WASHINGTON — This fall, a nonprofit group called KABOOM! will build a new playground in Southeast D.C. As part of the design process, the group asked children in the neighborhood from age 2 to 12 to draw their dream playground.
The organization So Others Might Eat (SOME) is partnering with Monumental Sports & Entertainment Foundation and KABOOM! to bring the kid-and-community designed playground to Southeast. Construction is slated for September 2023.
Organizers will also meet with parents and adults who live in the community to get their feedback. Elements of the children's drawings will be incorporated into the design options for the playground, and the community will vote on the final design options.
"It's so important to get the kids' input on the playground because this is their space. It is their playground and we want to make sure we are building wha they want to see," a spokesperson for KABOOM! told WUSA9.
The new playground will replace an aging facility in Southeast near 28th and N Streets.
The project will provide hundreds of kids each year with a safe and inclusive place to play. It is part of a nationwide effort by KABOOM! to end playspace inequity – the reality that places to play are not available to every child, especially in communities of color.
This will be the 11th KABOOM! playground in the D.C. metropolitan area funded by MSE Foundation and built with involvement by its teams.
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