Serious injuries at playgrounds where children play and exercise occur frequently in Japan due to playground equipments. This leads to the removal of a large number of inappropriate playground equipments from parks. The removal of playground equipments has three kinds of implications: less chances for children to play which can be an invaluable experience, a decline in the manufacturing technology of the equipments, and a resulting economic loss.

To solve these problems, a new design methodology for safe and enjoyable playground equipment is necessary. The Playground Equipment Project was set up for studying this certain design methodology and applying it to the development of new playing equipments. This article introduces the activities of the Playground Equipment Project.