Discovery Frontier playground, Grove Park Ohio, MSI Design

"Discovery Frontier is not just a visually appealing place for children to play; it is a place for them to learn about the solar system and the city they call home. Each section of the park features a different planet and a different play experience. Walkways following imaginary orbit paths connect the planets. Plaque markers with information about the planets dot the 230-foot radius of the playground. There are spaces for classes to take part in group lessons focused on orbit and motion. Walls representing sunbeams have imbedded marbles, minerals and fossils in exposed veins. A 634-foot timeline (1,251 linear feet) weaves through the playground along the ground. Twenty-seven engravings along the timeline notes significant dates in the history of discovery and what was going on in Grove City at that time. The concrete walkway is stamped with two different textures and five different color mixtures. Native leaf and animal prints surround the Grove City historical dates and black marbles surround the dates in discovery. "




"The central feature of the playground is a 50-foot diameter resin and powder-coated sun sculpture. Tork Inc., an Ohio-based art design company specializing in sculpture and metal work, provided five, 14-foot tall sun structures made from steel, aluminum and resin to provide shelter and relief from the heat of the real sun. "

"The Venus Music Garden is made up of large, brightly colored bells, chimes and drums for children to play. The instruments were created by a group of designers from Colorado called Free Notes, which custom designs and builds indoor and outdoor instruments. "


"A custom designed climbing wall made of red concrete and stones makes up the planet Mars. The 4-foot tall wall grows to 7 feet tall at the highest point and wraps around an interior route, allowing every child access to the top. The accessible walkway circling the inside of the wall is elevated 3 feet and has viewing holes or “craters” for children to peer out of."




"The Earth’s moon is a 36 foot diameter rubberized dome, with crater tunnels giving children access to an under cover room that is 11 feet in diameter and 4 feet high (the tunnels slope downward so that the room is the same height as the total structure). An alien space ship handrail made of steel was fabricated by a local company, Pinnacle Metal Products, and sits atop the moon along with two ADA accessible viewing telescopes attached to the moon inside of the railing, providing children and parents views of the rolling green hills surrounding the park. "

"A favorite feature among the children who come to play at the park is the Mercury sand. Instead of the standard white sand commonly found in parks and playgrounds, Kissling decided at the last minute (the day before the opening of the playground on July 14, 2005.) to use vibrant, purple sand he had spotted at a local stone company. Parents were reassured at the opening of the playground that their children would not be permanently stained purple. The color is baked into the sand and although the sand may stick to the skin in humid weather, the color will not run or stain. "
MSI principals did research to "observe the physical therapy equipment used in treating autistic children. MSI collaborated with Architectural Concrete Systems, Inc. to design and fabricate custom play pieces that mimic the activities used by therapists...The designers wanted to create a place where children of varying abilities could play together. They used a lot of color to appeal to the deaf; a music garden and plaques written in brail with raised molds of the planets indicating their size in relation to one another for the blind; rocking equipment, angled banks to lay on, as well as small, private spaces for autistic children.
Rather than placing traditional park benches through the playground, designers incorporated seating into the landscape by using seating walls, which were painted to look like the surface of planets and the Saturn seawall, which is painted with a multicolored swirl finish.
...designers have plans to construct a Jupiter splash pad featuring water rings which will create a tunnel of water (large enough for a wheelchair to go under), ground geysers, and spray jets. A Pluto space shelter overhead will be constructed for picnics and parties as well as a healing garden and shelter.
Cost: an only-with-tax-dollars 1.1 million.
[All text from an article at LandscapeOnline.]
[website for MSI Design]