Majestic Elementary School
425 W 2550 N Ogden, UT 84414
This elementary school features two separate playgrounds- one newer wheelchair accessible playground with pour in place solid rubber surfacing and one older playground on a sand/gravel surface. Next to the inclusive playground there was also a large asphalt area with basketball and four square areas.
The newer wheelchair accessible inclusive playground (similar to Green Acres elementary) is the first thing you see from the front of the school. It is bright and colorful and features lots of fun elements like a merry go round, balance beam, small toddler slides, bigger slides for older kids, wide ramps that are wheelchair accessible, sensory elements like drums and a bell and panels that teach Spanish words.
We played on this playground on a Saturday morning and were the only people on the playground. Like all other Weber County schools, general public access is only allowed during non-school hours, on the weekends and summer. Because this is a school there also is no public restrooms on sight.
This playground is especially good for younger kids. The structure is rated for 2-12 year olds and it has lots of features like the ramps, stepping circles and sensory elements like the bell and drums that a toddler is going to enjoy. The shorter toddler slide is nice for younger kids also. There are a few fall hazard for toddlers at the fireman's pole next to the striped slide and ladder elements next to the red straight slide to be aware of. While a lot of inclusive playgrounds are fenced in, this playground is not. There also isn't a fence between the playground and the parking lot or street (which is pretty far away though).
My two year old especially liked all the ramps to run up and down on, the short stepping stones to the balance beam and the merry go round. When we came everything was covered in water and some of the slides had standing water at the bottom. We usually keep a towel in our car for this reason, but of course I forgot it today. Although some of the elements were slick like the balance beam, he didn't seem to mind.
One interesting thing I hadn't seen at a park in Utah before is the app/playground collaboration element. There is a sign that showed a colorful graphic saying Biba! playground on one side and instructions on the other side.
I didn't download the app or play any of the games but I got the general idea that you find the colorful eyes throughout the playground to play games or unlock achievements. Honestly I don't know how I feel about app/phone related games especially on elementary school playgrounds, but I would be interested to hear from other parents perspectives.
Playground #2
The second playground closer to the back of the school is an older dark green and grey playground by a different manufacturer. It sits on a gravel/sand base. This playground is rated for older kids 5-12 years old and I would say it isn't accessible or recommended for toddlers. My 2 year old tried to get on the this play structure through the climbing tube but was unsuccessful and a few of the elements were just too difficult for him. He did manage to climb up one of the metal ladder accesses (shown below) at about a 6 foot height.
This playground has a lot of different styles of monkey bars on it which older kids could find fun and challenging. It also has the spinning tube thing which you can run on. There is a fun rock climbing wall with foot and hand holes and can be accessed for both sides.
Pros:
- two separate playgrounds at the elementary school, one inclusive with wheelchair access and good for toddlers and one for older kids on gravel with lots of monkey bars.
- Lots of sensory elements on the inclusive playground
- solid rubber surfacing on inclusive playground
- lots of grass areas to run in and explore
Cons:
- neither playground has shade
- no public restrooms
- not available for general public school hours
- no swings
- inclusive playground not fenced near parking lot and road
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