Mark Twain Park

In cooperation with Community Consolidated School District 21, the Park District was presented with the opportunity to provide a neighborhood park to an underserved area and upgrade an aging playground. As a result, the park not only enhances the Dunhurst neighborhood but, during school hours, serves as an extension of the learning environment promoting fitness, creative play and social skills like cooperation and sharing.

To establish the general design for the playground equipment as well as the planned programming initiative for both the school and the Park District, two Listening Sessions were held in November 2016. A Design Workshop was conducted with student representatives in January 2017. The playground was completed in July of 2017. As might be expected in a playground designed by teachers and students, the activities highlight a wide level of skills and abilities. The vibrant colors of the play equipment and safety surfacing represent the school colors.

A portion of the financing for the project came from a $75,000 matching grant awarded by the Illinois Parks and Recreation Association,  GameTime , and  PlayCore . As a provision of the grant, the park serves as a National Demonstration Site in which data is collected to provide quantifiable evidence on the value of inclusive play.