CATALYST
DENVER MUSEUM OF NATURE & SCIENCE ONLINE MAGAZINE
Nature Play Wins Prestigious Landscape Architecture Award
One Year After Grand Opening, Nature Play Continues to Inspire Connection with Colorado's Unique Ecology
Twenty-foot climbable bighorn sheep structure in Nature Play on opening day, Sept. 10, 2024. (Photo/ Sarah Poetzschke)
It’s hard to believe that we opened Nature Play one year ago today. Over the past twelve months, this one-of-a-kind play experience in City Park, located just outside the Museum, has welcomed thousands of community members of all ages, providing a cherished space for connection and play.
To mark this milestone, we’re thrilled to share some exciting news: Nature Play has been awarded the 2025 Honor Award by the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) for the Colorado/Wyoming region — a recognition that celebrates the project’s design excellence and community impact. The jury of landscape architects, volunteers and professionals recognized Nature Play especially for its unique approach to creating a dynamic play space for exploration and learning — and the remarkable level of community involvement in its creation.
In addition to slides and play structures, Nature Play features public art installations, such as this ceramic and steel statue by Lafayette-based artist Greg Fields. (Photo/ Rick Wicker)
“This recognition highlights how integrating the wishes and dreams of community into the design of public spaces nurtures both people and place, advancing sustainable landscape design excellence while creating meaningful connections with nature and science,” said Jacqueline Altreuter, vice president of strategic initiatives at the Museum.
Since opening, Nature Play has welcomed thousands of guests of all ages and abilities, offering a free, multi-sensory experience where children can climb, slide and let their imaginations fly in a landscape inspired by Colorado’s unique ecosystems and ecology.
“Nature Play is a free and inclusive multi-sensory experience designed for people of all ages and abilities,” Altreuter said. “It celebrates Colorado’s unique ecology while inspiring future generations to connect with science, nature and one another. This award recognizes not only the design itself but also the shared community values that made it possible.”
Since opening in 2024, Nature Play has welcomed thousands of visitors of all ages and abilities, offering a free, multi-sensory recreational experience. (Photo/ Rick Wicker)
The Museum partnered with Dig Studio, a landscape architecture firm known for creative public space design. Dig Studio Co-Founder Gretchen Wilson said that the award reflects the power of deep listening and collective creativity.
“The ASLA award is deeply meaningful because it recognizes so much more than the creation of a beautiful playground,” Wilson said. “What makes this award especially powerful is that it reflects shared values and a collective vision established early on. That alignment allowed us to push the boundaries of what play and community experience can look like in public space.”
The creation of Nature Play was guided by the Museum’s long-term strategic vision to make science and nature more accessible and relevant to everyone. (Photo/ Rick Wicker)
The creation of Nature Play was guided by the Museum’s long-term strategic vision to make science and nature more accessible and relevant to everyone. From the start, strategic planning ensured that Nature Play reflected the Museum’s mission and the community’s aspirations — expanding access, creating relevance and deepening connections to nature and science for more and diverse people in ways that are meaningful to them
“This award recognizes not only the design itself but also the shared community values that made it possible,” Altreuter said.
Always free to explore, Nature Play was made possible through generous support from private funders and the residents of the seven-county Denver metro region via the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District (SCFD).
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