Shade for Early Childhood Play Environments
Shade coverings are an important piece of any play environment because they help protect children from the sun's harmful UV rays while also keeping play equipment cool.
It's no secret that it's important to help minimize exposure to UV rays to help prevent skin cancer. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one extreme sunburn during childhood doubles the risk of skin cancer as an adult. Because of this, we've designed our playground shades with fabrics that can block up to 99% of harmful UV rays, depending on the color.
In addition to protecting children from harmful UV rays, playground shade also helps to control the temperature of your play environment. Playgrounds exposed to the sun's heat can reach very high temperatures during warm seasons, which can burn children's skin upon contact. To prevent this, we offer fabric solutions that can reduce the temperature of your playground up to 25 degrees! This helps to keep children cool while also protecting play equipment surfaces.
In an effort to improve the health of young children, cities, states, and organizations have a variety of shade requirements for child care centers. For more specific regulations in your area, check with your local licensing agency.
If you're looking for a playground heat solution, we offer a variety of types of shade to consider for your play environment.
Types of Playground Shade
- Modular Shade
Modular shade can be incorporated into an existing play structure. Since it uses the posts from the playground, it saves space without compromising function. Choose from a variety of shapes including square, rectangle, hexagon, and octagon.
- Swing Shade
Playground shade comes in many forms including swing shade! We offer a traditional swing frame with integrated shade as well as a T-Swing with shade for children aged 2-5 years old.
- Shade for Large Play Environments
Our Super Dome shade structure is designed for shading large areas such as an entire play structure. Check out our site assessment for information on what size shade you need for your playground.
- Shade for Sandboxes and Picnic Areas
Single post umbrellas and cantilever umbrellas are great for covering sections of your play environment including sandboxes and picnic tables.
- Shade for Musical Play Gardens
Our square and rectangle hip shades are ideal for covering larger sections of your play environment such as a musical play garden.
- Sail Shades
Sail shades are great for covering oddly shaped play spaces because they can be customized to fit your space. In addition, they are great for providing your play environment with a fun and unique look.
- Custom Shades
If one of our standard shades doesn't quite fit your needs, our talented team of designers and engineers can work with you to create exactly what you're looking for!
Budgeting for Your Playground Shade
No matter your budget, our consultants can work with you to add a playground shade to your site. In general, costs for outdoor shade range anywhere from $2,000 to $10,000 or more. Get in touch and we can help determine what your needs are and the best shade to fit your space. One great thing about our shade structures is that they are highly engineered structures designed to withstand very high wind speeds. So expect a shade from us to last for years to come. If you're concerned about affording a commercial shade structure, take a look at our Grant Guide for national and state grants! You can also help get your community involved by setting up a crowdfunding or fundraising campaign.
