March 8, 2020
Space may be the final frontier, but our children won’t need to venture that far to explore “The Cosmos,” the main playground piece in Live Oak Park within the Bonham neighborhood.
Every park in Parkland Village has its own theme, and the design inspiration for Live Oak Park stemmed from this main structure. A large globe made of arched stainless tubes surrounds a web of climbing ropes with a central nucleus made of flubber panels. They’ll give climbers stepping-stones, of a sort, to make their way to the other side of the cosmos. The piece is, essentially, a unique, round rope climbing structure.
But why is it named Live Oak Park, you ask? Central to this playground galaxy stands a very large live oak tree. Since the layout of this park is meant to mimic a solar system, all components in the park will “revolve” around this tree. Acting as the playground’s centerpiece, the tall oak will add shade to the park as it matures.
Your child’s imagination will soar to the edge of the stratosphere on the swings whose frame resembles a rocket ship. Other structures orbiting the live oak tree are two porch swings that hang from awnings resembling panels from the space station. They are positioned adjacent to a gravel rock bed containing boulders, emulating the asteroid belt.
Let the countdown begin, because the park will be open by summer’s end. Live Oak Park is just a short walk, from neighboring Kickapoo Cavern, Lake Arrowhead and Palo Duro Canyon. If you’re a little farther away, you can ride bikes over to the park and set them in the rack that drew inspiration from Saturn’s rings. Be sure to explore Live Oak Park, where kids can let their imaginations take them beyond the edge of space.
