Crescent Creek Park
Gig Harbor, WA USA
Playground Overview
We teamed up with Shane’s Inspiration to create this inclusive, maritime-themed playground in Gig Harbor, Washington. A custom PlayBooster® playstructure has been made into a playful fishing vessel that matches the real ones in the harbor. A mix of sea-worthy play events greets kids ages 5 to 12 who are typically-abled and disabled, including tactile barnacles at wheelchair height, an accessible wheelhouse with a realistic ship’s wheel and a sea creature-encrusted rock buried in the sandbox. Kids can tackle the climbing net that looks like a fishing net and take a twirl on the spinner that looks like a giant buoy. This amazing playspace is ideal for imaginative kids of all abilities.
Playground Details
Age Ranges
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- 2 to 5 Years
- 5 to 12 years
Design Standards
- ASTM
Installed
- June 2014
Design/CAD Files
- Project Price Range
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Pricing for custom playground equipment varies. For international and exact pricing, please contact your local playground consultant.
- Contact Your Consultant
- About Color
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Color is an important decision, and our playgrounds are available in many color options. Use our carefully curated palettes or work with our design team to create your own color combination. Contact your local playground consultant to learn more.
Featured Products
We offer the widest range of park and playground equipment to promote healthy lifestyles, encourage skill-building and create unique outdoor experiences. From our playsystems and freestanding playground components to themed designs, site furnishings and more, we’ll help you create a recreation space that welcomes your whole community.
Play Systems featured in this Playground
PlayBooster®
Ages 5 to 12 Years
The PlayBooster® playground structure, the original post-and-clamp system, combines exciting ground-level components with climbing events and overhead activities for kids ages 5 to 12. The PlayBooster family includes the interconnected cables of Netplex®, the contemporary Vibe®, the nature-inspired Tree House and the double-decker PlayOdyssey® Tower.
Resources
Product Categories featured in this Playground
Freestanding Play
Ages 2 to 12
Freestanding Play events add fun and excitement to new and existing playgrounds! Revitalize your current playground or create a playground design that’s completely unique using Freestanding Play components for kids ages 2 to 5 and 5 to 12.
Resources
Site Furnishings
All of our various furnishings including shade products, picnic tables, benches, trash receptacles and more are designed to coordinate with your playground and surrounding environment. The right pieces will create a clean, safe and welcoming spot for the whole community.
Play Styles featured in this Playground
Custom/Themed
We can help you create playground designs unique to your community! Everything in our custom design process is driven by your goals and ideas. Together, we’ll create a destination playground that’s as individual as your imagination!
Inclusive Play
We believe all kids are created equal. That’s why we create play environments using inclusive playground equipment that welcome kids and families of all abilities to learn, play and grow together. Our playgrounds feature activities that are age and developmentally appropriate, sensory stimulating and universally designed.
Resources
Playground consultant for this project
We’ve created a global network of local playground experts to be at your side, every step of the way. With an average of 20 years of experience, our playground consultants are knowledgeable and personable. They will guide you through product pricing and specifications, customization, financing options, community builds, on-time deliveries, maintenance, finding replacement parts, and service questions.
PlayCreation, Inc.
2104 SW 152nd St Ste 1
Burien, WA 98166
USA
Phone 206-932-6366
hq@playcreation.com
www.playcreation.com
Find a Playground Consultant Near You
Maritime Adventures
Setting Sail for the Friendly Seas
When it was no longer possible to find replacement parts to make this park’s aging playground accessible for all abilities, it was time for the community to start planning for a truly inclusive play space. Winning the Together We Play™ contest was a great start, resulting in an award of inclusive playground equipment from Landscape Structures and Shane’s Inspiration project development, design services and comprehensive educational programming.
Both Landscape Structures and Shane’s Inspiration enjoy working with communities to explore the realm of possibility. “There can be obstacles, yes. But shoot for the stars and land on the moon,” encourages Brad Thornton of Shane’s Inspiration. “We’ll give them the tools, including fundraising tools, to get them off and running.” "Shoot for the stars and land on the moon."International Director of Project Development, Shane’s Inspiration
One thing the community wanted to retain was a maritime theme, according to Stephanie Payne of the Gig Harbor Maritime PlayZone, the committee that spearheaded this project. Consulting photos provided by local fishermen, Shane’s Inspiration and Landscape Structures created a playful fishing vessel that looks just like the real ones in the city’s harbor.
All-Aboard, Everyone!
John Larson, a Landscape Structures playground consultant with PlayCreation, helped guide the mix of imaginative play events that greets children of all abilities. “Along the outside of the vessel are different barnacles and sea creatures that provide a sensory experience, all at wheelchair height,” describes Stephanie. There is an ADA-accessible wheelhouse featuring moving parts, a climbing net spread out like a fishing net and a spinner that looks like a giant buoy.
One boy boarded the vessel with the aid of his walker, then completely abandoned it to climb on the nets. “It’s hard for kids with disabilities to get on a real boat, but now they can get on this one,” says Stephanie.
Magical Inspiration
“The exercise that Shane’s had us do at the very beginning was critical in getting our community involved right away,” touts Stephanie. First they met with a group of 40 adults, then they held a crayon session with the kids. “Adults haven’t been on the playground for awhile,” Brad explains. “So when the kids come in, it’s just magical. One girl had taken recycled items from her home and built a display of what she wanted to see on the playground.”
A boy’s drawing of a lighthouse sprouting octopus tentacles was given to Shane’s Inspiration and Landscape Structures for inspiration. In response, a custom rock covered in a variety of indigenous sea creatures was created. Kids have to dig through the sand to find them all.
Play Away the Differences
A playground like the one at Crescent Creek Park can make a huge impact. The implementation of educational inclusive programming and guidance provided by Shane’s Inspiration—in which typically-abled kids are regularly paired with kids with disabilities for play and socialization—keeps this project going well beyond opening day.
"It’s different than anything out there. It has a sense of place and a sense of community as well as a sense of play."Gig Harbor Maritime PlayZone “It’s a legacy project,” states Brad. “We believe the playground is the way this generation can move from bias to acceptance.”
