Facilitating intergenerational play and STEM learning in a co-designed playground environment

The National Centre for Healthy Ageing is looking to create an Intergenerational Learning and Activity Playground. This playground is intended to improve the physical health, mental health, and social welfare of older adults, adults and children in the community. This playground is being co-designed with input from teachers, members of the community, and a range of faculties across Monash University. One of the most prevalent impacts of retirement is the experience of loss; a lack of purpose, fear of being forgotten and a loss of identity. Retirement has long been associated with an increase in symptoms of depression and chronic health problems, whereas continued participation in meaningful occupation can mitigate this while also raising self-esteem. Related work examining depression and loneliness amongst older adults has found that both are predicted by grieving a recent loss, and less participation in organised social activities. Social-good volunteerism involves participation in organised volunteering activities to achieve outcomes of social good, and has been found to be particularly beneficial for older adult mental and physical health outcomes in observational studies. A review published in 2021 concluded “Environmental volunteerism (is) associated with benefits in physical health, mental wellbeing, social capital, and personal empowerment with no apparent drawbacks. Retired people find a purpose to live, opportunities for socialization and physical activity, and increased self-esteem in the process”. Accompanying the playground will be an intergenerational primary school-aged STEM-based education program, that will be combined with older adult volunteerism providing experiential learning. This is a recognised means for breaking the cycle of intergenerational poverty and its deleterious health impacts. Older adult volunteers will be inducted into the teaching program and trained to lead imagination-based learning activities at different exhibits across the playground. They will then be responsible for a small group of primary school-aged children from a relatively disadvantaged community through activity modules spread over a school term under the close supervision of a program coordinator. Research in this area will focus on both delivery of the intergenerational education program, and informal use of the playground using data captured from in-built sensors in each piece of equipment.