makerBoards: DESIGN FOR PLAY

Introducing makerBoards! This winning Newburgh: Design For Play project launched on September 26, 2020 at the Green at Safe Harbors (Liberty Street and Broadway, Newburgh NY). Kids loved it — and adults too. Newburgh City councilmember Anthony Grice wants to see these rolled out across the city so that everyone is able to use them.

makerBoards were designed by downupNY — a group of Vassar College students experimenting with COVID-safe design within the context of their own campus and the broader Hudson Valley.

Click HERE to read the press release from our community partner Greater Newburgh Parks Conservancy.

And stay tuned … a soundBoard and checkBoard are coming to Newburgh later this Fall.

The fabulous makerBoard team @downupNY: Aden Fischer-Brown, Kate Walters, and Nola Mayer

City councilmember Anthony Grice is a fan. He wants to see the boards rolled out to neighborhoods throughout Newburgh.

The makerBoards arrive at the Green at Safe Harbors on the Hudson

A special thanks to our funders Awesome Newburgh, the J.M. Kaplan Fund and the Williams Legacy Foundation for making this possible.

Design Team downupNY: Kate Walters, Nola Kim Mayer and Aden Fischer-Brown; @downupNY

Community Partners
Greater Newburgh Parks Conservancy and Safe Harbors

Project Description MakerBoards are a series of mobile windows that invite kids and families to co-create while mitigating exposure. From dry-erase art creations, to musical compositions, to something as simple as a game of checkers, makerBoards are a return to imaginative and cooperative play for Newburgh residents of all ages. Each window’s rolling frame enables versatility in spatial design as well as easy storage and maintenance.

“I thought this can go in a lot of directions. You can imagine people getting really creative with the form, and coming up with new ideas for different makerboards.” says Jury member Leslie Davol, Cofounder of Street Lab, a New York City-based non-profit that provides play and learn experiences for public spaces in New York City. “It defines space and is interactive just walking up to it.”