Ed Thompson Inclusive Park

Pearland, TX USA

TX - Ed Thompson Inclusive Park

Video features a Landscape Structures partnered inclusive playground with Inclusion Matters at Ed Thompson Inclusive Park in Pearland Texas.

[video: scene fades into an elevated view of a inclusive play area next to a large building and inclusive baseball field. Scene switches to a woman as she speaks about the playground. White text appears on the screen reading “Kelly Moody, Special Events and Development Manager, Peraland Parks and Recreation, Pearland, TX”.]

Kelly: Pearland takes pride in being a diverse community and an inclusive community.

Kelly voiceover: What this playground means to the people that we’ve talk to it’s a place for everybody to play. It’s a place that there’s nothing else like it nearby. And so now we have it here in our city.

[video: a large arch sign created to look like two pear trees connected by leaves reads “Ed Thompson Inclusive Park”. The camera focuses in on the text on the sign and the different designed pears images on the trees. Two women sit on a see saw while one of the women holds her son on her lap. A girl kneeling on a wobble pod wiggles back and forth. A second girl walks up to sit on the pod as it continues to wiggle. Camera focuses on the girl’s feet as they stand on the wobble pod and giggler. Camera focuses on the girl’s faces as they look down at their feet. Camera switches back to Kelly as she continues to speak.]

Kelly: Why we chose to partner with Inclusion Matters was because it’s not just about a playground and playground equipment.

Kelly voiceover: It’s about providing the programming and the opportunity to foster inclusive play that this playground will bring.

[video: bird’s eye view panning over the entire play area as children play on the different activities. A boy wearing a helmet and a bib rides down a slide. A girl sits on a bench of a playground carousel with her friend seating in his wheelchair while a parent gently spins them. Scene switches to a parent talking about the playground. White text on the screen reads “Wendy Lentino, T21 Families Support Organization, Pearland, TX”.]

Wendy: I’m a parent of a little girl that’s 5 years old with Down Syndrome.

Kelly voiceover: I run a local nonprofit called T21 Family Outreach, it started originally as a group for only families with a child with Down Syndrome. And now we started with four families four years ago, we have about 130 families now. So, and we just in November branched off and made it our own nonprofit.

Kelly: So, it’s like, victory [smiles, raise fists in a cheering gesture.]

[video: camera slowly pans around the play area as children play at the many inclusive play activities. Pear accents and designs appear amongst the activity’s safety surfacing and more. Children look through window cut outs in the shapes of different sized pears of a sensory tunnel. Children look around the tunnel and play with the movable marbles strung alongside the window cut outs. A girl hangs from handholds off the playground. A boy uses mallets to play an outdoor xylophone. A mother sits with her son on her lap while a young girl sits next to her on a militiaperson see saw. Camera focuses on the young girl wearing purple glasses and a red headband to help hold her cochlear implant hearing aid.]

Kelly voiceover: We have members of our group that live all around here. They’re able to do things at this playground like they’re climbing on the bars by themselves without us lifting them. The fact that there mixing with just typical children today is huge.

[video: Women and their children ride together on a four-person seesaw. A young girl stands at the top of a ladder holding onto movable hand holds on parallel bars. She lets her feet fall away from the top ladder rung to then slide the hand holds down the bars to the other side. Two girls take turns climbing up a loop ladder climber. A boy wheels himself onto a wheelchair accessible swing while his friend waits across from him on the other side of the swing. Camera focuses on the boys wheelchair wheels as he backs up into the designated wheelchair location on the swing. The boy lowers his hand holds as his friend sits across from him on the swing. The camera pulls back as the boy and girl push their hand holds to move the swing. A mother and son push from the outside of the swing to help get it moving. Scene switches to woman wearing scrubs as she speaks about the playground. White text on the screen reads “Tiffany Martinez, Pearland Resident”.

Tiffany: The little things is what matter, being able to take her wheelchair on the playground for her to interact.

Tiffany voiceover: My favorite par is being able to walk her up to the playground in her wheelchair without having to carry her.

