The city of Grand Island, Nebraska, has an exciting new playground at its 45.4-acre Ryder Park. The 27,000-square-foot, $2.8 million Pirnie Inclusive Playground officially opened in spring 2024; Creative Sites, the Burke exclusive representative partner in Nebraska and western Iowa, handled the project.

This fully accessible playspace incorporates a wide variety of equipment intended to appeal to children of all ages and abilities. These include the Inclusive Orbit’s social spinning space, the supportive ZipVenture^® Freedom paired with the dynamic ZipVenture Duo and much more. 

The project began with the occupational therapy assistant program at Central Community College in Grand Island. Callie Watson, program director, leads a community class that takes on different types of community projects; in 2020, they were looking for a new idea.

“We really wanted to have a community project that could make a bigger impact,” she explains. “One of the things I started thinking about was an inclusive playground.”

Watson says she wanted multiple generations of families to be able to gather at the park to play together. One of her students, Bryan Klinginsmith, remembers he was immediately drawn to the project.

“I’ve had young kids, so I was all excited about it,” he says. “I wanted to be a part of it.” 

Katie Soto is the co-chair of the Pirnie Inclusive Playground Committee. As the parent of a child with special needs, she stresses the importance of having truly inclusive spaces that foster a sense of belonging, acceptance and unity — and that offer a sense of welcome and relief for their families.

“It’s almost surreal… it’s hard to put it into words… just the amount of joy you feel in your heart (to see) all of the kids enjoy one place, once space, together,” Soto says.

In addition to its innovative, inclusive equipment, the new playspace is further enhanced with thoughtful touches such as Sensory Rails and PlayEnsemble^® musical components. There is, quite literally, something for everyone.

As a result, the inclusive playground is creating an even larger ripple effect, according to Todd McCoy, parks and recreation director for the City of Grand Island. It is transforming the park into a major family destination.

“This playground has made it that,” he says. “It’s definitely been a great addition to the park.”

Soto observes that Pirnie Inclusive Playground is the first public playspace of its kind in Grand Island, which means the world to families like hers. As she notes, you just don’t realize the obstacles you can face with inaccessible spaces until your family needs something that is accessible.

“It’s just a breath of fresh air to be able to come and not have to worry about access,” she says. “Just to be able to come play without any worries.”