Rocky Mountain Children’s Discovery Center celebrated its new playground with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Monday night.
The transformation of the playground was possible because of a grant and the help of Early Childhood Health Outdoors and the National Wildlife Federation.
Rocky Mountain’s Cheryl Gould, owner and administrator, and Sharyl Boehm, owner and director, thanked all in attendance for coming out to celebrate. Many of the patrons in attendance played a pivotal role in the transformation.
“We have to give kudos to our staff,” Boehm said. “Ultimately, you can make changes and create a new environment, but if you don’t have a great staff who interact with the children, then none of it matters. When we first started making changes, the kids didn’t know how to play in the new space. The staff worked with them and interacted with them.”
The primary focus of the new playground was to bring nature back to day-to-day play for the children. The new changes include a garden area that is dedicated to Brieonna Sanders-Samora, who was killed by a drunken driver on April 13, 2018.
Gould was emotional while addressing those in attendance.
“Brieonna was a student of ours and a parent to one of our kids,” Gould said. “Our flower beds and garden are for her. She loved butterflies, and we see them all the time. We knew we needed to dedicate this space in her memory.”
New play equipment, a bike track, a garden and a loving staff fill the space for the children who attend Rocky Mountain Discovery Center.
“Some of our kids don’t have access to spaces for outdoor play,” Gould said. “We wanted this to be a space where they could observe nature. We love when they find a bug and ask questions. One day our new trees will drop acorns and they will get to pick them up, touch them and hold them. These are the moments we want to create for our kids.”
The directors thanked the community members who have helped them during the past 25 years and thanked those who helped in the creation of the new playground. They will celebrate their opening anniversary Sept. 18.
“We’ve come a long way,” Boehm said.
But an alumni student in attendance, 9-year-old Blaine Sack, said it best, “This playground has definitely come a long way since I was a kid here.”
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