History of the Beloved Kids Cove
Kids Cove located in Lower Harbor Mattson Park was an outstanding community endeavor completed in the summer of 1996. A community came out with hammers in hand to lend their talents in building a playground for and by them. Since its conception, it has been a fixture for the Marquette community and has been a great gathering place for families.
Why do we need a new Kids Cove?
With safety, inclusion, and fun being top priorities, the Marquette Playgrounds for All Committee, the Community Foundation of Marquette County, and the City of Marquette invite the community to the creation of a new playground made of child-friendly material and equipment. The playground’s surface will minimize injuries that result from falls. The equipment will allow easier sight of vision for grandparents, parents, and caregivers. It will allow children with various abilities to play and learn together. Kids Cove will enhance the park, bring visitors from throughout Upper Michigan, and will be good for the economy of the city of Marquette.
Now, after thousands of children have climbed its towers and slid down its slides, the existing playground at Mattson Park is outdated and filled with equipment that needs to be replaced because:
- The original is 25 years old, outdated, and filled with equipment that needs to be replaced.
- Core structural components are showing their age and a failure with one of these would require the whole structure to be removed.
- Replacing the structure with materials that meet today’s standards is needed in the best interest of our community’s health and safety.
- In 2003, the EPA banned the future use of the type of treated lumber used in the construction.
A DREAM to Build a New ALL-INCLUSIVE Kids Cove Playground
The dream began with Joani Reynolds Miller. Joani contracted polio as a child. Joani, a retired preschool teacher, had watched children with physical, emotional, and sensory challenges be mere observers at our traditional playgrounds. Joani had a vision of making life for children with disabilities more inclusive in our community. Joani’s positive spirit and love of life were an inspiration for all who knew her.
The details of the future Kids Cove plan have included participatory community planning and input. The Marquette Playgrounds for All Committee, the Community Foundation of Marquette County, and the City of Marquette have set high standards and goals from which specific ideas have grown. The playground will be built so it is simple to use, understandable, and safe for all users. Kids Cove will include an ALL-INCLUSIVE design. A playground that will work for the widest spectrum of users and meets the concepts of ALL-INCLUSIVE design.
Why all-inclusive? Because we ALL learn through play.
Play is our first introduction to the world around us. We all learn through play. Play helps us understand the world. Play helps us become healthy emotionally and physically. Children playing are stimulating their developing brains, strengthening motor skills, building awareness of others, learning language skills, creative thinking, building self-esteem, and problem-solving. ALL-INCLUSIVE play provides children with special needs and typically developing children the opportunity to experience the world through multiple lenses.
What makes this playground different?
- The playground’s surface will not only minimize injuries, but allow accessibility for all.
- The equipment will allow a better line of vision for grandparents, parents, and caregivers.
- The equipment will allow access for all.
- Fenced perimeter with only one entrance and exit.
- It will allow children with various abilities to play and learn together.
This playground will build togetherness, understanding, and respect that children of all abilities would not achieve if separated. Playing together exposes differences while demonstrating the similarities that they all share. It should be emphasized that the Kids Cove Playground is also meant for the typically developing child. These children will find the playground exciting and challenging. In other words, this playground is not just for children with disabilities, but is for ALL kids.
