San Mateo's CuriOdyssey opens new playground

CuriOdyssey, a nonprofit science museum with a zoo in Coyote Point Park in San Mateo, built the playground with help from partners Sares Regis Group of Northern California, Whiting-Turner, the Magical Bridge Foundation and San Mateo County Parks. CuriOdyssey wanted to make a playground intentionally and designed to meet the needs of everyone. Magical Bridge Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded in 2016 to create inclusive playgrounds for all children, designed the structure and estimates 25% of the population lives with visible or invisible disabilities. CuriOdyssey picked Magical Bridge Foundation’s playground design because it exceeds industry standards and removes the physical and social barriers seen in most playgrounds to create welcoming spaces for all ages and abilities. Magical Bridge Foundation has also built a similar playground in Palo Alto.

The playground is 4,000 square feet and was constructed near CuriOdyssey’s zoo. It includes a tot lot and spin, swing and slide areas set in a grove of trees. The ground surface is a spongy but solid material so kids who fall won’t be hurt and wheelchairs can roll on it. It has sourced materials from around the globe and was integrated with safety zones around the campus. The play site is near the animal habitats. The vision for the playground started three years ago, followed by two years of construction at the cost of $3 million. About $1 million in pro bono services was donated to complete the playground.

“It is, by all means, a playground that can be enjoyed by every child,” CuriOdyssey Director of Development Maureen Garrett. “It’s always full of happy children and their parents playing on the equipment. In addition to wandering through the zoo and our phenomenal exhibits, it’s a fabulous destination to encourage a love of science.

Burlingham said CuriOdyssey wants the playground to inspire other cities and municipalities to change playground design standards to ensure everyone has improved access.

“We see this as an exemplar and hope that it will pave the way for others to follow,” Burlingham said.

The playground is part of a large-scale project to expand the CuriOdyssey campus with eight buildings to address needs, like exhibit gallery space and classrooms for workshops. The first part of phase one focused on the playground, with the second section of phase one focused on a gallery and labs near the Bay side of the campus. Construction for the second section will start in March. Future plans also include an otter exhibit and wildlife area improvements. The two main themes for the campus expansion are wildlife improvements and education exhibits.

“We have phenomenal support from the county, and they love the fact we are moving forward with this campus project. They are all on board in terms of investment and commitment,” Garrett said.

“We are tremendously excited about where we are going. The campus design for CuriOdyssey is really setting us up as a leader in early science learning for San Mateo County, Burlingham said, noting digital learning delivery will also play a role in the future.

The original plan in 2011 initially called for a refurbishment of the CuriOdyssey building. In 2019, CuriOdyssey realized it was not optimal as it required closing the site for a couple of years. The pandemic also closed the site for a time and a push toward online learning. The organization decided to follow a campus model with eight buildings to raise money for each building in a staged manner to remain open.

“The campus model is very much, raise funds needed to build something. Build it, and then raise funds for the next,” Garrett said.

curtis@smdailyjournal.com

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