PIT Evolves Kids Play Area To Meet the Needs of Children and Caregivers

Katelyn Petty watched as her son raced around the new Kids Play Area near the Core of the airside terminal at Pittsburgh International Airport. What at first glance appeared chaotic was, in fact, a deliberate effort to support passengers traveling with children.

The previous play area, known as Kidsport, was one of the first airport spaces designed for children when it opened in 1983. The decision to move it closer to the center of the terminal and expand its footprint by about 30 percent provided PIT’s Experience and Design team the opportunity to reshape the space with a focus on universal access, creating environments that are comfortable, convenient and welcoming to all. It was constructed by members of PIT’s Field and Facilities Maintenance teams.

“We wanted to not just move the physical space but actually think about what is the service we are providing to passengers traveling with children. What are their needs? What is our opportunity to serve them?” said Siri Betts-Sonstegard, senior vice president of Experience and Design.

Petty, like many parents, arrived hours before her flight to avoid unnecessary stress. The mom from Robinson – about nine miles from the airport – said the process was uneventful, from parking in the Shuttle Lot to navigating to the airside terminal. But with time on her hands and an energetic kid, she needed to find a way to burn off some of his energy. That’s when she discovered the Kids Play Area.

“Seems like it’s going to keep him busy until our flight,” she said.

Betts-Sonstegard explained that the airport conducted extensive research to understand the needs of families traveling with children and used that research to thoughtfully design the Kids Play Area to meet those needs and reduce barriers for travelers. PIT has the distinction of being the first airport or transportation center to receive the innovative solutions for Universal Design certification (isUD) from the University at Buffalo’s Center for Inclusive Design and Environmental Access (IDEA Center).

READ MORE: PIT First Airport To Be Awarded Universal Design Certificate From IDEA Center

“It’s not really just a physical space, so let’s really think about how we best serve passengers traveling with children, specifically at the moment when they’re waiting for their flight,” she said. “We’re trying to help somebody get ‘the wiggles’ out for their child because we understood that there is a need for that.”

The Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh collaborated on the new space, just as it did with previous versions of the play area – then called Kidsport.

“It was a wonderful opportunity to create a resource space for families,” said Anne Fullenkamp, senior director of Creative Experiences at the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh. “What I love is that you have a play space plus a place for families and what they need when they are traveling.”

The space offers plenty of opportunities for play, including the SPUN Chair, which allows kids (and adventurous parents) to twirl around, to the WillyGoat Climbing Mound. There is even a custom “runway” rug that encourages kids to take off and burn off energy. Children’s Museum exhibit designers Nick McClintock and Toby Fraley helped develop two custom pieces for the Kids Play Area: scenic wallpaper with aviation themes and an interactive art installation with the moon and stars.

While the Kids Play Area caters to children ages 6 to 10, it is also, in many ways, about caregivers.

“Part of universal access is about how you take care of caregivers and make sure that they get what they need; that’s so difficult for parents traveling with kids,” Betts-Sonstegard said.

That’s why the Kids Play Area also has a nursing lounge, a restroom, picnic tables and plenty of places where adults can charge devices while keeping an eye on their kids.

“Parents need a place to unpack and repack bags and charge their devices. So, the room is divided. One part has spaces for active motor skill play and the other has a lounge area for the parents with a picnic table so people can eat and chill or work on their laptops. You used to see a lot of parents camped out on the floor by their gates,” said Bryanna Ellis, a project manager with the Experience and Design team who worked on the Kids Play Area.

The Kids Play Area is part of the overall goal of the Experience and Design Team to make travel easier, calmer and more enjoyable for everyone.

“Not a lot of people know this, but Presley’s Place was designed for children with sensory issues, but also for any child who is having a meltdown. It is a place to take them to chill out and calm down. So now we have these two spaces that serve different needs: Kids Play Area to get ‘the wiggles’ out and the sensory room with reduced stressors and stimuli to chill and calm down,” Betts-Sonstegard said.

“People are going to go where they can get all their needs met. So as much as possible, we tried to accommodate that in this space.”