The new Normal Park Museum Magnet School playground was unveiled on Saturday.
Many excited faces at the new playground
Kids explore the Spanish Galleon wood structure
Will, 6, takes a look around.
Savannah, 4, said she likes the playground steps the best.
Normal Park First Grader Drew said the tire swing is her favorite part of the playground.
Many children took part in the ribbon cutting.
Normal Park Museum Magnet teachers and parents came together with public officials and community leaders on Saturday afternoon to unveil a fully accessible community playground.
Discovery Playground at Normal Park Museum Magnet is the result of four years of effort and came to fruition through combined public and private sector contributions and the work of over 350 volunteers who devoted more than 5,000 hours to the project.
According to Jill Levine, principal of Normal Park Museum Magnet, the idea for Discovery Playground arose from the dual needs of making the school’s play area safe while creating an integrated learning environment.
“Before this project, students could only access the playground by using a steep and unsafe set of stairs imbedded in a high retaining wall that was in danger of collapsing,” Ms. Levine said. “We wanted to address that issue while recasting our play area to enhance Normal Park Museum Magnet’s integrated approach to learning.”
The result is a learning wonderland with a Spanish Galleon wooden play structure, a community walking path, all new play equipment, school yard gardens, and public art. Where a decrepit retaining wall once loomed over the playground, there is now a completely refurbished wall complete with safe stairs that meet modern building codes and a ramp to make the area fully accessible.
Over 100 businesses, individuals and public funding sources came together on the project with lead investments by Chattem, the city of Chattanooga, the Community Foundation, Hamilton County, and UnumProvident. Funding for the combined project included $204,000 to renovate the retaining wall and $80,000 for the construction of the playground and community park.
The playground was built entirely by Normal Park Museum Magnet parents, teachers, and community volunteers under the supervision of Learning Structures, a company that designs and oversees community-built playgrounds. In March 2007, Learning Structures will oversee the construction of a playground in the St. Elmo community.
According to Ms. Levine, the process of creating Discovery Playground started with brainstorming sessions during which students were asked to envision their ideal play area. Parents and teachers worked with Learning Structures to create a playground design that captured the spirit of the students’ vision while creating a fun learning environment.
Both the public and private sectors were engaged to fund and provide in-kind support for the design and over 350 volunteers worked to actualize the plan.
President of the Normal Park PTA Debra Price said the project could not have been accomplished without the “amazing parents that have kids at the school. It really is a community, not just a school.”
“Discovery Playground was built by the community and for the community,” Ms. Levine said. “We have made all aspects of the play area fully accessible and created a walking path because we want our school to be a resource for the community not only by educating the next generation of minds but by creating a space where everyone can enjoy our school.”
At the unveiling of the playground, Mayor Ron Littlefield said the playground is “imaginative and could only be thought up by children.” Mayor Littlefield said he hopes Normal Park will serve as an example to other schools in their effort to serve the community.
Named the number one elementary magnet school in the United States last year, Normal Park Museum Magnet has implemented an innovative curriculum by partnering with seven museums to provide students with hands-on learning through frequent learning expeditions.
Students benefit from an integrated approach to learning in which reading, arts instruction, science lab, Spanish classes, music, and physical education curriculums are organized to reinforce each other. Students apply what they learn through these disciplines by creating museum exhibits that parents come to see on exhibit nights held throughout the school year.