[video: girl seating in her wheelchair spins a stand-up spinner with one of her hands. Scene switches to Tiffany and the young girl.]

Tiffany: What did you think of the playground?

Girl: Huh?

Tiffany: What did you think of the playground?

Girl: I like it!

[video: scene fades out and back into a girl as she spins on a lime green stand-up spinner. The camera follows along side a boy as he rides down a roller slide. A dad and mother kneel on either side of a store front panel while their daughter drinks from a water bottle. A boy wearing a helmet and bib sits on the beach of the inclusive wheelchair accessible swing. He pushes the hand holds to move the swing. Scene fades out and back into a woman as she helps push a girl on the swing. Another girl swings nearby. Scene fades out and back into a girl as she drops her feet from the playground decking and holds onto the sliding hand holds of the horizontal parallel bars. She swings her body and slides the hand holds to move across the bars. Screen jumps to white. The Lone Star Recreation logo appears in the center of the screen. The logo is quickly replaced by gray text reading “with”. A black vertical line appears in the center of the screen. The Inclusion Matters by Shane’s Inspiration logo slides out to the right of the line. Then the Landscape Structures logo slides out to the left of the line. Text fades in below both logos reading: For a better tomorrow we play today. Screen fades to black and video ends.]

Playground Details

Age Ranges

  • 5 to 12 years

Play Styles

Min Area Required

  • 67' x 55' (20,42 m x 16,76 m)

Max Fall Height

  • 96" (2,44 m)

Design/CAD Files for this Playground

Design files are not available for this custom design. Contact your local playground consultant for additional details.

Design Standards

astm
Contact your consultant to verify that this playground design meets current design standard requirements or to modify for other design standards.

Price Range (USD)
$200K-$500K+

Pricing for custom playground equipment varies. For international and exact pricing, please contact your local playground consultant.

Contact Your Consultant

A pear-tree archway and bright yellow path welcome visitors to the Ed Thompson Inclusive Park. From that first encounter, it's clear they're entering a unique, magical space filled with playful, accessible features built to inspire children of all abilities. The pear theme nods to the roots of hometown, Pearland, Texas, and is emphasized with a fun “seek-and-find” element. Multiple accessible play components like the We-Go-Round®, We-Go-Swing®, and We-Saw™ greet children of all abilities and encourage them to experience the exhilarating fun of motion play. PlayBooster® mainstructures are connected by accessible ramps and an additional-bay swing set provides comfortable bucket seats for kids with limited upper-body strength. Numerous sensory panels are found throughout the park to encourage imagination and learning through visual, auditory, and tactile experiences.

Inclusive pear-themed playground is the first of its kind in texas county

Pearland, TX Mayor Kevin Cole’s nephew wanted a playground that he and his friends could use together. Cole’s nephew, born with spina bifida, found that using a wheelchair prevented him from playing at any of the local playgrounds, whether it was the wood chip surfacing, the lack of ramps, or the features like swings or merry-go-rounds that weren’t made for kids like him.  When Cole was asked why Pearland didn’t have a playground his nephew could use, Cole decided to put a plan into action.

First of its kind

What resulted was Brazoria County’s first inclusive playground, a universally designed, sensory-rich environment that allows children of all abilities to play and socialize. The playground is named for Ed Thompson, the District Representative for Pearland, who was instrumental in advocating for the project.

A playground for kids and caregivers alike

Over the course of 7 years, the City of Pearland worked with the Forever Parks Foundation and Inclusion Matters® by Shane’s Inspiration to plan a playground that would be accessible to everyone. They wanted a place where not only children of all abilities could play, but where their caregivers could engage in the fun right with them. The playground was to be part of a new sports complex that housed a Miracle Field – a synthetic turf baseball diamond designed specifically for individuals with disabilities.

Playstructures designed for inclusion

The 9,200 square foot playground is designed to captivate both visually and sensorially. PlayBooster® mainstructures connected by accessible ramps give kids access to multiple sensory panels and encourage a ride down the Rollerslide, while inclusive freestanding structures like the We-Go-Round®, We-Go-Swing® and We-Saw™ offer children in wheelchairs the ability to enjoy the exhilarating sensations of playground features that are made accessible to them.

