ROCKHAMPTON ZOO PLAYSPACE

The new Rockhampton Zoo and Botanical Gardens playspace is wowing tourists, locals, and animals alike. Nestled amongst heritage listed trees, the natural colours used in the playspace design pays careful attention not to disrupt the landscape while still enticing all to come and play. With designs and equipment that pay tribute to the zoo’s residents and universal design principles incorporated, the new playground invites children of all ages and abilities to play.

With over 500+ play activities spread out over the thousand-metre square playground, children will be engaged in play for hours with ground level play opportunities such as swings, seesaws, and music panels, to towers that reach high into the air. The play equipment has been customised to the site with zoo residents, including chimpanzees, otters, and koalas visible on the play tower, accessible ramp, and, most notably, the 4-metre-high dingo play sculpture. Modelled after popular zoo resident Ernie, the play sculpture is not only an artistic element but is filled with play value. Keeping watch over the playspace, Ernie also offers slides, ladders, hiding spots, tactile play, and vantage points.

The custom Play Towers stretch across and around the playground with play opportunities available for tiny toddlers through to daring teens. The tower is decorated with animals, eucalyptus leaves and zoo themed elements. There are hours of fun to be had without ever having to touch the ground thanks to play panels, an almost 9-metre-high tower, bridges, Cliff Rider, a track rider, turbo carousels, sensory play panels, swaying pods and more. An inclusive ramp is decorated with animals great and small to encourage visual and imaginative play as children make their way up the ramp, supported by the handrails and wide surface.

A multitude of other entry pathways onto the structure offer graded challenge for children of all ages and keeps them engaged and playing longer. Once it’s time to leave the tower, winding enclosed and open slides, banister bars, a curly climber and ladders offer an exhilarating ride to explore the rest of the playspace.

Rubber softfall connects many of the play elements, including Ernie and the Giants Tower, to ensure wheelchair and mobility aid users can access the majority of the playspace. Custom rubber designs include hopping kangaroos and embedded rock seating areas, hammocks and ground level play activities keep inclusivity and child development at the forefront of the playspace design.

Under cover picnic tables and sandstone seating make this an area where families and friends can come and gather with natural and manufactured shade keeping the area cool.

From design through to construction, rubber, shade and photography and media support, Urban Play collaborated closely with Rockhampton Regional Council to create a space that exceeded expectations. Rockhampton Regional Council has said the playground has been enthusiastically embraced by the whole community and has been a hit since it opened.

Check out more fun-filled playgrounds by Urban Play via the links below.