New Hippo Play Features for Guildford Spectrum
Hippo have transformed the toddler and childrens pool atGuildford Spectrum Leisure Centre into a bright and colourful, highlyinteractive play area. A range of playfeatures were chosen basedon Hippo’s research about customer needs and what children like to play with,therefore aiming to increase visitor numbers and revenue at the centre. The play features provide excitement for allages and abilities, from the under ones through to teenagers, and promotelearning and water confidence through play.
A fun water factory has been created from two Masts and aWaterball, which join together by two interactive arches. Both incorporate a variety of surprise andanticipatory fun. Waterwheels, tipping buckets and shark showers are popularwith older children, whilst toddlers benefit from the low level play providedby the waterball.
A mini splash pad including 3 in-ground water jets, aninteractive snake around the edge of the pad and mirrored portholes fixed tothe inner wall, offer tactile play and visual stimuli.
Bright and vibrant fish water squirts create fun by gentlysquirting water into children in the pool.Shark squirts which fill a tipping channel and multiple cascading channelsare popular with toddlers who can enjoy manipulating the water flow withinteractive paddles.
Additional mirrored portholes have been installed in theplunge pool, and a variety of interactive play panels featuring mirrors andbubbles add to the play experience through tactile, visual and auditory visualstimulation. The panels also create abarrier between the plunge pool and poolside.Further panels have been used to prevent children climbing over theinteractive channels and behind the mini flume.The open tube mini flume is 12m long and provides a quick thrill seekingride for older children.
A focal centre piece of the new play development is a uniquestripy lighthouse, complete with a flashing beacon which will light up when thewave machine turns on. A toddler slidesnakes through themed rocks around the around the lighthouse ending in the pool.
Hippo installed handrails around the spa pools and at theback of the splash pad for enhanced safety.Non-slip wet pour safety surface was applied to the splash pad, thepoolside, the flume walkway and also provides a safe landing pad for thetoddler slide aound the lighthouse.
Hippo made effective use of existing water supplies andworked as efficiently as possible to minimise the time that the pool was closedto the public. The installation wascompleted in time for the Christmas holidays.Hippo have also allowed for further expansion to the play features in thefuture.
