Zoo Debuts New Playground

City playgrounds, as a general rule, don’t have black bears foraging a few feet away. If they do, it’s probably a good idea to avoid that jungle gym and alert Animal Control. At the zoo’s new play space for kids, however, bears are welcome neighbors.

Wild Sapling Play Forest, completed this spring, is tucked away in a secluded, woodsy corner of Pritzker Family Children’s Zoo next to the black bear exhibit. Unlike traditional playgrounds, it doesn’t feature a swing set, slides, or monkey bars. Its unique design is more organic and variable, informed by nature play, a surging movement in early-childhood education that helps kids connect with the outdoors through self-directed exploration.

“We wanted to emphasize rugged, natural elements,” says Early Childhood and Family Programs Coordinator Emily Van Laan, a member of the zoo’s Child and Family Learning team that led the project. “Clark Street is a block away, but kids feel like they’re playing in a forest.”

Top and above: Lincoln Park Zoo members Katie Mott and her daughters, Parker and Maddie, explore the log tower and tunnel at Wild Sapling Play Forest.

There are fixed and movable features. Kids can climb a log tower, burrow through an  above-ground tunnel of sculpted metal vines, and help each other navigate a zigzagging balance beam interspersed with tree-stump platforms. A large dig pit is filled not with sand but finely grained dirt, as befits a forested hideaway. Kids can make mud pies or, during faciliated play sessions, grab buckets and other objects from one of the wooden bins on the pit’s periphery to wield as tools. Even loose sticks and exposed tree roots were considered as part of the design.

“That’s part of nature play,” says Child and Family Learning Manager Becky Lyons. “It’s a safe space for kids and caregivers but intentionally imperfect. Kids can trip on a tree root or stumble on uneven ground. But it’s important for them to learn their boundaries and know they can take risks while trying new things out.”

Organic panels on sensory walls, inspired by the nearby black bear habitat, provide tactile experiences for all.

Enabling exploratory impulses is all-inclusive. So while there’s a narrow “rock walk” that may hinder a visually impaired child or wheelchair user, the fencing next to it has sensory panels on both sides that provide that experience to all. The organic, map-like panels were inspired by the topography of the black bear exhibit, a thickly wooded habitat with a small stream. The zoo’s creatively inclined Facilities Department fashioned them from tree branches, pebbles, sand, pinecones, shells, and leafy sprigs.

“Facilities made them way more beautiful than we could have imagined,” says Lyons. The Facilities and Horticulture departments and accessibility-inclusion team worked closely together to bring the Learning Department’s design sketches to life.

Bins next to the dig pit provide versatile containers for facilitated nature-play sessions.

Wild Sapling Play Forest’s roots lie in LEAP, a paid, nature-play program for early learners that takes place during nine-week sessions in spring and fall. An acronym for Learn, Explore And Play, it’s held in cordoned-off spaces at Pritzker Family Children’s Zoo and Regenstein Small Mammal-Reptile House, facilitating connections to nature through self-guided building, painting, sorting, and music-making activities.

“The growth of LEAP over the past five years is amazing and has taught us so much about early-childhood learning. It’s our flagship program,” says Lyons. “This is an extension of that, because LEAP inherently limits participation to a smaller group, and cost and convenience may also be factors for some people. So we’re so excited this is free and accessible for everybody all year long.”

A rugged balance beam with tree-stump junctures is ample enough for kids to navigate with each other.

Lincoln Park Zoo members Katie Mott and her daughters, Parker, 2, and Maddie, 4, have participated in LEAP. On a recent, sunny summer morning, the three explored Wild Sapling Play Forest for the first time. While Parker and Maddie clambered atop the log tower, their mom shared her observations of the zoo’s sharpened focus on early education and learning opportunities for children as they grow up.

“LEAP is my favorite program in the city, and I’ve done a lot,” says Mott. “I used to be a teacher too, and it’s clear the zoo has kids’ attention spans in mind. We’re not doing the same thing for more than five minutes before moving on to the next. The kids are always engaged, and they’re only 2 and 4. This new space, which will also be used for LEAP, keeps them connected to wildlife and the environment. It’s so different and more exciting than other playgrounds.”

Lyons and Van Laan are quick to give traditional playgrounds their due.

“Those are great for developing gross motor skills—very important for kids’ growing bodies,” says Lyons. “But this space, with its loose parts and infinite possibilities, fine-tunes their fine motor skills, social cooperation, and imagination.”

Craig Keller