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The playground is rimmed on the north side by existing trees that screen the parking lot. A walkway circles within the playground and loops back in several places. The circulation allows for entering and exiting play areas in at least two places. There are no dead-ends.

The entry gateway draws people into the site, while plentiful seating opportunities, an outdoor classroom and a picnic plaza with a shelter provide places for school groups and others to gather.

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Large, colorful metal flowers (Beechwood Metal Works) supplement the real nature in the planting bed. Paperbark maples (and an aspen) are background sentinels.

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Along the perimeter walkway and at the edges of the islands are activity nooks and other elements to explore.

The playground includes features designed for physical development, such as slides, swings, spinners and climbing elements. The bighorn sheep challenge steps offer one traditional set of steps with handrails and several other sets of steps with more challenging heights to help develop balance. The wavy walk circumnavigates the discovery cove with an undulating surface that offers challenge and thrills for toddlers on tricycles and children in wheelchairs.

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When the earthmovers shaped berms for Discovery Playground the on site excavation unearthed hundreds of fieldstones that went to line the dry creek bed. The creek acts as a drainage area beneath the entry gateway bridge and is a buffer between the playground and parking lot.

The Palouse hills invites running up and down and rolling around.

Many elements encourage manipulation, including a large sand play area where people can play in the sand on three levels: at ground level with buried fossils to uncover, at a wheelchair-accessible sand table and in a raised bed, which allows parents and guardians to sit beside young children who are playing in the sand without becoming covered in sand themselves.

A water play area features an interactive splash pad with pop-up jets and columns with bubblers that spray water at unexpected intervals. The splash pad has fanciful colored concrete integrated into the design.

The playground also features activities designed for sensory development. Herb gardens filled with rosemary, thyme and mint invite visitors to touch and smell the plants.

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The splash pad water spray features (Water Odyssey) incorporates three basalt columns sourced locally, colored concrete and water activator buttons. The musical chimes in the background are one the tree musical elements. You can also see 1 of 3 musical elements in the background.

Areas throughout the playground are covered in brightly colored rubberized surfaces to stimulate the sense of sight and, of course, to prevent injuries from falls.

Oversized wind chimes, spherical chimes and drums allow all age groups to explore sound and play together.

Discovery Playground has a few pieces of traditional play equipment, but many of the elements were custom designed and manufactured, giving it a distinctive, creative look. The design team worked with craftspeople to come up with atypical or unique features. Near the entry gateway is a two-foot high, five-foot long jumping trout in shiny blue, red, purple and gold colors that attracts young climbers.

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Looking down from the climbing wall, you see the jumping mat, the popular Supernova (the ring that spins from Kompan), the eagle flying from its nest and the glacier rock slide.

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Site Challenges
The playground site in Mirabeau Point Park was flat, uninteresting, surrounded by roads and located at the end of a parking lot. To achieve a more defined, contoured and engaging landscape the plan called for a perimeter berm for a sense of enclosure and screening from the roads. Earthmovers shaped the berms from the soil excavated on site. The excavation turned up hundreds of fieldstones, which went to line the dry creek bed, which acts as a drainage area beneath the entry gateway bridge and is a buffer from the parking lot.

Plantings were added throughout the site for added shade and a feeling of enclosure. The resulting design completes the entry to the park and enlivens the once underused south end of the site.

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Opening Day
City officials hoped Discovery Playground would become a regional draw, and they weren?EUR??,,????'?????<

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The oversize objects in the secret garden recall Alice in Wonderland: the giant pumpkin, chair and frog on a lily pad. The arched entrance height is just right for children, but taller folks have to duck down. The rounded leaves of the Swedish columnar aspens flutter at the least whisper of wind. Snowcap dwarf Shasta daisy, red-leaf borage and dwarf Japanese spreading yew border the area.

About the Author and Design Concepts
Carol Henry, RLA, ASLA, president of Design Concepts www.dcla.net, was the lead principal for Discovery Playground. She joined the firm in 1989, was appointed principal in 1998 and became managing partner in 2006. She focuses on parks and recreation planning, design for cities and towns, and planning and design for K-12 and college campuses. Design Concepts is a landscape architecture firm of 17 professionals in Lafayette, Colo. The firm?EUR??,,????'?????<

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Discovery Playground, Spokane Valley, Wash.

Owner: Michael Stone, CPRP
Director of Spokane Valley, Wash. Parks and Recreation

Design Team
Landscape Architects
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Engineering
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General Contractor
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Paver Contractors
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Splash Pad
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Granite pavers are set in sod (fescue) for jumping and running. This area is also a great spot to have a picnic.

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Vendors
Benches, trash receptacles
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Bear Cave & Custom Steelhead Trout
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Colored Concrete
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Fencing
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Gateway, Custom
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Lighting
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Metal Art
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Play Elements
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Secret Garden Large Elements
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Shade Structure
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SKATESTOPPERS (on boulders)

Water Play
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