Gallery: What Playgrounds Look Like Around the World
James Mollison0107-Mollison-PLAYGROUND-042-JAPAN-Shohei
*Shohei Elementary School, Tokyo.* Due to the scarcity and high cost of land in Tokyo, the schools’ playground was constructed on the roof, above the sixth-floor classrooms. There is a retractable roof that plays music when it closes. There is also a gym, swimming pool, and library. The school cost seven billion yen, or U.S. $60 million, to build.
James Mollison0203-Mollison-PLAYGROUND-026-WEST-BANK-Aida-Boys
*Aida Boys School, Bethlehem, West Bank.* The Aida Refugee camp was set up in 1950 by the United Nations Relief Agency for Palestinians displaced from villages within Israel, and the school was built shortly afterward. The front line between Israelis and Palestinians during the First Intifada (1987–91) fell close to the school, and its walls were thickened to protect its students against bullets. Whenever hostilities flare up with the Israelis, the air fills with tear gas and the headmaster sends everyone home.
James Mollison0302-Mollison-PLAYGROUND-012-KENYA-Valleyview
*Valley View School, Mathare, Nairobi, Kenya.* Valley View primarily serves the population of the Mathare slum. This encampment of three square miles is home to 600,000 people. Attendance has greatly improved since the World Food Programme started providing meals for students in 2005. Children are allowed to carry food home to share with their parents.
James Mollison0401-Mollison-PLAYGROUND-005-UK-Hull-Trinity
*Hull Trinity House School, Hull, UK.* This school was founded in 1787 to educate boys for seafaring careers. Before sending its pupils out into the world, the brethren of Hull Trinity House would provide them with a special dinner as well as two oranges, to help protect against scurvy. Today, students no longer go from school to sea, but the Dinner Day tradition survives.
James Mollison0505-Mollison-PLAYGROUND-031-BHUTAN-Dechen-Phodrang
*Dechen Phodrang, Thimphu, Bhutan.* Living conditions at the monastery are rudimentary; the children sleep on mats on the floors of the drafty study rooms. Respiratory infections, lice, and scabies are common, and the monastery struggles to provide basic sanitation facilities and adequate food for the boys.
James Mollison0604-Mollison-PLAYGROUND-027-ISRAEL-Holtz-High
*Holtz High School, Tel Aviv, Israel.* This high school is also a technical college and is affiliated with the Israeli air force. Nearly all of the pupils will be drafted into the air force as computer engineers, electronics specialists, and mechanics.
James Mollison0708-Mollison-PLAYGROUND-049-USA-Inglewood
*Inglewood High School, Inglewood, California.* The cheerleaders, in green, are on their way to the sports field, followed by the school band. Many of the school’s recent notable alumni are professional athletes. In the US, often more tax dollars are spent on high school athletes than on high school math students.
James Mollison0806-Mollison-PLAYGROUND-034-NORWAY-Utheim
*Utheim Skole, Kårvåg, Averøy, Norway.* This small island school serves a community of 500 and caters to children aged five through thirteen. The nearest secondary school is fifteen kilometers away. Three years ago a tunnel was built connecting the island to the mainland and since then more people have moved to Kårvåg.