Musical features like the Xylofun Panel® and Rhapsody® Chimes encourage play with sound, while a custom bird-themed sensory hut offers tactile and sensory interest. Balance and coordination can be challenged with the pod steppers and balance beam that connect the mainstructures, and accessible rotomolded swing seats allow for a comfortable ride on the swing set.

Topping off the environment are SkyWays® shade structures built to keep the playground and its visitors cool under the hot Texas sun.

Installed: March 2023

Our color palettes offer a range of options to customize your projects

Colors

Our state of the art materials make our playgrounds stand out.

Colors

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.

Playground consultant for this project

Lone Star Recreation of Texas
10701 Corporate Dr Ste 390
Stafford, TX 77477
Phone 281-970-9010
Toll Free 800-867-2070
info@lonestarrecreation.com
www.lonestarrecreation.com

Find a Playground Consultant Near You

Contact Your Consultant

More Playgrounds & Designs

Four children play on a Hippo that sprays water. One of them who is in a wheelchair laughs as the Hippo.
Age Ranges:
2 to 5 years, 5 to 12 years
Price Range (USD):
$200K-$500K+
Parent pushes their child on swing in sprawling Jonathan's Dream Reimagined park. Surrounded by forest, the park offers something for every child of all ages and abilities.
Age Ranges:
5 to 12 years
Price Range (USD):
$200K-$500K+
small kids run and play around a teal and orange ramped playground with surfacing. Swings and a building are in the background of a warm blue sky.
Age Ranges:
5 to 12 years
Price Range (USD):
$200K-$500K+
Custom Fire-breathing Dragon themed play structure with climbable scales.
Age Ranges:
5 to 12 years
Price Range (USD):
$80K-$100K
Custom train station sits in the middle of the Bronx. Ramps and overhead events connect the train to the rest of the structure.
Age Ranges:
5 to 12 years
Price Range (USD):
$200K-$500K+
Age Ranges:
2 to 5 years, 5 to 12 years
Price Range (USD):
$60K-$80K
Custom playground at Depot Park in Gainesville, Fla
Age Ranges:
2 to 5 years, 5 to 12 years
Price Range (USD):
$200K-$500K+
Custom playground themed like a jet with a look out tower located near a lake.
Age Ranges:
2 to 5 years, 5 to 12 years
Price Range (USD):
$80K-$100K
Choo choo train-themed play structures with sit snug in this quant neighborhood playground. Children can climb this train with  overpass or "go into town" to the market to "trade goods" in the enclosures or ride the slide.
Age Ranges:
2 to 5 years, 5 to 12 years
Price Range (USD):
$200K-$500K+
Inspired by Chumash Indian village pre European colonization. For kids 5-12, this play space reflects the natural landscape.
Age Ranges:
5 to 12 years
Price Range (USD):
$120K-$140K
Woman watches boys climbing on play structure.
Age Ranges:
5 to 12 years
Price Range (USD):
$140K-$160K
Where mathematics, art and architecture, science and nature, and play all come together. This Evos and Weevos playground on the D.C. waterfront is inspired by the Fibonacci sequence.
Age Ranges:
2 to 5 years, 5 to 12 years
Price Range (USD):
$200K-$500K+
A castle-themed play structure  in a custom fantasy-themed playground, kids are riding slides, and can access ramps, making it accessible for children of all abilities.
Age Ranges:
2 to 5 years, 5 to 12 years
Price Range (USD):
$200K-$500K+
Legacy Commons, Rapid City, SD features an Evos® play system including a Sensory Play Center®, Sway Fun® Glider and accessible sensory garden. A mix of nature-inspired components, including custom rock outcrops typical of those found in the Black Hills. Finally, the Pulse™ Tennis and Pulse™ Table Tennis.
Age Ranges:
2 to 5 years, 5 to 12 years
Price Range (USD):
$200K-$500K+
Fort Rotary Jonesboro, AR
Age Ranges:
5 to 12 years
Price Range (USD):
$200K-$500K+