Spartanburg County

Art PARk IN THE

ART COMES TO LIFE IN SOUTH CAROLINA AGENCIES

BORN TO LEARN,

ONE SIDEWALK ART PROJECT AT A TIME

Kristen Guilfoos, Marketing Manager, Spartanburg County

Half art installation. Half educational tool. A whole lot of fun. The Born Learning Trails in four Spartanburg County parks draw families from all across the Upstate. Each trail features ten different activity stations, complete with bright colors and bold designs, specifically painted to both entertain and educate children 5 and under. The trails are in the parks through a partnership with United Way of the Piedmont, the Spartanburg County Foundation and the Spartanburg County Parks Department. “Each one is designed to be engaging. So instead of just reading a sign in a park, the children can practice counting, sing their ABCs, learn their letters and work on their hand-eye coordination while playing Hopscotch,” says Alex Moore with United Way of the Piedmont. All of the Born Learning Trails are painted by local volunteer groups, something Moore says instills a sense of pride in their community. “It really gives people a sense of belonging, knowing they were involved in something that beautifies their local parks and benefits their fellow Spartanburg County residents in multiple ways.” One of the stops along the trail encourages children to look at their surroundings and talk about what they see. Another asks them to identify colors on the sidewalk and name things that are also those same colors. Moore adds, “This is a great example of the community coming together to help brighten public spaces and help educate the next generation at the same time.”