Winter Park expected to open this January
HOUGHTON -- A lily pond...a climbing wall...even a tree house will be a part of the new Winter Park Indoor Playground expected to open in Houghton this January.
The Keweenaw Family Resource Center will own the new facility, but they say much of the effort behind this project has come from parents and other community members.
Christine Westrich has spent her fall semester tinkering with a special toy for the new playground. The third year design student at Finlandia University is building a four-seat tricycle carousel using donated bikes, old car parts, cardboard tubing and a wooden platform.
"We got most of it done in two weeks and now I’m just trying to figure out what to do with the rest of it,” said Westrich. “I'm back to ideating."
Westrich has a whole sketchbook full of ideas to jazz up her merry-go-trike. She wants to add more movement, possibly music and definitely bright colors.
"She’s talked about a lot of things...the possibility of putting a generator on so it lights up and a number of mechanical solutions,” said design professor Rick Loduha. “I'm just thrilled that she's at this point and excited to see how it will go the rest of the way."
Loduha isn't the only one excited about the toy. Cathy Benda, director of the K.F.R.C., says toys like the merry-go-trike are important to keep kids active all year round.
"We have a winter city,” said Benda. “We go from mud season to mud season without a lot of opportunity for kids to enjoy the kind of play that's good for them physically, emotionally and intellectually."
Renovations at the facility are nearly complete and painting will be one of the final steps.
The group says the project came together so quickly thanks to a lot of volunteer work and extensive fund-raising.
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