FANS of Play owner/operator Dennis Smiddle is a retired Pennsylvania Child Care Health & Safety Inspector of 20 years. He also spent 6 years as a Certified Playground Safety Inspector, 6 years as a Pennsylvania Keystone Stars Playground Safety Trainer and 15 years as a PA Recreation Therapist.

FANS of Play advocates for more Fitness, Arts, Nature, and Science in outdoor and indoor play environments. These play opportunities are necessary in today’s world and more beneficial towards building healthier lifestyles. They can provide more physical, emotional, social, and cognitive benefits to better deal with current issues such as the disconnect with nature, responsible environmental stewardship, obesity, bullying, and STEM learning.

FANS of Play recognizes the need for play opportunities to be Fun, Accessible, Nurturing, and Safe. These play opportunities can be created with easy-to-install playground borders, swing mats, protective surfacing, age-appropriate playground equipment, recommended lay-out, and efficient, cost-effective use of resources. You can do-it-yourself while FANS of Play guides you through the process.  Dennis Smiddle has designed comprehensive playground safety training entitled, GRASP for Playground Safety.  This training is a compilation of Guidelines, Regulations, Accreditations, Standards and Practices (Best) for play and playgrounds.  Dennis Smiddle has inspected around 2,000 play spaces.

FANS of Play supports Fundraising, Advertising, Networking and Social Media Sharing. There is a great deal of important work being done in the field of ‘play’ and this work relies on strong fundraising, advertising, networking, and social media sharing to advance those important goals.