An interdisciplinary group of researchers at the MIT Media Laboratory proposes to envision and conceive playground activities for the 21st century. The playground fulfills a central role in children's lives because it represents an island of freedom within their everyday experience. In these special places, children of different ages play, interact, challenge themselves, and progress at their own pace. Given the importance of playgrounds in the past, what will be their role in the future? In recent decades, technology has entered almost every field of our lives and our children's lives. Can technology enhance children's play experiences in the playground, or should playgrounds stay technology-free?