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Conference focuses on making playgrounds safe for children
Monty L. Christiansen (above), associate professor of recreation and parks at Penn State, chaired the second International Playground Safety Conference, held at The Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel. John Preston, project manager for the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, talks about the surface systems used under and around playground equipment during the conference. photos by Dick Ackley University Photo/Graphics	More than 150 scholars, planners, managers, government and industry decision-makers, specialists and advocates of playground safety from 18 countries met at Penn State to discuss ways to improve playground safety worldwide.   Monty L. Christiansen, associate professor of recreation and parks at Penn State, chaired the 1999 International Conference on Playground Safety. The goals were to identify, integrate and explore potential solutions to issues related to children’s play and playground safety at public playgrounds, at preschool and child care facilities, in commercial enterprises and at other play centers. The conference built on the discussions from the first Playground Safety Conference, held at Penn State in 1995.   Christiansen organized and chaired both conferences. A U.S. Certified Leisure Professional and Certified Playground Safety Inspector, he has focused his research and scholarship on park planning and risk management for playground safety for 25 years. He is a member of several national organizations involved in recreation, parks and playground safety and is an instructor for National Playground Safety Institute certification courses. He also is the U.S. delegate to the United States/Canadian Standards Harmonization Board which is preparing the first North American Playground Safety Standard.   In addition, he is an officer and member of the executive board of the International Playground Association. As a leader of the association, he will travel around the world during the next three years, making presentations on playground safety research in Frankfurt, Germany; Copenhagen, Denmark; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and other countries.   Christiansen has written and edited six books on park planning and playground safety and spoken to numerous national and international groups on park planning, management and playground safety.   During the 1999 Playground Safety Conference, 45 invited speakers from around the world presented their research and scholarship on a wide range of playground safety issues. Presenters also met with conference participants in small-group roundtable discussions. In addition, the conference featured tours of local playgrounds.   Christiansen developed the conference with assistance from Continuing Education’s Conferences and Institutes staff. The conference was held at The Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel. An outreach program of the College of Health and Human Development