Educational projects
In Summer 2017 Chekharda together with the kids’ club “Seekers” organised the first real construction site for kids and built a real 5 m high lighthouse on a riverside.
It was an old dream of Chekharda to start contracting with kids and thus give them a chance to play a real life - not an imaginary life as they use to on usual playgrounds. 100 year ago in this place famous Russian engineer Shukhov built a hyperboloid tower and it became an inspiration for the kids’ lighthouse.
Kids were not alone: architects, engineers, carpenters, creators of rope structures helped the kids with the building task. During two weeks construction time the kids learnt how to design hyperboloid structures, observed how the bearing system of a building rises up and filled up the tower with playful elements from ropes, wood and nets.
After two week the construction was competed and now the lighthouse operates as a local playground and became a real landmark and an observation point on the riverside. Young builders regular organise here their own events and workshops.
The construction playground gave a basis for a new type of “educational playground” in Russia where the kids can play and learn through the real work - and the kids seem to like it even more that typical playspaces!
In two weeks, next to the lighthouse, built two years earlier, a full-fledged play space with "walking" trees arose. We brought these trees from our workshop. Together with the children we planned how to use them in the arrangement of the playground.
Young builders went through the whole process from the idea of separate flayfull objects to its construction and opening. We created a model of future playground from small branches imitating tree trunks and threads similar to future ropes; thought over the procurement of materials and slitted into construction teams.
Two weeks of hard work, and the site was open to everyone! Now children living nearby come to it every day, and families who come from Moscow to the beach visit it. Moreover, young builders feel the value of what they have managed to create: a new and interesting world for children.
The project of the public space development in the village, the first part of which was the construction of the Orlandia playground, was implemented at the initiative of Nord Stream 2 AG in close cooperation with local residents, according to the principle "Nothing for us without us!". A distinctive feature of the project was the involvement of residents not only through participation, but also through real collaborative work. To involve young people from Kuzemkino, we came up with the “Open construction site” format.
On the day of the event, about 30 kids gathered at the playground. They were instructed on safety precautions and received a complete set of personal protective equipment. After that they were split into teams. Guided by experienced builders, the children stretched the ropes, laid wood chips, hung climbing nets and swings, and sanded the filling tables. Having finished their work, the young Kuzemkians were the first to test the new playground. And this was the best reward for their work.
Despite the drizzling rain, the number of applicants turned out to be so large that it was necessary to organize two construction projects in a row. As a result, more than 60 young builders, having passed safety instructions, attended to the event, and there was a job for everyone. Someone was sanding a climbing frame, someone was loading and scattering wood chips, someone was leveling the sand, someone was helping to finish the dump station or fix the ropes. Well, of course, the swing station became a hit.
We are confident that it is impossible to involve a child into labor through reading books or virtual reality. You can only do something with him. And it also fosters a careful and responsible attitude to what surrounds. As one of the parents of the “Open Construction site” participant said, now each of the young builders will appreciate what he/she has had a hand in.