Brooklyn Playground Tour: Running Wild In Zucker Natural Exploration Area

Welcome to the first in our new series that takes a look at playgrounds around Brooklyn! Searching for a fun new spot to explore with the kids? From innovative, interactive playspaces to traditional (but equally fun!) spots, we’ll guide you through the many awesome playground choices in our borough.

Designed by landscape architect Christian Zimmerman, Zucker Natural Exploration Area in Prospect Park is an innovative playspace that encourages exploration and interaction with nature.

Built with the limbs and stumps from trees damaged during Hurricane Sandy, the playground officially opened in 2013. The use of loose tree branches makes Zucker Natural Exploration Area a space that is always evolving, always offering new areas to explore. As each child wanders through the playground, moving branches and marking their own paths in the sand pit, the playground becomes a whole new environment for the next child.

Tucked between Long Meadow and East Drive, and outlined by a broken walking path, the unassuming space hidden beneath an old cherry tree can be easy to miss. But let kids loose in the area and they’ll know just want to do — painted tree branches scattered throughout the playground become horses and flag masts and carved tree stumps become their thrones.

A space that inspires organic play and imagination, Eva Dean Dance Group recognized that Zucker Natural Exploration Area is the perfect spot to stage a performance about a boy who never wants to grow up — this year, they’re bringing their adaptation of Peter Pan and the Pirates back to the playspace for four performances (more information can be found on our calendar).

A stunning spot to play in, perhaps even more beautiful is that families seem to interact differently in Zucker Natural Exploration Area. This isn’t a playground for adults to sit on a bench and text on their phones. It could be because the playspace isn’t confined by traditional playground barriers (there are no gates around it), or because even adults can’t resist climbing on some tree stumps. Regardless, the space is a breath of fresh air in a city dotted with plastic slides and metal monkey-bars and, hopefully, a shift in the future landscape of playgrounds.

What’s your favorite playground in Brooklyn? Share the details in the comments, or by emailing us at editor@bklyner.com and we may feature it in our next playground profile.