for the user to make a mistake without getting hurt? A playground with play value has been designed for challenge. It has been designed with the purposeful intentions of providing opportunities for children to try something new to see if they can do it. Most importantly, the challenge has been designed with safety as a top priority. If the child fails at the first try, he or she has failed safely and is encouraged to try again until succeeding. Safety is paramount when it comes to playground design. For as much time as playground equipment manufacturers are working on research and development of new safety innovations, kids are spending just as much time trying to figure out new uses for equipment on the playground. The principle of tolerance for error emphasizes the need to minimize hazards and provide warnings or fail-safe features. In this example, care has been taken to design openings on elevated structures that permit the passage of one child at a time to use the slide or climber, while prohibiting unintended use or passage.

A girl sits to enter a slide on an elevated platform while surrounded by three friends.

A girl sits at the opening of a climber on the elevated platform, leaving her wheelchair on the ground surface.