What is this playground equipment?
April 21, 2022 10:29 AM Subscribe
What is this piece of playground equipment and how do you play with it?
See pictures linked here and above of a strange piece of playground equipment found in a suburb of Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
The height to the top brim is about 40 inches and the diameter of the top brim is about 6 feet. The inside is curved like one of those giant bowls that you can roll balls or coins around to watch them slowly and then quickly orbit around the center.
There's a small hole in the flat piece in the center that's about the size of a US quarter or maybe a little bigger; too small for most bouncy balls to fit through and if you used a coin it would just get lost in the mulch underneath (seems like it's for drainage more than anything). The scrapes around the center hole make it seem like something rotated there.
I've been baffled by this piece of equipment and anyone I've run into while watching my child likewise doesn't know what to do with it. It's located in the toddler section of the playground, so it's too tall for children to reach over the edge. Most often, kids want to be lifted onto it and then walk around a little while the parents try to prevent them from falling. Or they just throw mulch into it, but then it has to be scooped out because it doesn't go through the hole easily.
Is it missing some vital piece? Is it for some type of game? Is it just for rolling balls/coins around? Have you ever seen anything like it?
I've never seen a similar piece of equipment in any other playground in this region or elsewhere in the US.
See pictures linked here and above of a strange piece of playground equipment found in a suburb of Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
The height to the top brim is about 40 inches and the diameter of the top brim is about 6 feet. The inside is curved like one of those giant bowls that you can roll balls or coins around to watch them slowly and then quickly orbit around the center.
There's a small hole in the flat piece in the center that's about the size of a US quarter or maybe a little bigger; too small for most bouncy balls to fit through and if you used a coin it would just get lost in the mulch underneath (seems like it's for drainage more than anything). The scrapes around the center hole make it seem like something rotated there.
I've been baffled by this piece of equipment and anyone I've run into while watching my child likewise doesn't know what to do with it. It's located in the toddler section of the playground, so it's too tall for children to reach over the edge. Most often, kids want to be lifted onto it and then walk around a little while the parents try to prevent them from falling. Or they just throw mulch into it, but then it has to be scooped out because it doesn't go through the hole easily.
Is it missing some vital piece? Is it for some type of game? Is it just for rolling balls/coins around? Have you ever seen anything like it?
I've never seen a similar piece of equipment in any other playground in this region or elsewhere in the US.
Pretty sure it is for rolling coins and balls around, as you suspect. Like this.
posted by so fucking future at 10:45 AM on April 21, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by so fucking future at 10:45 AM on April 21, 2022 [2 favorites]
Could it be a coin funnel that is missing the top and bottom pieces? Video for reference.
posted by jennypower at 10:45 AM on April 21, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by jennypower at 10:45 AM on April 21, 2022 [1 favorite]
Is it possible this playground used to have sand rather than wood chips?
posted by aws17576 at 10:47 AM on April 21, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by aws17576 at 10:47 AM on April 21, 2022 [2 favorites]
Best answer: My guess is it's a sand table like this one, and maybe the playground fill used to be sand but they switched to mulch at some point.
posted by castlebravo at 10:48 AM on April 21, 2022 [15 favorites]
posted by castlebravo at 10:48 AM on April 21, 2022 [15 favorites]
Response by poster: Is it possible this playground used to have sand rather than wood chips?
Possibly. One person in local facebook group mentioned a time "before sand was banned" but I don't know anything about that.
My guess is it's a sand table like this one
That looks very much like the object in question. The one I'm asking about is so tall though, that even my very tall 4-year-old would have a difficult time reaching sand inside.
posted by msbrauer at 10:56 AM on April 21, 2022
Possibly. One person in local facebook group mentioned a time "before sand was banned" but I don't know anything about that.
My guess is it's a sand table like this one
That looks very much like the object in question. The one I'm asking about is so tall though, that even my very tall 4-year-old would have a difficult time reaching sand inside.
posted by msbrauer at 10:56 AM on April 21, 2022
The mulch looks really worn down and degraded. Sand/mulch needs to be refilled over time and the height of equipment takes that into account. Everything is too high at older playgrounds that aren't maintained.
posted by muddgirl at 11:01 AM on April 21, 2022 [10 favorites]
posted by muddgirl at 11:01 AM on April 21, 2022 [10 favorites]
The one I'm asking about is so tall though
Some of our local playgrounds also underwent the sand-to-chips transition, and the chips are generally noticeably shallower.
posted by Etrigan at 11:02 AM on April 21, 2022 [4 favorites]
Some of our local playgrounds also underwent the sand-to-chips transition, and the chips are generally noticeably shallower.
posted by Etrigan at 11:02 AM on April 21, 2022 [4 favorites]
In the description of the link castlebravo gave it talked about accessibility so possibly the height allows for wheelchairs.
posted by ljesse at 11:15 AM on April 21, 2022
posted by ljesse at 11:15 AM on April 21, 2022
Marbles? If your marble, launched from the edge, happened to go through the hole, you would win the ones that hadn't? /wildspeculation
posted by bricoleur at 11:16 AM on April 21, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by bricoleur at 11:16 AM on April 21, 2022 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Some of our local playgrounds also underwent the sand-to-chips transition, and the chips are generally noticeably shallower.
I've definitely encountered playgrounds where everything seems very tall off the ground. In this case, all other equipment seems to be at the right height, though perhaps only this structure was in sand before mulch was put everywhere.
posted by msbrauer at 11:21 AM on April 21, 2022
I've definitely encountered playgrounds where everything seems very tall off the ground. In this case, all other equipment seems to be at the right height, though perhaps only this structure was in sand before mulch was put everywhere.
posted by msbrauer at 11:21 AM on April 21, 2022
Looks like the sand table to me. Looks too shallow to be a coin funnel. Since you mention that it is too high for your young child, my first thought was that is intended for older children. I remember spending many recesses in grade school doing nothing but clogging the slide with my fellows. Could this be like that, intended for children to climb up onto it and just sit and socialize? But again, looks like the sand table to me.
posted by Stuka at 11:45 AM on April 21, 2022
posted by Stuka at 11:45 AM on April 21, 2022
Best answer: On the bottom or underneath, not in the pictures, is there some sort of manufacturers stamp taking credit for it? If so, do they have a website?
I strongly believe it is this piece of equipment.
Upon review, what castlebravo said
posted by JohnnyGunn at 11:46 AM on April 21, 2022 [4 favorites]
I strongly believe it is this piece of equipment.
Upon review, what castlebravo said
posted by JohnnyGunn at 11:46 AM on April 21, 2022 [4 favorites]
I think if you show up this weekend with a few giant bags of sand, then it will 100% become a sand table! And kids will probably love it.
posted by spisspisspis at 12:58 PM on April 21, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by spisspisspis at 12:58 PM on April 21, 2022 [3 favorites]
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by msbrauer at 10:30 AM on April 21, 2022