POSTPONED DUE TO WEATHER: New date Wednesday, November 15 at 4:30 p.m.
Humble ISD invites families to a Playground Dedication and Open House from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m., Monday, November 13, at Oaks Elementary School, 5858 Upper Lake Drive.
Oaks Elementary will celebrate its new National Parks-themed playground. The public is invited to a brief dedication ceremony at 4:30 p.m. on November 13. The fourth and fifth grade choir will perform a song, a few students will speak and comments will be made by Principal Kerri Smith. An ice cream truck is slated to be on-site for the event as well.
Oaks Elementary is the first Humble ISD campus to debut an updated playground in the 2023-2024 school year. It is the fifth new playground in the district since the revitalization of the campus playgrounds began. Last year, River Pines (rainforest-themed); Elm Grove (treehouse-themed); Park Lakes (safari-themed) and Woodland Hill (fairytale-themed) were all unveiled.
New or additional playground equipment, with themes focused on imaginative play and learning, is being installed at every elementary school on handicap-accessible, poured-in-place rubber surfaces instead of mulch, over the next five years. Elementary playgrounds at Humble ISD schools are open to the public when school is not in session.
The Oaks Elementary playground takes students on a trek through eight of the United States’ greatest National Parks with custom-designed playground equipment and detailed poured-in-place (PIP) rubber surfacing, which is handicap-accessible.
Towering over the playground is a 23-foot-tall Giant Sequoia Tree with a vertical net tunnel and a 16-foot slide with an ADA-accessible entrance. Next, is a playground first for the Houston area, a Cliff Rider! By mimicking the motion found in pole vaulting, the Cliff Rider challenges children in finding courage and new thrills on the playground by leaping onto it and riding it as it swings over to the next platform.
The Double Zipline lets children fly to Alaska and soar above the whales breaching over the PIP surface. Freestanding play equipment, including spinners, climbing ropes, banister bars, a twisted net spinner, and PIP balls, are scattered throughout the playground. Birds native to the Joshua Tree National Park are perched atop a swing set, equipped with ADA-accessible seating. A handicap-accessible carousel sits in the center of a Yellowstone geyser's brilliant colors, giving all children an inclusive space to play.
Children can celebrate the wildlife found in the National Parks with wolf and bison springers, a 10-foot-tall net climber with moose, ram, and eagle panels, a bear climbing wall, and a canoe-themed multi springer fit for whale-watching. A pine tree-themed musical instrument lets children explore the sounds of sensory play. A communication board keeps inclusion top of mind by providing non-speaking children easy access to common words, and a photo op play panel gives children an interactive way to capture the memories on the playground by putting their faces into the cutouts of two hikers looking at a map going through the forest.
With much ground to cover, a playground map gives Oaks Owls a birds-eye view of the playground, identifying each park to visit.
Above are images of the handicap-accessible carousel (left), which sits in the center of a Yellowstone geyser’s brilliant colors, and the playground map (right) that gives you a birds-eye view and identifies each park to visit.