When the Obama Presidential Center opened its doors earlier this summer, truthful galore things caught my eye.
The 19.3-acre field wrong Chicago's Jackson Park is location to beautiful autochthonal gardens, modern art, and humanities artifacts. Truly, each things I want to experience. But arsenic a mom pinch 2 kids who usually person immoderate superior power to burn, I was besides rather thrilled to spot really extended the playground is.
It's 1 of the largest outdoor playgrounds my children, 6 and 9, person had the chance to explore. It's divided betwixt 2 levels and offers a multitude of activities for kids of different ages and abilities.
Here's what my family of 4 knowledgeable during our sojourn connected a cloudy summertime evening.
The field was well-marked and easy to navigate.
Located wrong Jackson Park connected Chicago's South Side. The playground sits conscionable northbound of the entranceway closest to the Home Court facility, a 60,000-square-foot diversion and arena space.
The campus has tons of maps and directional signs throughout, making it easy to make your measurement around.
The fenced-in playground abstraction felt secure.
The playground had 2 entrances, some of which were staffed by third-party information guards erstwhile we visited astir 5 p.m. connected a weekday.
My kids are aged capable to cognize that if we sojourn a playspace, they request to enactment wrong its walls aliases gates until I opportunity otherwise, but knowing location is an further group of eyes (and legs) to watch the littler children adjacent these entree points surely offers immoderate other bid of mind.
There were aggregate play spaces that catered to different ages.
Signs connected show fto visitors cognize that the play abstraction called The Duck was designed for kids ages 2 to 5. The remaining spaces were designated for those ages 5 to 12. Though the 2 nest swings astatine the northernmost area were designated for "children of each ages."
The play structures had a batch of whimsy.
The playground was filled pinch imaginative shapes and designs that offered plentifulness of inspiration. This area pinch a elephantine frog and a lily pad was portion of The Duck space, which was geared to kids 3 to 5, but my 9-year-old girl ran consecutive for it. I fto her person immoderate nosy since location were nary younger kids astir astatine the time.
The area for younger kids had a sandbox.
The Duck play area besides had a ample sandbox. I appreciated this addition, arsenic galore of the parks adjacent wherever I unrecorded successful Westchester, NY, person been eliminating this classical constituent from their modern playground renovations.
There was besides a fountain for water play disconnected to 1 broadside of the soil area, but I asked my kids to effort to enactment cleanable connected this peculiar visit.
There were aggregate hydration stations successful and astir the playground.
Access to ice-cold h2o is a must, particularly connected a basking day. I appreciated that the playground had aggregate hydration stations successful and astir it to refill h2o bottles aliases fto my kids return a agelong sip from a fountain.
An added bonus: the fountains had awesome h2o pressure, truthful my kids didn't request to get their mouths anyplace adjacent the spout to get a drink.
Natural elements were mixed into the modern playspace.
There were aggregate ways for children to get to and from the Climbing Forest area of the playground, including soft ramps, a climbing action (of course), and a way that resembles a nature trail — the preferred way for my kids.
Slides link the 2 levels of playspaces.
Two agelong slides, accessible by ft aliases wheel, link the precocious tree-themed play structures to the little lagoon-themed play areas.
The slides are shaded by a canopy, which is bully since they are metallic and would astir apt get reasonably basking erstwhile the sun is out.
While we were visiting, an attendant was monitoring descent usage, but didn't look to beryllium guiding the children aliases different visitors successful immoderate way.
Warning: these slides are fast. My boy sewage disconnected and said, "That was fast. Too fast." But past he went down them 3 much times. My husband, who besides took a turn, almost went complete the broadside of 1 of them and surely pulled something.
There's much than meets the eye.
At first glance, this dragonfly-shaped climbing building seemed for illustration it mightiness not connection overmuch for my kids. The person we got, the much we noticed that location was plentifulness to do in, on, and astir it.
Strategically placed handgrips encouraged kids to climb connected top, while suspended nets allowed them to remainder wrong the insect's body. It besides housed a fewer awesome hide-and-seek spots.
Kids who emotion to climb and bent person aggregate options.
Every clip you turned a area astatine this park, location was thing caller — and usually astonishing — to play on. The structures seemed to cater to a wide scope of ages, abilities, heights, and assurance levels.
Shade is difficult to travel by — for now.
Like the remainder of the campus, the abstraction is beautifully landscaped. There are pollinator-friendly plants everyplace you look and many, galore trees that will connection shadiness — one day.
For now, astir of the plantings are reasonably young, truthful the playground is very exposed. Families visiting during highest sun hours should scheme to person sunscreen and hats connected hand.
A nationalist restroom was adjacent to the playground.
A clean, easy accessible restroom is simply a must-have for a primo playground. While not straight connected to the activity area, this beautiful chromatic action was conscionable a fewer minutes' locomotion from the southbound entranceway to the playground.
Those pushing strollers could debar the stairs by stepping a small further to get astir them.
I was besides told by a chap genitor that location are restrooms successful the Home Court building, truthful those whitethorn beryllium worthy checking retired if the building is open.
It tin beryllium tricky to support an oculus connected your kids.
While I loved that the playground had aggregate spaces, levels, and activities, these qualities could besides beryllium seen arsenic a downside.
The bi-level creation made it difficult to support an oculus connected aggregate kids who wanted to research different areas. If my kids were younger aliases the abstraction was much crowded, I would decidedly person been moving astir a batch more, trying to make judge they were staying safe and happy.
Caregivers looking aft young kids will apt want to instrumentality to 1 designated area astatine a clip during the visit.
The area has a batch of seating.
Each play area was lined pinch benches and different seating options truthful that parents and caregivers could relax while the kids ran around.
There is besides a smaller area pinch a fewer picnic tables for those looking to bask a repast aliases snack clip while astatine the playground.
Nearby, prepared families tin usage the grills.
Adjacent to the playground, and conscionable extracurricular the Home Court hoops pavilion, are galore much picnic tables on pinch a fewer communal grills.
No 1 was enjoying this abstraction while we were there, but I tin ideate it would beryllium a beautiful spot to meet up pinch immoderate friends.
The abstraction is inclusive.
With the objection of the sandbox, the play spaces were suspended complete either wood chips aliases rubber surfaces, which are celebrated successful astir modern parks. Though you whitethorn request to locomotion astir to get wherever you are going, strollers, scooters, aliases wheelchairs could easy entree some levels of the playground and its various structures.
There were only a fistful of swings astatine the park, 2 of which could accommodate riders who require ADA-compliant equipment.
There are different notable places to sojourn wrong Jackson Park.
We ended up astatine the playground aft a agelong time of exploring astatine the adjacent Griffin Museum of Science and Industry, wherever my kids had a blast. The statesmanlike halfway is conscionable a speedy (or longer, depending connected your limb length) walk, astir 10 minutes for us, south.
Wooded Island, besides located wrong Jackson Park, is accessible by 2 pedestrian bridges and is worthy a speedy visit. If you participate connected the northbound end, you'll quickly beryllium greeted by the entranceway to the Garden of the Phoenix. My kids had a awesome clip wandering on the one-way way successful the Osaka garden, spotting immoderate cool h2o birds and admiring the koi fish. We besides saw not one, but 2 engagements return spot successful the picturesque spot successful the short clip that we were there.
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