SUNNYVALE – For many of the visitors, especially the kids, who stopped by the Magical Bridge Playground on its opening day at Fair Oaks Park this past weekend – it was, indeed, a magical experience.
They got to see first hand innovative and interactive art that aims to break physical and social barriers.
For 11-year-old Victor Serna, it was a potent sensory experience as he laid on his back, firmly gripping the rim of the spinning wheel as it whipped around – an activity that stimulates the vestibular system that helps keep balance, among other benefits.
The playground is only the third of its kind in the Bay Area. Two others opened 2015 at Mitchell Park in Palo Alto and another at Redwood City’s Red Morton Park in 2020.
In all six are planned across the South Bay, with one more expected to open later this year at Community Park in Morgan Hill and two others coming in 2023 to Rengstorff Park in Mountain View and Central Park in Santa Clara.
From two-story playhouses that are completely wheelchair accessible to 24-string harps, these new spaces champion universal design and the creation of public places that are welcoming to all people by meeting the needs of the young or old, the disabled and more.
SUNNYVALE, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 30: Elaine Captain, of Palo Alto, and her daughter Sofie Captain, 4, of Palo Alto, walk to the Magical Bridge Playground at Fair Oaks Park in Sunnyvale, Calif., on Saturday, April 30, 2022. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group) SUNNYVALE, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 30: Marisa Juarez Burdick, of Sunnyvale, waits for her daughter Sof’a Burdick, 3, of Sunnyvale at the bottom of the slide at the Magical Bridge Playground at Fair Oaks Park in Sunnyvale, Calif., on Saturday, April 30, 2022. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group) SUNNYVALE, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 30: Victor Serna, 11, center left, of Sunnyvale, lays on a spinning wheel at the Magical Bridge Playground at Fair Oaks Park in Sunnyvale, Calif., on Saturday, April 30, 2022. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group) SUNNYVALE, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 30: Aaron McCarthy, 2, of Mountain View, plays in water at the Magical Bridge Playground at Fair Oaks Park in Sunnyvale, Calif., on Saturday, April 30, 2022. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group) SUNNYVALE, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 30: Aaron McCarthy, 2, left, of Mountain View, and his brother Isaac McCarthy, 4, of Mountain View, play in water at the Magical Bridge Playground at Fair Oaks Park in Sunnyvale, Calif., on Saturday, April 30, 2022. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group) SUNNYVALE, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 30: Aaron McCarthy, 2, center, of Mountain View, plays in water at the Magical Bridge Playground at Fair Oaks Park in Sunnyvale, Calif., on Saturday, April 30, 2022. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group) SUNNYVALE, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 30: Children and families attend the opening of the Magical Bridge Playground at Fair Oaks Park in Sunnyvale, Calif., on Saturday, April 30, 2022. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group) SUNNYVALE, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 30: Children run across a bridge at the opening of the Magical Bridge Playground at Fair Oaks Park in Sunnyvale, Calif., on Saturday, April 30, 2022. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group) SUNNYVALE, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 30: A child jumps during the opening of the Magical Bridge Playground at Fair Oaks Park in Sunnyvale, Calif., on Saturday, April 30, 2022. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
