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By Cheryl Bac

About this blog: I'm a wife, stay-at-home mom, home cook, marathon runner, and PhD. I recently moved to the Silicon Valley after completing my PhD in Social Psychology and becoming a mother one month apart. Before that, I ran seven marathons incl... (More)

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Magical Bridge Playground

Uploaded: Apr 20, 2015

What better way to start off the week than by checking out a brand new playground. Our son and his friends had a great time exploring the new Magical Bridge Playground this morning.

Although there were many kids running around, the park easily accommodated the crowd. However, I bet I wasn't the only parent wishing I had dressed my son in a brighter color so I could more easily see when he dashed off from one play area to the next. As with any new play space, it will take a little while for me to get used to this park's unique blind spots.

I'm so used to bringing a bag of toys with us to the park. It was a wonderful change of pace to leave our toys at home and instead focus on discovering what this innovative and inclusive park has to offer - especially all of the different equipment for kids to spin, swing, sway and slide. We stayed for about two hours and still didn't play with everything!

The slides were clearly a favorite place for many children. And, although it wasn't packed with kids, I enjoyed the park's unique laser harp. We'll definitely be adding the Magical Bridge Playground into our park rotation.

Did you check out the new Magical Bridge Playground yet? What did you think?

Comments

Posted by Johnny, a resident of Midtown,
on Apr 23, 2015 at 7:57 pm

There used to be a nice, quiet glade at this location and a bench were one could sit and relax.

Let kids climb trees, play with a stick and toss a football. I don't understand the need for some mini amusement park in this location.

I miss the old library too... can't stand the new one.

Just my 2 cents

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Posted by palo alto mom, a resident of Crescent Park,
on Apr 24, 2015 at 9:14 am

@johnny - This Park was designed so kids who can't "climb trees, play with a stick and toss a football" can still have a wonderful, outdoor play experience. It was a labor of love by a Palo Alto mom and her supporters.

Cheryl - thanks for sharing, I'm so glad you and your son enjoyed it!

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Posted by Pine Grove Play Structure, a resident of Midtown,
on Apr 24, 2015 at 9:50 am

I am not a fan. Until last week, lots of kids came and played with me. They turned my wheel, talked into my speakers, climbed my curvy ladder. Now? barely anyone. I hear the kids in the distance, but they seem more interested in a play stage, laser harp and spinning platforms than an old piece of plastic and metal like myself.

Maybe someday they'll get bored and come visit me.

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Posted by Cheryl Bac, a Palo Alto Online blogger,
on Apr 24, 2015 at 3:04 pm
Cheryl Bac is a registered user.

Johnny - Thanks for commenting. We never checked out that section of Mitchell Park before the Magical Bridge Playground was built. The water area, grassy field and toddler playground provided us lots of entertainment.

Magicalbridge.org has a lot of great background information about why this unique, accessible, and inclusive park was built.

palo alto mom - Thanks for commenting! And for explaining why this playground was built. Yes, it was a very fun outing for us.

Pine Grove Play Structure - Thanks for commenting. The Magical Bridge Playground was crowded when we visited. It will be interesting to see if it remains crowded into the summer or if kids will be more drawn to the water play area (if the water is turned on).

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Posted by Anonymous, a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood,
on Apr 25, 2015 at 9:14 am

Nice playground but very few disabled children playing there. So many healthy kids dominated all the structures that disabled children couldn't get a turn.

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Posted by Cheryl Bac, a Palo Alto Online blogger,
on Apr 25, 2015 at 10:18 am
Cheryl Bac is a registered user.

Anonymous - Thanks for commenting. Sorry to hear that. When we went, it felt like most people were very considerate of others.

The park was designed to accommodate a variety of different physical and cognitive abilities (autistic, hearing impaired, etc), so the varying abilities of the kids and adults may not always be obvious.

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Posted by Silvia, a resident of Greenmeadow,
on Apr 27, 2015 at 11:42 am

Anon, My son has a hearing impairment and we specifically went to this playground so he could enjoy some of the tactile equipment. I wish people could understand that not all disabilities are visible and I wish people would be a little slower to pass judgement based on limited evidence like a casual glance around this lovely new playground.

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Posted by Cheryl Bac, a Palo Alto Online blogger,
on Apr 27, 2015 at 3:52 pm
Cheryl Bac is a registered user.

Silvia- Thank you for sharing your thoughts and experiences. I hope you and your son enjoyed the new playground.

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