All-inclusive playground planned for Marquette’s Mattson Park

What’s happening: An all-inclusive playground is being planned for an under-utilized section of Mattson Park in Marquette, and the organizing parties — the Marquette Playgrounds for All Committee, the Community Foundation of Marquette County, and the City of Marquette — have nearly raised the $1.4 million required to build it. They now turn to a crowdfunding campaign to help reach their goal.

What’s planned: The playground, Kids Cove, will employ universal design concepts to make the play areas accessible to a wide spectrum of children of varying abilities and needs. Kids Cove will feature eight zones, each designed with different levels of access in mind. They include a Toddler Zone, Quiet Zone, Proprioceptive Zone, Spinning Zone, Swing Zone, Climbing Zone, Music and Free Play Zone, and Hill Zone.

How it gets built: The Kids Cove organizers have thus far raised $1.3 million of the $1.4 million required to build the play area. The project was recently accepted into the state’s placemaking program, Public Spaces Community Places. Should the organizers successfully raise $50,000 through a crowdfunding campaign, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation will then offer a $50,000 matching grant to help complete the project.

Organizers have until Wednesday, Sep. 28, to reach their goal. The crowdfunding campaign is being hosted on the Michigan-based Patronicity platform, available here.

What they’re saying: “Our dream is to build a playground where no child is excluded, where every child can play together, laugh together, and build friendships. A playground that will delight every family and be a treasure of inclusivity in our community encouraging differences to melt away,” says Nheena Ittner, executive director of the Children’s Museum. “We are so close to our goal and with the help of the MEDC through this Patronicity campaign our dream will become reality, gaining the final funds needed with their generous match.”