The design of the New York Hall of Science Preschool Playground is deliberately low-tech. Natural elements and forces, sand combined with water, water and gravity, light and shadows, are used to shape sensory experiences. Children control the conveyance of materials utilizing interactive pumps and pulleys, discovering principles of physics.
A park is where a city’s children first connect with the environment and learn from it. Nature is an integral part of sensory experiences for young children and an understanding of their symbiotic relationship to nature fosters life-long ecological awareness. The environment is significant to all cultures and is a unifying element for the diverse local community of the Borough of Queens. To best serve this community immediately surrounding the playground, where more than 140 languages are spoken, the Playground was designed to be simply experienced with all senses.