February 2015 - Parks & Recreation - 19

parks, the rock river, gecko sandbox,
rock mountain, giant flower bed and
more. Amenities were clustered in two
areas: a large, centrally located destination play area and a smaller community play area located near one of the
park's two entrances. Both spaces were
designed to accommodate children of
all abilities up to and including age 12.
Purposeful Play
Not only do the imaginative play areas
of Craig Ranch Regional Park provide a
magical place for children to laugh, run
and pretend, they're also designed to be
great educational tools. Nature play elements including a stream and discovery
area along the edge of one of the park's
ponds provides learning and interpretive
opportunities. The interactive - and
enormous - rattlesnake slide includes

speakers that emit snake sounds as children pick their way through the reptile's
frame. Similarly, the treehouse features
speakers playing fun forest sounds, as
well as natural elements like hollow logs
that can be explored.
Teamwork and healthy physical
development are also encouraged at
Craig Ranch Regional Park's playgrounds. The hillside play space features an interactive game where one
child must use a crank-and-pulley system to move a platform of her friends
from one landing to another as they
cross a river of sand. At the hexagonal spacenets and swaying bridges,
children must come up with creative
strategies to negotiate complex rope
structures and webs, helping to develop strong bones and muscles. This
area also includes a large fiberglass

spider, which could be imagined as
the architect of the surrounding nets.
Speaking of imagination, Craig
Ranch Regional Park also features
the peaceful and striking giant flower
bed, where huge red, orange and yellow flowers stretch high into the sky.
In the dappled shade provided by these
gargantuan plants, children will find
friendly little bug toys and mini spicas,
which rotate as they're climbed upon.
It's not surprising that Craig Ranch
Regional Park has been a major hit
with area residents, especially young
ones. " It's great, " Miller says. " Lots
of folks are using the park now, enjoying the playgrounds and all the open
spaces. " 
Samantha Bartram is the Associate Editor
of Parks & Recreation magazine (sbartram@
nrpa.org).

1.800.851.4746 | www.playguardsurfacing.com
PlayGuard features a 15 year
warranty for thousands of days of play!
	

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Parks & Recreation

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February 2015 - Parks & Recreation

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of February 2015 - Parks & Recreation

February 2015 - Parks & Recreation - 1
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