This isn’t the playground I grew up with, but it is it’s successor. The Hillcrest Elementary playground in Bloomington was rebuilt probably more than a decade ago, so I don’t have first hand experience as a kid playing on it, but I do go back to visit it a couple times a year. It’s a large school playground, made by GameTime, and it’s very well suited for that K-5 age group (playground groups 2-5 and 5-12 year olds).
The largest portion consists of what I consider two composite structures joined by a fairly difficult bridge to cross. The bridge is a plastic rock “ridge” that requires climbing over or carefully skirting the edge, and so I think with that level of skill required it feels like two pieces. The combined structure is heavy on climbers and light on slides, with all of the slides concentrated at one end in a group of three. I do think that the other half of the structure could use a slide in support of my “a slide and climber for every structure” theorem.
The smaller equipment for younger ages is a good standalone unit, with the usual steps, ladders, wobbly bridge, panels but comes up short again with only a single slide. Strangely, this is the only place in the play area that has rubber surfacing (a rubber mat), which approximately reaches the steps but not the bottom of the slide. I’m not an expert, but I would think that if you use the rubber strip to get to the stairs, you might use it after taking the slide down as well? I’m open to hearing that I’m wrong about that.
The playground also has scattered freestanding equpiment including spinners and rockers, and a multi-panel snaking bouldering wall, which I suspect could really benefit from having its routes mixed up occasionally. Obviously that’s never going to happen, but it would be neat.
Maybe the best piece of design of the Hillcrest playground is this 4 bay swing set. I am making an assumption that school playgrounds are more likely to have lots of swings, pretty much because it would make so much sense. Swings are great, everyone knows it, and it only gets better if you have friends to swing with and school recess provides that. The school didn’t muck about adding a huge variety of swings, instead mostly sticking to the classic strap seats. Rubber mats prevent woodchips from getting displaced and increasing the seat height. The swings are not embedded in the play area, but neither are they separate from the action; the swings run alongside the blacktop and can be used facing games of four square, basketball or gaga ball, or turned towards the gentle slop down to the tree line and street beyond.
For as sensible the swing set is, it is even more disappointing to see this sad design of the zip rail. The dual rail is about 7 feet above the ground. I wonder how many elementary age students are feeling the rush of sliding across the rail on any given day, and how many times the teachers are being asked to give a boost. Just like with monkey bars, these zip rails need platforms at either end for stepping off and landing on.
Another big miss is the complete lack of shade at Hillcrest. If my guess that this playground is at least a decade old is true, it’s regrettable that adult trees could be shading at least portions of this play area by now. Maybe there is something to be said for skipping the work of planting trees if you know your “target audience is theoretically only “open times” are technically only 9 months out of the year, no summer. Some shade can be found against the walls of the school, where there are some benches mounted, but overall I would avoid this playground on any average summer day. Without factoring in shade, this is a good park to stop by, particularly that younger elementary age.
Stop at the bathroom before you come, though, otherwise you’ll be doing a bush-wee or trekking to the far far other side of the athletic field to a port-a-potty that may or may not be locked.