Award-Winning! Smart Work 2026: Borrowable Photo-Orienteering Cards for Local Playgrounds
The Smart Work page presents everyday innovations and success stories developed by the employees of the City of Hämeenlinna.
We regularly go on excursions to nearby playgrounds, just like other groups at our daycare centre. On one of these trips, we came up with an idea to enrich our time at the playground in a fun, educational, and physically active way: photo-orienteering.
We took a series of photos of details in the playground—such as the colourful knob of the climbing frame, the chain of a swing, a painted stone, the corner of a sandbox, a part of the slide, and many other things. We photographed both easily spotted spots and more challenging ones to identify. A bundle of printed photo cards was laminated to withstand the weather.
The next time, the children eagerly ran off to find the match for the photo card they were given. Once they found it, they could come and exchange it for a new photo to search for. It was great fun, and the joy of discovery rewarded even the search for the trickiest targets.
Building on this success, we developed the idea further. We created similar sets of photos—both easier and more challenging—for all the playgrounds we visit. Now, our excursion backpack always includes the photo-orienteering cards as a “snack-time game.”
Since we put a lot of effort into this, we thought we could continue by promoting the fun photo-orienteering activity to other groups in our building, using card bundles that can be borrowed from us. Let the photos circulate and get children moving in a fun way.
Developers
Ojoinen Daycare Centre’s Virvatulet, integrated special needs group:
Marja Ohvo, early childhood education assistant
Kristiina Lokonen, early childhood education assistant
Eija Lehtola, early childhood education child carer
Anu Kovalainen, acting early childhood special education teacher
Minna Turunen, early childhood education teacher