Sustainability
The KSAT Musical Playground is designed to exist harmoniously within the environmental context it occupies. The open concept of the park allows visitors to notice the nature features surrounding the park, like the Bushkill Creek, and the sound of the chimes within the playground are designed to complement the natural setting of the park. Furthermore, the construction of the musical playground involves durable materials that will yield a small ecological footprint and minimal upkeep.
Entertainment
A musical playground will provide children a place to play and explore their creativity on the trail. Furthermore, it will give members of the Easton community and other visitors a place to stop on the trail to rest and enjoy the beautiful environment that the trail provides.
Art
Aside from the functional benefits of the musical playground, the instruments and structures of the park will be pieces of artwork that will complement the aesthetics of the Karl Stirner Arts Trail.
Education
By creating a musical playground, we hope to expose children to the beauty and value of nature. Teaching children to love the environment will allow them to appreciate the importance of nature and increase environmental awareness.
Therapy
Through various studies, it has been shown that music enhances cognitive abilities. For example, researchers have shown that those who listen to Mozart music are found to have more advanced spatial long-term cognitive benefits (Schellengberg, 2005)
Music therapy is a well-established discipline, which aims to treat individuals with learning disabilities. For instance, music has been shown to increase the social abilities of autistic patients by improving their ability to learn and interact with their environment, (American Music Therapy Association, 2010)
Furthermore, music therapy has been found to yield:
- Increased attention
- Decreased self-stimulation
- Improved cognitive functioning
- Increased socialization
- Successful and safe self-expression
- Improved behavior
- Enhanced auditory processing
- Decreased agitation
- Improved verbal skills
- Enhanced sensory-motor skills
For more information about the therapeutic benefits of music check out these links:
- “A conversation about music, mind, and health”
- The American Music Therapy Association
- The Sensory Processing Disorder Foundation
- “This is your brain on music”
- “Why does music aid in memorization?”
- “Music and the Brain”