Monday, March 21, 2011

get your play on: our playground at stadium place

Spring has sprung. That can only mean one thing.

It's time to get your playground on.

Ironically, playground scouting was one of the original impetuses behing (cool) progeny. We were looking for the best ones and couldn't find a resource that gave us the information we we're looking for. So we decided to create one.

Almost 10 months later, we are still on a quest to find the area's best playgrounds. Boy did we stumble across a real winner on Sunday!

Have you heard of Our Playground at Stadium Place? It's operated by the YMCA through a unique partnership with Friends of Our Playground, and can be found on 33rd Street in Waverly. A simply fun-tastic place to play.

Things we love:
  • It's rubber play surface. Note that's it's not rubber mulch, but rather a pliable surface that degrades the sting of face planting -- which toddlers inevitably do as they are learning to run around.
  • The abundance of swings. All shapes, heights and sizes.
  • We were 'charmed' by the city landmarks built into the play space: a puppet theatre affectionately named 'The Hippodrome' and a wooden train engine labeled 'B&O Railroad.'
  • Innovative climbing equipment, tunnels and slides create a myriad of age-appropriate challenges for kids 2 and up.
  • All of the play equipment is constructed out of a trex material, so no splinter threat.
Double-Quadruple-Triple bonus? AMPLE parking in a lot. No need to seek out a spot on the street or -- gasp -- parallel park with an antsy toddler in the backseat.

In the spirit of full disclosure, we were a little taken aback by the sign posted on the gate: No Food. No Drink. No Rats. But, as a mom who has spent many playground hours chasing bees away from those at play, I appreciate the no-food policy. There are picnic areas off of the play space and trash receptacles right as you enter so you can bring along the snacks. Although some debris had drifted over the playground, the YMCA promptly took care of the issue.

We hear that this playground can get pretty crowded during warmer weather and summer vacation, so take advantage of it now while there is still a light nip in the air and the 'big kids' are in school.

Another interesting playground fact? This space was built entirely by the community. After the original playground burned in September 2008. All of the destroyed parts were rebuilt by volunteers on May 5th and 10th, 2009. To find out how you can keep "our" playground beautiful, get in touch with the Friends of Our Playground organization.

Have you been to Our Playground at Stadium Place? We'd love to hear about your experience! Please share by leaving a comment. {{Or let us know about YOUR favorite playground and maybe we'll review that next!}}

(cool) tip: The playground is open 7 days a week until sunset, but doesn't open until 10 AM on Sundays. If it's locked when you get there and it's after the posted opening time, just ask the YMCA for the key.

4 comments:

KLally said...

I've been - we have BaltimoreMommies playdates there (thank, Dianna)!!

I love that it entertains and keeps BOTH my kids moving and active during the whole time. A great way to get a massive nap!

Stephanie said...

This is absolutely our favorite playground. It gets absolutely PACKED after school on a nice day. I finally feel that, at 4, my daughter can finally handle it. We usually go with a mixed age group of friends that look out for each other but I feel like the big kids are mostly respectful of the little ones. They play hide and seek and climb and run and scream. You have to be pretty comfortable with your kid only being in your line of sight only every few minutes during those times.

Heather Weisse Walsh said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
(cool) progeny said...

Great comments ladies! The Bug is still mostly interested in the toddler section -- so it's wonderful to have some feedback about having a 'big kid' on the playground! Any other area playgrounds you love?