Just Opened: A Natural Playground in Prospect Park

By Julie Seguss October 14, 2013

Prospect Park’s newest playground doesn’t have swings, slides or a jungle gym, but your kids won’t miss the traditional equipiment. Instead, this playground offers plenty of good ol’ fashioned play-in-the-woods kind of fun. The just opened, Donald and Barbara Zucker Natural Exploration Area is a unique park play space filled with recycled logs to climb, paths to explore, sand to sift and even a water feature. Click through the following slideshow to see highlights of the innovative Prospect Park Natural Playground.

Learning About the Environment

As your kids run free through the Zucker Natural Exploration Area, they can also learn about the Park and the environment. As we mentioned, recycled trees and materials from the Park make up this playground. The way they're used tells a story. Some parts of the playground are even labeled with notes explaining why particular downed trees or logs are there. For example, one seemingly knocked over tree and its stump has a note explaining that the center was rotted out so it had to be cut down. Another note challenges kids to count the rings to determine the tree's age.

— Julie Seguss

All photos by Julie Seguss