Let Kids Play is a consulting firm that works with manufacturers, communities, non-profits, landscape architects, park and recreation departments, and parents on projects and strategies that
ensure that all children have the best play opportunities possible.
Mara Kaplan is the driving force behind Let Kids Play and an expert in play spaces and toys for children with and without disabilities.
Mara Kaplan is a nationally recognized expert in play and playspaces. She is a seasoned advocate for inclusive play, an educator, and a parent of a child with a disability. She has 25 years experience designing, building, and managing both indoor and outdoor play environments for children with and without disabilities.
In 1995 she and five other parents, who are raising children with disabilities, recognized the importance of play as a learning experience for their children. Determined to create a place where children of all abilities were welcome to play together they established the Center for Creative Play. Mara was the Executive Director for seven years until she left to start Let Kids Play.
Mara has an elementary education degree and a minor in gifted education from Indiana University in Bloomington, IN. She received her MBA, with a concentration in nonprofit management, from Boston University.
Mara won the Shore-Whitehill Award for Contributions to improve in the lives of persons with special needs. Her work has been highlighted in the First30days.com, the Wall Street Journal, Be the Change, and Social Enterprise Reporter.