Natural Energy Parks

This playground--designed by Hyundai engineering and construction--is part jungle gym and part renewable energy science experiment. After climbing a ladder into a laboratory, kids can spin a wheel that will illuminate “Benjamin Franklin’s kite.” An optical illusion will spin at varying speeds as children adjust a solar panel to different angles. Pedaling a bicycle powers a pinwheel and illuminates lights around the structure. Hyundai calls this the “Natural Energy Park” and it looks like a lot of fun.

Empower Playground
Mixing fun and helping people, [url=(http://www.empowerplaygrounds.org]Empower Playgrounds is a non-profit organization that provides electricity-generating
playground equipment to villages in Ghana that are too remote to be on their nation’s electricity grid. The school children gain a playground as well as safe, rechargeable LED lanterns to light their homes so they can do their homework. Additionally, the play equipment doubles as part of a hands-on science lab that brings science concepts into their daily lives.




Giraffe Street Lamps
A mix of a streetlight, a swing and a giraffe, this conceptual project harnesses the kinetic energy produced each time someone swings back and forth on its seat to power a super-efficient LED light. As a backup to the kinetic energy supplied by people, the Giraffe uses an elevated solar panel hood to soak up the solar variety, storing it in a battery for later use.

KIDETIC PLAYGROUND

Industrial designers imagined the Kidetic Playground to bring science and understanding together. The play space encourages kids to be more aware of their energy consumption by allowing them to produce their own electricity to power playground lighting at night. Three essential elements of that playground include a jump rope (anchored at one end), a teeter-totter, and a see-saw, all hooked up to a dynamo capable of delivering juice to batteries that power the play area’s lighting after dark. According to the designers, each of these units is capable of generating 31.5 watts of energy for every hour of play.