At Burke, outdoor spaces are designed around what people will actually do once they are in them: where a group gathers, how long they stay and what the layout invites them to do next. Those considerations matter as much for a lesson as they do for recess, and the answers tend to point in the same direction.
That is what makes a space flexible. Thoughtful design accounts for the overlap between what a lesson needs and what play needs, then builds for both. Learning does not have to stop the moment a class steps outside.
Outdoor classrooms have become a fixture at schools, early childhood centers and community spaces. Teachers are running reading circles under shade structures, chalking math lessons on the blacktop and holding club meetings at picnic tables. What varies is how much design went into the space. Some are planned into a site from the beginning. Others are assembled out of what was already there, a few benches pulled into a circle at the edge of the blacktop. Both approaches work, and a space built for recess can be adapted for instruction at any time. The question is what the space is being asked to do and whether it was equipped for the job.
Seating, shade, firm pathways and a place to set materials down are what an outdoor lesson needs, and they are already on the list for a playspace. Recreation and education draw on the same design decisions, which means a school can gain a second teaching setting without building a second space.
Why Outdoor Learning Is More Than a Special Event
Held once in a while, outdoor learning is a special event, and the promise of an afternoon outside motivates a class all on its own. Held regularly, it starts turning up in the results. A 2025 review published in Education Sciences examined 41 studies covering more than 10,000 students from preschool through college. It found evidence that outdoor teaching supports learning across sciences, reading, writing, social studies and mathematics, as well as motivation and school climate.
The finding tracks with something more ordinary. Some material is better taught where the material is. A lesson on the root systems of local trees takes a different form when the class is standing next to a tree. In the same way, measuring the perimeter of a structure that a student can walk around gives that number somewhere to live. A change of setting gives a familiar lesson a second chance to be absorbed and reinforced.
Design is where that becomes usable, because a good portion of the teaching can happen through the equipment itself, as a swing is a pendulum and a slide is an inclined plane. A play structure holds still for a drawing unit, with angles, shadow and negative space already built in. StemPlay® panels take it further by building math and science content directly into the structure.
Movement and exploration carry the lesson in these settings, which is the same principle behind Play That Moves You®. The decisions that get bodies moving are the decisions that make the experience stick.
Physical education figured this out long before anyone called it an outdoor classroom. The ELEVATE® Fitness Course brings that thinking to the same footprint, with obstacles offering three challenge levels for ages 5-12 and 13+, so a physical education period and a science lesson can share a site.
What Does an Outdoor Classroom Need?
To support that kind of movement, an outdoor classroom needs a reliable basecamp. Rather than viewing seating as a place to stay stationary, it becomes the launchpad where a teacher gives instructions or a club sets up their materials before empowering users to get up, move and explore the surrounding space.
- Capacity: A standard bench seats three. A class of 25 needs a seating plan rather than a gesture toward one. Novo® Playful Furniture was designed with this use in mind, with tables that seat up to nine and benches that add play features to the same footprint. The STEM Playful Bench and Games Playful Bench keep the seating in use between lessons.
- Comfort: This also decides whether a space gets used twice. Staying put outdoors asks something different of a group than moving around does. Thirty minutes of direct sun turns attention into endurance, and a shaded work area holds a group far longer than an exposed one. ShadePlay® Max canopies reduce surface temperatures and block UV rays across a range of sizes and mounting styles.
- Planned Access: Firm, stable routes to and from the area let a class arrive together. Seating at varied heights and tables with accessible clearances let them stay together. The Eko® Inclusive Table builds wheelchair clearance into the table itself, so seating works without rearranging.
- Proximity: A teacher working inside a 45-minute period needs a space they can reach quickly. Proximity also makes a space usable on short notice, which matters especially in a traditional school setting. Outdoor lessons are often a same-day decision, and a space more than a few minutes away makes it hard to keep the lesson on track.
What Else Can an Outdoor Classroom Be Used For?
Beyond the lesson plans benefiting from a change of scenery or becoming more immersive, an outdoor classroom can also be used for most of what a group does together. The same amenities that hold a science lesson at 10 a.m. hold a chess club at 4 p.m. and a community watercolor class on the weekend. That range is what moves an outdoor classroom from a line item to an asset, and it can be a difference maker when it comes to the playspace proposal.
Community centers, senior living communities and nature centers share the same vision. A 2025 review in Age and Ageing looked at 84 studies of adults 65 and older and found that adding a therapeutic garden at one dementia care community brought 22% more visitors, with family members reporting they enjoyed their visits more. Comfortable outdoor seating gives people a reason to come and a reason to stay, and that finding holds across a wider range of ages than it might first appear.
Where a learning area sits alongside a playspace, the two hold each other up. Nucleus Evolution® play structures bring climbing, spinning and gathering into the same area, allowing a group to move between focused work and open play without leaving the space.
Designing for Both
Planning for a classroom-like element in your playspace design does not mean a school has to choose between recreation and instruction. It means having the flexibility within the space and making the most of it each day. A place to sit that holds a group, shade that lasts a full period, routes that everyone can travel and a location a teacher can actually reach are what add that value. Those are the same decisions that make a playspace work on a weekend afternoon, which is why the two fit on one footprint.
The result is an additional resource that can weave learning and play together, giving a school more than just a destination for recess.
Browse the outdoor classroom gallery to see how some of these pieces can come together, or connect with your local Burke representative to talk through what an outdoor learning space could look like in your community.